New work to show off! The first ACEO is my new marketing card - I leave it around in places for others to randomly find! Fly Southwest lately? Look in your SkyMall mag - finders keepers if you find the art! I do this all over town - the waiting rooms, the Y, and many other places. Let me know if you find one!

The second image is an art card/aceo in ink titled "Chrous" from my music-themed series. I have larger acrylic and watercolor paintings in this style too. Some can be seen and purchased on http://www.lerayjessdesigns.etsy.com/.

Also at the link above is my own coloring book, with hand drawn abstract designs in my own style. So fun!

New etsy artists to share with you

Hi again - I've got some etsy artists whose work I've been admiring to share with you. Etsy.com is a great place to shop for artist cards for your collection! Take a look at:

www.juliepersons.etsy.com to see amazing felted aceos. So unique!
www.mLee.etsy.com for incredible multi-media artwork in her aceos
www.art2artcolorado.etsy.com for absolutely stunning 3-D art cards. Yes, 3-D!!

I'm always in awe of the talent of the artists I see on etsy. You should take a look. You can see mine on www.aceomarket.com and www.lerayjessdesigns.etsy.com. Shameless plug, I know, but hey, it's MY blog!

I am very interested in hearing about techniques for texture and 3-D affects on mini or regular size artwork. Please feel free to comment. I am going to experiment with different mediums in my acrylic paints to give more texture. What do you use? Are you interested in textures and effects like this in paintings? Does it give them more interest? Post a comment!

feeling more nautical today

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for your comments and visits! I am happy to connect with more artists and art card collectors and makers! There seem to be many of us.

Question - has anyone tried selling ACEOs at art festivals along with larger works? What sort of interest have you gotten? Feel free to comment.

Lately I've been working on nautical and water - themed pieces. I'm in my "blue phase" I guess! I've done some more musical pieces too. Take a peek at http://lerayjessdesigns.etsy.com to see some of the newest. I've been mixing inks and watercolors too. I'll post a few more here soon.

The basic process

Let me tell you a little about my basic process for making ACEOs. Fair warning, however, if you try this: they are very addictive little things.

I start by cutting either 140lb. watercolor paper or bristol board into 2.5x3.5" rectangles. This is the standard size for art cards. This is also the size trading cards (baseball, etc) come in, so ACEOs can fit into trading card protectors for collecting.

My latest series of watercolor paintings has also included inks. For "Fruit Slice" (see the images to the right), I began with the black ink and gave the card a black edge. Then, with ink, I created the abstract design, and then painted with bright bold watercolors. When it was dry, I varnished both sides to protect the watercolor. I usually varnish watercolor for safekeeping, but not always inks. I'd love to hear about other artists' methods!

Many times, these little works of art are the basis for larger works.

I keep all ACEOs in resealable protective card sleeves. This makes a nice presentation, and the card stays in good condition.

You can see many examples - for sale! - on www.aceomarket.com. Please visit!

Lucky Blue Wha??

I have posted a picture of one of my Lucky Blue Lobster ACEOs - one in a series, listed at www.lerayjessdesigns.etsy.com. What's a blue lobster, you ask? They are a naturally occurring phenomenon in nature and are very rare. Only about 1 in 2 million lobsters have this genetic difference and it is considered quite lucky to find one! Lucky for the lobsters too - no one eats them. Each LBL ACEO comes with a fortune for you inside the card sleeve, with its message hidden until you open it. How fun! A great little gift, too.

Another etsy shop to check out: www.artbymercer.etsy.com - wonderful artwork and ACEOs there.

**SPECIAL** $2.00 off any ACEO in my shop (which I also ship worldwide for FREE) if you mention this blog!! Offer good until midnight EST Sat. Feb 16, 2008.

I'm off to browse etsy!

Some great shops on etsy - please visit them!

Hi again, world. I am slowly learning my way around blogville. So glad to have you visit! I have been busy today, painting away. I am on a roll lately - I've been painting ACEOs and larger works - very colorful abstracts with black lines. One series has a music theme; one series is more floral/fruit. I'm focusing on watercolor and inks. We were snowed in today (near Boston), and I was happy as could be, painting away! These ACEOs are very addicting, and so is etsy. If you haven't discovered it yet, www.etsy.com is a "site for all things handmade", and the handcrafted items and artwork there are wonderful. Check it out.

Two incredible shops on etsy (besides mine, www.lerayjessdesigns.etsy.com , shameless plug) are:
www.jerz.etsy.com with incredible things including reconstructed clothing - so unique!
www.art2theextreme.etsy.com with art and many fantastic things!

Please take a look at these shops. Plus, if you are as addicted to ACEOs as I am, you should take a look at www.aceomagazine.com and www.aceomarket.com.

Photos of my work

Ok - I've figured out how to show my work here. I will update my gallery often, so check back soon. I'd love to get comments (hint hint). Many more ACEOs available on www.aceomarket.com .