Recently, I signed up for an ACEO swap (ACEO stands for “Art Cards Editions and Originals” and are often swapped like trading cards – each card measures 2.5″ x 3.5″) and although I only pledged myself for 3 pieces, I have been really enjoying painting these tiny sized cards.  Each one takes me somewhere between 1 and 2 hours, so it’s easy to start and complete one in one sitting.

I tend to latch on to a subject matter and go with it for several paintings.  The first several that I painted were exclusively nature scenes, lots of them with night skies and moons.  Painting similar things is good practice, and fun as you hone your style.

In the last few days I have started looking at images of fish.  I love the colors of the ocean, and there are some seriously marvelous fish and plants living down there, so they seemed like the perfect subject to paint.  The Koi was the first fish I painted, but I have since tried painting two Bettas and an African Cichlid.  Of course, the night sky and the moon snuck into a picture for no good reason.

I will continue to make these in my spare time, and may end up putting a few on my Etsy store.  They are fun to make, and can be really affordable little original pieces of art!

There’s really not enough time in the day for me to pursue all of my art interests!  I need to continue with my clay creatures too.  Luckily, I have almost the entire month of July off from work, so I should be able to get done with a lot of the projects that have been waiting for me.