Where is that feather I was saving?

"Excuse ME?
Original Watercolor and graphite by Michele Cooper
7"x5"
Price: $45 for canary, or $145, framed with two cats

I'm having a little fun with the characters in this little drama that's unfolding. SOMEBODY has "borrowed" a little yellow feather, just to see how it tastes. (See yesterday's post.)  You know I would never let anything drastic happen to the canary now don't you?

Anyway, I think they fit pretty well together in a special frame that I have been holding onto for a while now. What do you think?

"Where is that feather I was saving?"

Who Ate the Canary?

Who Ate the Canary?
Diptych

"He Said" Original Watercolor ACEO, 3.5x2.5"
"She Said" Original Watercolor ACEO,  3.5x2.5"
Price: $30 each, sold as a diptych

Here's today's pair of watercolor cats in my series of complementary diptychs. Each one complements the other: i.e. in this pair one is dominantly warm, the other cool, one high contrast, the other soft contrast, one masculine, the other feminine, one innocent? the other guilty?

"Out on the Town"

"Out on the Town"

"Alley Cats 1 & 2"
ACEO Watercolor, Pen & Ink
Each 3.5"x 2.5"
Price: $30 each, sold as a diptych

Here is the first pair of watercolor cats. They're out on the town, meeting and greeting as they do.

Note: If you're shy and you're a cat, you can always hide behind a drainpipe.

Cat Sketches - Line and Wash

This is half of a page of sketches I did of cats. The large one is pencil and the others are pen, all on 140 lb watercolor paper.  The small ones are diptychs, paintings meant to be viewed as two together. The concept is opposites.

What kind of titles would you give them?
Tune in tomorrow to see the watercolor "wash" part of line & wash. :-)

Packaging and Shipping Framed ACEO

First, I usually don't ship framed artwork. Although I believe my choices are professional and may I say, elegant, I think the collector already has an idea of where they will hang it and what type of frame they want. I could never guess.

Having said that, if the artwork is small enough, I can make an exception, i.e. ACEO and anything up to 8x10" outside measurements, or thereabouts. You can see how I package them in the example here. Another layer of packing fits over the bubble wrap before the box is sealed.
I usually don't ship any artwork larger than this with glass. However, these small sizes, securely wrapped and padded have arrived safely. Take them out of the box and hang on the wall. Instant gratification!

Custom Mats and Frames for ACEO

 "Autumn Leaves" triptych

Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper

3.5"x2.5" each watercolor leaf
Price: $90 (for all three) does not include mat/frame

Also shown: "Red Orange Leaf"
Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
4.5"x5.5" in acid free 5x7" photo mount card
Price: $48

After the intensity of creating a triptych of autumn leaves comes the energy-sapping task of properly matting and framing. I prefer that my collectors would take the original work to a reputable framer and have them do it. "I'm an artist, Jim, not a framer!"

If you do want to be sure that the framing is properly done, here are some do's and don'ts:

Do:

• Choose archival, acid, lignin, solvent free materials to preserve the quality of original art
• Select a mat and frame that gives enough room around the artwork to separate it from its surroundings.
• Keep mat and frame colors minimal and not competing with the artwork.
• Use a dust cover on the back and wire, not sawtooth hangers.

Don't:

• Never frame so that the artwork presses against the glass. Over time,  moisture will transfer pigments and ruin the artwork.
• Never glue, laminate or otherwise permanently attach the whole artwork to backing. It devalues the painting. Framers have acid, lignin, solvent free tape for attaching it to the mat.
• Never use cardboard or wood against the back of the painting. Acid erosion and foxing will damage the artwork.
• Never spray glass cleaner directly on the glass. Spray onto a soft cloth and then clean the glass. Cleaner could creep under the frame and soil the mat and/or artwork.

Daniel Montoya has a very nice tutorial on DYI methods for framing these small paintings.

Snow Birches ATC

 Snow Birches
Original Watercolor ATC
3.5x2.5"  (traded)

Here's a fun little project. For a good practice session, paint it 4 or 5 times, card size or ATC size, with a time limit.

I think it might snow on Saturday. Winter is coming!

Third Plum for Triptych

Plum Half with Pit
Original watercolor ACEO
2.5"x3.5"
Price: $30 sold

There! It's the last in three paintings I made from a single red plum.
First, I painted it whole, then cut it in half and painted the two sides, the side with and the one without pit. And that's how you get three paintings from one plum. :-)

Red Plum Triptych

And here's what they look like together.
I've lined them up vertically and I like them that way, too.

They were painted as a three-part painting and to be sold that way. "One Ripe Plum"', triptych (3x $30)  sold