Art by Akiko

New Fox ACEO

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Title: Fox #7
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia artboard

I found many beautiful photos of red fox pups at Flickr.com. This painting is from one of them. Thank you, Mike, for allowing me to use your photo. The original photo is here.

Two New ACEOs

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:25:00 +0000

Title: Tuxedo Cat #3

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

This is one of the stray cats that has been showing up in our backyard lately for food and water. We call him Skunky because he has a skunk-like marking. According to our mail carrier, this guy has been fixed by one of our neighbors. We are glad to know that because otherwise we would have unnecessarily taken him to our vet for neutering. (We are thinking about adopting him....)

Title: Raccoon #3
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Bunch of raccoons also show up in our yard at night for the leftover food. This is one of them. He is still young. Isn't he cute?!

The Most Beautiful Piano Music

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:15:00 +0000

I love piano music whether classical, new age, or jazz. Last night, I borrowed a CD from Curt (my husband). It turned out to be the most beautiful piano music I have ever heard. Just wanted to share with you. It's called "Sicroff Plays Gurdjieff." His music is an interpretation of spiritual leader Gurdjieff. I'm not familiar with this spiritual group, but the music on this CD is out of this world.

I found this short clip on Youtube; although it's not from this CD, if you watch it, you will know what I mean.

New ACEOs of a Calico Cat

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:09:00 +0000

Title: Calico #3
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Title: Calico #4
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

When I was checking MorgueFile.com the other day, I came across the pictures of this calico cat. She has such intense eyes and beautiful expressions on her face. I just had to paint her.

Calico #3 is currently on eBay. To see the listing, click here or the picture above.

Crow Raven Halloween Painting

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:18:00 +0000

Title: Treasure Seeker #18
Size: 5 x 7 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Stretched Canvas

About two years ago, I started a series of crow paintings in the size of ACEO (2.5 x 3.5 inches) called "Treasure Seeker." I have painted 17 ACEOs so far, and this one is #18 although it is not ACEO. #17 was created in October last year, so I have been suffering from a lack of creative juice on this series.

I hope to do at least two or three more ACEOs in order to help this character "Treasure Seeker" reach his enlightenment. Yes, it is sort of a spiritual journey of a crow. lol

"Paint Me, Protect Me" Wins 1st Place!

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:22:00 +0000

Size: 11 x 14 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Stretched canvas

I've just found out that this tiger painting has won the first place at 2009 Wildlife Art Competition at Irving Art Association in Texas.

Last Saturday, I received an email asking me to fill out a W9 form for my "cash award." I was excited about it, but had no idea what my painting won then.

Apricat

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

This is Apricat, a 5-year old girl, spayed, front-declawed, and looking for a forever home at the feline rescue Cast-A-Way Cats in Hobart, Indiana. Most of the orange tabbies are boys, so Apricat is a rare girl. I hope she will find a loving home very soon.

This painting is currently on eBay.

My First Entries to MASF

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Title: Merle Great Dane
Size: 3 x 3 inches
Medium: Acrylic

Title: Mountain Lion
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic

Yesterday, I shipped these two paintings to the 34th Annual International Miniature Art Show hosted by Miniature Art Society of Florida (MASF). These are my first entries. If either one of them is accepted for the show, that would be a big accomplishment for me.

I would like to thank Mona Conner for her kind help and encouragement. Please visit her blog. It is filled with her beautiful minatures as well as very helpful information about miniature paintings.

On Vacation

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Thank you all for visiting my blog!
Curt and I are leaving tonight to visit his family in North Carolina and New Jersey. Will be back on 29th. After the vacation, I will have more time to paint and blog!! :)

Have a great week, everyone!

New Raven Painting

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Title: Spring Sky
Size: 10 x 10 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Stretched canvas

I finished this one more quickly than I thought. I spent about a couple of hours using my airbrush for the background. It's always messy doing that, but fun because this is usually the only part that is close to abstract art for me.

The model is one of the raven pair I took pictures of at the nearby beach. I want to paint the pair on a larger canvas sometime in the near future. This painting is more like a study for that larger one.

Finally A Week Off

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Title: Over the Mountains
Size: 11 x 14 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Hardboard

I finally have a week off! My big job will be done in just a couple of more weeks, and then my husband and I will be going to visit his family for a week.

Last month was the annual San Mateo Country Fair. My entries "Eyes of Billy" won the best of show in the oils/acrylics paintings division, "Frog Prince" won the first place in the miniatures, and "Over the Mountains" won the first place in the Birds class in the oils/acrylics division.

I have just started another raven painting, hoping to finish it over the weekend. Will post it when it's done.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone!

I've been busy...

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I have been pretty busy with my work for the last couple of weeks and will be for the next three months. Although my work does not leave me much time to do anything else each day, I feel fortunate to have this work in this economy.

I apologize if I don't stop by your blog and leave comments or update my blog as frequently as I want to. As soon as I finish my current work project, I will be back in painting and blogging and doing whatever I like.

I would like to share with you this painting that I did a few weeks ago.

Size: 5 x 5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Ampersand Gessobord

I used my airbrush for the background to get the blurred effects. I can't do anything more than just creating blur with my airbrush, but it's always fun to use it.

WIP of My Pug ACEO

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:06:00 +0000

I took some pictures of my Pug ACEO while painting. Except the final scan, the images are not so great because I used my digital camera, but I think this WIP gives you an idea how I normally work on my paintings.

Two New ACEOs

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Title: Snow Leopard #16
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Title: Calico #2
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

I painted this snow leopard to try to produce something that is good enough to get into a national miniature show. However, it didn't turn out to be as I wanted, so I decided to sell.

The tortoiseshell (calico) cat is just one of my fun ACEO projects. They are both on eBay now. Clicking the picture will take you to the eBay listing.

My First Egg Tempera Painting

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Egg Tempera
Support: Multimedia Artboard

I have been curious about egg tempera ever since I visited Mona's blog. She has been sharing information about egg tempera paintings. You will be amazed by the paintings she has been producing with this medium.

Last night, I experimented with egg tempera for the first time. At first, I thought of using my Japanese watercolor pigments, but they were dried up, so I used my gouache tubes instead. Due to a limited supply of gouache, I was unable to achieve the colors I wanted. For the support, I chose multimedia artboard because water will not warp this support.

The finished painting has an interesting luster and the black background looks like a shiny lacquer. I like working in layers of wash; just need more patience. The next step will be to get power paints and spend more time buliding layers of colors.

Sleepy Kitties

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:49:00 +0000

Title: Nap Time #3
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Title: Nap Time #4
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

These are gray and orange tabbies sleeping together. I'm thinking about entering one of them in the upcoming county fair. Which one do you like better?

Frog Prince ACEO

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard
Reference photo of frog provided by Gabe Lees.

Inspired by the beautiful paintings of frog prince by my fellow artist Melody Lea Lamb, I did this painting last week. The photo of this beautiful frog was provided by nature photographer Gabe Lees. Thanks Gabe!

I had problems painting the stone, as usual and as you can see. I consulted with my fellow artist Alice Thompson who has recently produced amazing painting of a fish bone and stones. I realize that I need lots of practices on stones and rocks among many other things.

Noblesse Award

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:50:00 +0000

I was given Noblesse Award by my fellow artist Doris Britt whose kindness to all creatures is apparent everywhere in her blog. Doris, I'm so glad that I found your blog, and thank you for this wonderful award.

I've been blogging for about 8 months now and met so many wonderful bloggers. Every morning I can't wait to finish my daily chores (giving fresh water to cats, feeding fish, filling bird feeders, changing water and filling food for outdoor critter
visitors, watering plants, giving medications to a couple of cats, making coffee, and having breakfast; the rest is my husband's chores such as feeding the cats and cleaning the litter boxes), so I can check my blogs.

Blogging has become an important and fun part of my life and has expanded my world. It's like I have all my favorite friends right next door. Thank you all who have supported me and my art by visiting and commenting on my blog.

Details of Noblesse Award:

The recipient of this award is recognized for the following:
- The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
- Their Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage, and offers solutions
- There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures, Sciences and Beliefs
- The Blog is refreshing and creative- The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following:
- Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the NoblesseOblige Award- The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post
- Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved, preferably citing one or more older posts as support
- The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions
- Blogger must display the Award at any location at their Blog.

So I'm going to pass this one to:
Mona Conner
Linda of The Briar Rose Gate
Liz Holm

Currently Available for Sale

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:49:00 +0000

These three paintings are currently for sale on eBay. To see the listings, click the images below.

Size: 5 x 5 i nches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Hardboard

This is Ginger Megs who lives in Australia. He is one of the Psycho Kitties. You can enjoy his video here. Make sure you have your sound turned on.

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO)
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Illustration board

This is one of our cats Freddy. He is my husband's office manager. His main responsibilities include: comfortably sit on Curt's desk and watch him work, regularly have Curt throw stringed toys to make sure that Curt gets enough exercise, and occasionally sleep on Curt's lap to keep him warm while he works.

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia artboard mounted on illustration board

Frog ACEOs

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:45:00 +0000

Title: Frog #6 (Blue-jean frog)
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Title: Frog #5 (Red-eyed tree frog)
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Illustration Board

I love frogs. Visiting James Perker's wonderful blog, I just had to paint one. Yesterday, I worked on this blue-jean frog, the first one shown above. If you are interested in Costarican wildlife, you must visit James Parker Art.

The blue-jean frog is one of the most conspicuous of the Costa Rican frogs, measuring only 3/4 to 1 inch. These frogs eat large quantities of tiny ants that contain concentrations of alkaloids, which are important factors of their skin toxin.

The red-eyed tree frog (the second one shown above) is from 2 to 3 inches on average. Young frogs are typically brown in color and turn greener as they mature. These frogs are not poisonous.

Monty

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Size: 8 x 10 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Hardboard

This is one of the commission portraits I've just finished. The name of this adorable Sheltie is Monty. The reference photo given to me was not good enough to work from, so I researched and found a perfect ref photo at WetCanvas. Yes, it's this sleeping dog because Monty is blind.

My client purchased this commission as a gift to her husband. When I showed the image of the painting, she said "This will bring tears to my husband's eyes ..." What a nice compliment! It's so rewarding to do commissions when the paintings make your clients happy.

Cats-A-Way Cats, one of the charities I have been supporting, is in desperate need for help right now. Their shelter building was damaged in flood and they need funds to rebuild it. Currently they have no place to house their incoming cats/kittens except their home and it is FULL. Any amount of donation will help. This is their website and this is their donation page with Paypal link.

Two New ACEOs

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

I just listed these two ACEOs on eBay. The first one is one of our cats Temmy. I like the intense gaze in both pieces. To see the listings, click the image.

As you can see in these paintings, the pupils of domestic cats are slits while big cats have round pupils like people.

Juried Exhibition and BBC Wildlife Magazine Art Competition

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Title: Study of a Raven
Size: 9 x 12 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Hard board

Seven years ago, I found out about a juried art competition called "Arts on Fire" in my home town. I sent in my entires, but they did not accept my works for three consecutive years. I gave up and have forgotten about this show. This year, for some reason, I thought about entering a work that is "not my best" sort of as a joke. This raven study is the one I entered.

About a month ago, I received a letter from them saying that my entry was accepted! This was totally unexpected. I just couldn't believe it. The painting is currently in the show.

Today, I received an email from BBC Wildlife Magazine saying that my entry won through to the finals in the World Birds category of the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009 competition. I thought this was a joke and about to delete the email. However, when I saw the actual title "Study of a Raven" and the attached image, realized that this was a real thing. Yeah!!!

A few months ago, Linda told me about this competition. Thank you Linda! Since entries were free, I entered a couple of my paintings. The one I thought was good was not accepted, but they like this raven. There must be something about this raven that I don't see. Now I have to figure out how to get this painting for the final judging in England.

New Cat ACEOs

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Title: Kyra #2
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

Title: Sphynx #2
Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches
Medium: Acrylic
Support: Multimedia Artboard

These ACEOs are currently on eBay. To see the listtings, click the image.

Mona's Mini Blog Award

artbyakiko@gmail.com (artbyakiko) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:29:00 +0000

I received this Mona's Mini Blog Award! Thanks Mona. I'm so honored.

UPDATE: There is a correction to the rules, as indicated in red:

The rules are: Acknowledge via link the artist who passes you the award and pick it up from their blog. Then, name five of your all-time favorite movies. Additionally, name your pick for this year's movie of the year. Then pass the award forward to three miniature or ACEO blog artists you appreciate for their finely detailed art on a small scale, linking them in your post.

Okay, my all-time favorite movies are (not necessarily in this order): Ladyhawke, Somewhere in Time, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Sanjuro, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. My pick for this year's movie of the year is Grand Torino.

I'm passing this award on to Gail Ragsdale, Kathleen Coy, and Vern Schwarz.