Bunny rabit cuddled in a warm blanket ready for sleep

original oil pastel ACEO

To purchase a T-shirt, magnet, mug etc with this image please check my Cafepress shop

The reference image for this bunny was found among cutest photos of jpockele from flickr.

Two robins singing love songs in cherry blossoms

original oil pastel ACEO

To buy a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with this image please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Ivan

oil pastel on black card

This is a portrait of my first son. I painted him three years ago.

Little hedgehog guarding his mushroom

original oil pastel ACEO

To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with this image please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

The reference for this painting is a gorgeous little hedgehog posing for Yoppy from flickr (click me).

Redhead Lucy - ladybird fairy

Ladybirds love little Lucy. They even fight over who will fly her next. If you see a bunch of ladybirds hanging around together look out for Lucy - she must be nearby!

Lucy's original ACEO is still available in my Ebay and Etsy shops!

To purchase a T-shirt, magnet, mug etc with Lucy please check my Cafepress and Zazzle shops

Little mermaid Shana on seahorse back

Shana is a little aquarium mermaid. She has a small equestrian farm and she loves looking after her seahorse friend George.

Original ACEO is still available in my Ebay and Etsy shops.

To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with Shana please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Roisin and her fish

Mermaid Roisin and her fish friend live in a little pond beside the Dark and Gloomy forest. They are always together and it's almost impossible to notice them in the dark waters of the pond.

Original ACEO is still available in my Ebay and Etsy shops.
To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with Shana please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

My new FAIRY FOLK series!

Have you ever seen these cute tiny creatures sneaking around your garden, hiding behind your flower pots and taking a nap in your favourite coat's pockets? I will show you some of them...

Romantic Susie - crocus fairy

Susie just loves crocuses, as soon as they appear in your garden you might catch her sitting among your tiny flowers.

Original ACEO is still available in my Ebay and Etsy shops.To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with Shana please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Adventurous Wendy - travelling companion elf

Wendy loves travelling! Whenever you leave your house she jumps into your bag or suitcase and awaits some fabulous adventures. She also makes sure everything goes well for you and looks after your belongings!

Original ACEO is still available in my Ebay and Etsy shops.To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with Shana please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

...and many more to come...

Connemara cottage

oil pastel ACEO

Robin

oil pastel ACEO

The reference image for this robin was taken by Harlequeen (click me). Thank you!

Pirate bunny in a dandelion sea

oil pastel ACEO

Available in my Ebay shop

To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with this bunny please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Ok, pirate - is my own invention:). The bunny on the reference image is very different, just felt like painting an adorable fluffy bandit. Here is the original photo taken by TheTim from flickr (click me), much more innocent than mine;)

Wren warbler chicks crying for food

oil pastel ACEO

These two beauties were photographed by M e d a from flickr.com (click me). They are so skinny and defenceless you can't help but smile looking at them:)

Etsy frontpage, 04 March 2008

I finally made it to the frontpage of Etsy.com!!! In fact my little print made it there twice - first in the morning then in the evening. It sold eventually and yet I can't even describe how excited I was to find that out! Traci Horschel (click me) was kind enough to make a screenshot of the frontpage with my dandelion there (thank you Traci!)

Where is my food?

oil pastel ACEO

The reference image for this kitty was photographed by eliazar from flickr (click me). His critter was so cute that I just couldn't resist painting him!

White kitty

oil pastel ACEO

The reference photo for this painting was taken by Sherry from flickr (click me). Thank you, Sherry!

Two Easter Bunnies

oil pastel ACEO

The reference image for this painting is a very cute photo by jpockele (click me) who has a lot of gorgeous critters and fabulous nature photographs on her flickr

I might be slow, but I'm smart!

oil pastel ACEO

I found this turtle ... guess where?.. yes, flickr again! This photo was taken by audreyjm529 (click me) and she has plenty of wonderful creatures and flowers on her flickr page.

Mandarin Duck

oil pastel ACEO

As a reference for this duck I used another stunning photograph by Neil Phillips (click me). Thank you Neil!!!

Birthday westie

oil pastel ACEO

Flickr is full of stunning images! I found this westie under creative commons fotographed by tanakawho (click me) who has lots of beautiful photos of animals, flowers etc. Well, the bow is my little personal something:)!

Lamb fight

oil pastel ACEO

The reference image for these two cutsies I also found on flickr (click me). This photo was taken by photographer who calls herself "the sea the sea" on flickr and has some fabulous and quite unusual photos there!

Baby fawn in a poppy field

oil pastel ACEO

I've been browsing flickr a lot recently and found this adorable cutsy photographed by Neil Phillips who has tons of charming critters on his blog and flickr. Here is the photo that I used as a reference image for it (click me).

Hey barcrow! No more drinks for this fella!

Oil pastel ACEO

available in my ebay shop

Hatching baby raven

Oil pastel ACEO

Available for a little while in my ebay shop:)

Cold December night

oil pastel ACEO

ACEO prints of this painting are available in my Ebay and Etsy shops

To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet etc with this image please check my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Guinea pig ACEO

Charming critter series

oil pastel on black card 2.5 x 3.5 inches

Can be found in my Ebay shop

Cute little lambs

Available as prints in my ebay and etsy shops

Fawn ACEO

original oil pastel painting

sold

Ok... At this stage I've been tagged twice... so I have to give in...

My first "tagger" is Irish Rose and my second "tagger" is Paola.

1. I lovelovelove oil pastels (you sure know that already:))

2. My studio is my kitchen counter!

3. I have two little hooligans that are constantly driving me bananas

4. I love them all the same:)

5. Last Sunday I finished my very first Christmas window painting for a local café.

IRISH FIRESIDE UNVEILS LIST OF MUST-HAVE GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Click here to view the 2007 Holiday Gift Guide
MILWAUKEE, WI (Nov 28 2007) - The folks at IrishFireside.com, home of the top-rated Irish travel podcast, have again put together a list of their favorite Irish and Ireland-related gifts for the holidays. The Irish Fireside Holiday Gift Guide features unique items that will add a Celtic flair to this year’s gift giving – including handcrafted tiles, chocolates, books, artwork, jewelry and even a full Irish breakfast.
“This year we asked our subscribers to nominate their favorite Irish gifts, and they provided us with some exciting new finds,” said Liam Hughes, co-host of the Irish Fireside podcast. “There really is something for everyone on your list.”
The Irish Fireside Gift Guide is posted on the Irish Fireside website at www.IrishFireside.com/giftguide.
About Irish FiresideThe Irish Fireside podcast, website and e-newsletter provide informative and entertaining resources for individuals dreaming about a trip to Ireland . The podcast, which compares to an internet-based radio show, was launched by Ireland-enthusiasts Liam Hughes and Corey Taratuta in February 2006.

Cheesy dreams

Mouse and cheese ACEO

oil pastel on black card

Can be found in my Ebay shop

Colander and eggs

oil pastel on black card

8 x 8 inches

available in my Ebay shop

Keel strand, Achill island,

County Mayo, west of Ireland

oil pastel on black card

10cm x 20cm

available in my ebay shop

Perfect birthday present

mouse and cheese ACEO

2.5 x 3.5 inches

oil pastel painting on black card

available in my ebay shop

Kitten in an eggshell

original oil pastel ACEO

available in my ebay shop

These are my recent paintings

All of them are ACEOs - 2.5 x 3.5 inches

They all can be found in my Ebay shop

Yourkshire puppy

Chihuahua
Bunny rabbit
Exotic kitten and mouse

Tabby kitten playing with wool - free oil pastel painting tutorial

original oil pastel ACEO

ACEO prints of this painting are available in my Ebay or Etsy shops

To purchase a T-shirt, mug, magnet, stamps etc take a look at my Cafepress or Zazzle shops

Step-by-step instructions or how to paint this kitty in oil pastel:

Materials used: 1. neocolor oil pastels by caran d'ache

2. cray-pas (sakura) expressionist and/or junior artist oil pastels

3. a small sheet of black card (this particular painting is 2.5 x 3.5 inches, but you can try any other size that you feel comfortable with)

4. very sharp black, brown and white prismacolor pencils (or any other good quality pencils)

Step 1. Outline your kitty with white pencil. Make sure not to press it hard as this can damage the surface of the card and leave marks. If you are unhappy with some lines do not erase them as this can also damage the surface of the card and pastels would not layer in the same way on such spots. Instead lighty cross out the lines that are wrong and put in new ones.

Step 2. Take white neocolor OP (oil pastel) and paint all the light bits of your kitty. I always start with white as I work on a dark surface. Take brown, yellow and orange neocolors and paint where those colours are dominant. At this stage of work do not get carried away by trying to put smaller details, just put in basic spots of colours.

Step 3. For the eyes - take black and generously outline contours. Use light blue neocolor for the insides and then apply blue cray-pas OP to create blending from black to light blue. You can keep adding more black or light blue neocolor OPs and blue cray-pas and keep blending until you are happy with the result. With black cray-pas OP put in the pupils. Take white neocolor and add sparkle. You can also lighten up some light blue around the pupil by gently tapping the white over it.

Step 4. For the nose use salmon pink neocolour and a few spots of dusky pink or purple and then white. To gently blend it use light pink cray-pas OP, however make sure that your strokes are tiny as you don't want to mix all four colours in one mess!

Step 5. Now you can use black pencil to define nose and mouth area.

Step 6. Now that neopastels have settled a bit you can use cray-pas OPs over the fur to define it with thin stroke take shades of dark brown, orange, and white and with gently but firm strokes follow the direction of the fur.

Step 7. For the wool use black cray-pas to outline the thread, then use turquoise cray-pas (or any other colour of your choice) in between the black lines. Take a very light shade of turquoise neocolor and with gentle strokes define the texture of wool.

Step 8. Using VERY sharp black, brown and white pencils define the fur. Put in a few dots on kitty's cheeks with dark brown neocolor. Use sharp white pencil to define whiskers. You might need to go over them several times to ensure visibility.

FINISHED PAINTING: These are my first oil pastel step-by-step painting instructions. If you found them useful please leave your comment. Thank you for looking.

Tanya BOND

Hedgehog and yummy mushrooms

original oil pastel ACEO

can be found in my ebay shop