Posts Tagged Acrylic paintings

Acrylic Still life painting

Acrylic Still life painting by Nkolika Anyabolu (MD)

Apple on a table

Acrylic on paper

13.5cm x 21.5cm

SOLD

I have been listening to some classical pieces since yesterday. I had not listened to them for a while and I had totally forgotten how much peace I get from listening to them. Shubert’s Ave Maria always evokes a feeling in me that’s so deep that all I can do when I listen to it is cry. There are so many other versions of Ave Maria like Bach’s version but I love Schubert’s piece more. It’s a perfect piece to wake up to in the morning. It always calms the nerves and spreads peace in the atmosphere. For me it always brings to light the remarkable beginning of our salvation through the Virgin Mary’s humble acceptance of the will of God when angel Gabriel came to her with God’s message. How many of us are willing to totally abandon ourselves, our plans and dreams at God’s feet and humbly submit to His will. Even when we know that what He wants may not always be what we want for ourselves.

Charlotte Church singing Ave Maria

The day I found Charlotte Church‘s rendition of this beautiful piece, I was mesmerized. I got to know Charlotte through my mum (who’s also a soprano singer with a heavenly voice. And at 73yrs still sings beautifully). She came home one day from Glasgow with dozens of classical CDs (that’s how I accumulated so many of them) and she was so in love with Charlotte who was still a very small girl then. Now she’s all grown and I think her voice is still magical.

There are so many beautiful people with beautiful talents/gifts. Many people tell me I’m blessed because I’m very good at doing things with my hands/fingers. But I always feel I am no different from everyone else. That does not in anyway mean I don’t appreciate my talent neither does it mean I am not grateful to God. I strongly believe we all have something we are good at…………..something hidden away somewhere deep within us. All it needs is determination and self confidence on our side to build it up.

I hope you would reach deep inside you to discover your gifts and if you have, I encourage you to press on. Never give up…….one day you would get to that point where the world would discover your worth and appreciate your talent.

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Acrylic Seascape painting

Acrylic Seascape painting by Nkolika Anyabolu (MD)

Reflections in the Okavango river

Acrylic on paper

13.5cm x 21.5cm

SOLD

This is a seascape painting of a part of the Okavango river in Botswana, Southern Africa. I was struck by the beautiful reflections in the water and I could not resist the urge to capture it in paint. The Okavango region from where the river gets its name is a famous tourist destination in Botswana that is home to a wide variety of animals and wild life. It is painted with Acrylic on paper and framed with a mounting board ready to be inserted into a frame.

An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden,but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.

Vincent van Gogh

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ACEO

Original ACEO acrylic painting of a basket of tomatoes

Basket of Tomatoes

2.5″ x 3.5″ (64mm x 89mm)

copyright Nkolika Anyabolu (MD)

Click here to buy

You can’t imagine how confused I was when on getting more and more into internet marketing and publicity for my works I kept coming across the word “ACEO“. I first saw the term on Ebay and I had no idea what it was. Then as I began to make my rounds to other artist blogs the term became all the more apparent as I noticed many artists were producing these ACEOs.

As someone always open to new challenges, I decided to find out more about ACEOs. I found out that the term stands for “Art Cards Editions and Originals” and are collectible little pieces of art. The striking thing about ACEOs is that they can be made with any medium (eg oil, acrylic, ink, pencils, charcoal) and material (eg wood, paper,metal). But they have one rule: it must be two and one-half inches by three and one-half inches (2.5″ x 3.5″). Thus ACEOs have one constant and many variables.

They are very small and extremely lovable pieces of art that can be collected in a picture album or framed and hung on a wall. For more tips on how to display these miniature art pieces check out the related link below.

With regards to how and when they started, Artcad.org has this to say:

Art cards or miniatures where the rage in the 16th century. They were mostly portraits and they were sold, not traded or given away. They were the first wallet “photos”. Men would have nudes painted of their Mistresses on art cards (without their wives knowing)–usually by the same Artist that would do the big family portraits of their wives. Miniature Portraits would be used for exchange when rich people arranged marriages. In fact, this caused a big problem for poor Henry the Eighth, when the artist who painted his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, took a little too much “artistic license”. Poor Anne was not up to standard and Henry divorced her.

Original ACEO acrylic painting of a donkey

On my way home

2.5″ x 3.5″ (64mm x 89mm)

copyright Nkolika Anyabolu (MD)

Click here to buy

I finally decided to see what it would feel like to paint something so small. Starting was difficult but when I finally started I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I have made several since then and I look forward to making more. The best part of it is that it affords me the opportunity to make art that is affordable to a lot more people.

Related links:

What is an ACEO?
How to display ACEOs

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