Orchid Blossom ACEO (sold) - From Beach to Blizzard

 

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

I've had the good fortune of getting this orchid I bought a few winters ago to bloom 3 times! This is it's third year, and of course I'm thrilled - not only because I've figured out how to get it to bloom, but I've also painted it each time it has bloomed! This year, I thought I'd also offer an ACEO version of this graceful flower! Have fun bidding!

For those of you not familiar with the acronym ACEO, it stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals.  The miniature paintings are the size of a baseball trading card, 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  This category of art has become increasingly popular on eBay the last couple of years.  These can be displayed on their own, or with a tiny little easel (like the kind you can find in Michaels Arts & Crafts type stores) on a display shelf, or these beautiful gems can be elegantly matted and framed with perhaps a mat of 4 inches wide.  ACEOs also make wonderful gifts! 

Well, yesterday I promised to tell you the beach to blizzard saga. I got to visit my mom (she's 80 now!) who wanted to take a trip to the beach. Although she lives in central Florida, she doesn't drive that far any more. We both wanted to go visit Clearwater Beach over on the Gulf of Mexico where we had spent many summer vacations when I was a child. 

Of all the places I've ever lived or visited, it's my favorite beach in the world! The sand is so soft, and the water is so warm...and yes- I would live there if I could! During our stay at the beach, we drove over to St. Petersburg to visit the Sunken Gardens, and the Museum of Fine Art there as well.  After a few days of fun, we took mom back home to central Florida.  I got to visit my favorite museum, The Morse Museum, in Winter Park, FL which has a magnificent collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany works. They had added a new wing since my last visit - this place is a MUST SEE if you are an art lover visiting central Florida.  Well, somewhere in all this fun, I got a text message from Southwest Air letting my know that my Friday flight was likely to be cancelled due to the expected blizzard. So...I ended up changing my flight home to Thursday, and luckily got a spot on the last flight out the day before everything went haywire! I did get back home in time to get groceries, along with every other person in town! It looked like the day before Thanksgiving at the store- shopped clean! The place was packed. Luckily the shelves weren't totally empty!

The rest was a matter of waiting for the mess to begin, and wonder how long it would take to dig our way out of it. It started as icy rain in our area, and blowing sideways, so that a layer of ice coated several sides of the house.  And by the time all was said and done, it was over 2 feet of snow (some drifts a good deal deeper, and some spots a little less).  The plows hadn't made it through the neighborhood for most of the night, so the road was still covered when the snow finally stopped coming down on Saturday.  Luckily our power stayed on (that's not the usual case in most storms).

And I do mean lucky...notice the power cord to the snow blower? It's electric. We'd still be digging out if we had lost power. Also notice the mail box. There is no longer a street visible down there. Things have come about slowly and and surely after the storm. That's a lot of mess to move. It's melted back a tiny bit at this point, but it will be a good while until it is totally gone. Powerful stuff, and I don't know that this Floridian will ever get quite used to it!  It's too cold for plein air (for me anyway) but the studio is nice and inviting! 

You'd think that all that ice-busting, snow-throwing work would be enough out-door fun (?), but I did manage to get out late Sunday afternoon for some cross-country skiing with a neighbor at a woodsy park nearby. The sun was out and all the snow was rather spectacular!