wnc-galleria:Home of Willow Wisp Farm Studios Auction Store

It is not too soon to start collecting holiday gifts. A little bit at a time and before you know it, you are done. Little works of art make GREAT gifts either as the regular gift or as a stocking stuffer. Marquetry ACEO's handcrafted by Mike Taylor are unique in the world of marquetry. Peggy Horne Taylor's miniature impressionist oil paintings have been collected for years by art collectors around the country. Why not add one to your collection or your holiday list.

Lots of new mini paintings are available in our ebay story. Stop by and see what we have.

Time are tough, there is no denying it. But what is that saying, "When the times get tough, the tough get going." People are not buying much art, so here at Willow Wisp Farm Studios, we are putting on our thinking cap and trying to figure out all kinds of ways to make money in the field of art. We are thrilled when we do sell a piece of our work, but if we don't, we keep working at those other things that keep us going. Good fortune came our way a week or so ago when a film maker called Mike and asked him to sell a box and then more box parts of the same box. Why you ask? They are making a commercial for Sear Craftsman tools, and wanted Mike's box to play a part in a story about a guy who makes a jewelry box for his wife. Good fortune comes in many different ways. We are Pumped!

The number of ACEO's produced at by Mike Taylor and PHTaylor in the past year was significant. Mike has produced 118 original marquetry works and sold 79 of them. Peggy has produced 57 original oil paintings and sold 32. It has been great fun learning about the tastes of our customers, and building a number of collectors. Producing these small works allows us to do our craft and continue to make a small amount of money even while the economy is stressed. Our thanks go out to all of those people we have met along the way and for the many people who have become our customers and collectors.

A great way to learn the methods and ways of an artist is copy their work. Get in there just like a scientist and dissect it. Paint it stroke by stroke, color my color to learn how they accomplished their deeds. I regularly copy the works of the impressionists because I want to attain the knowledge they acquired. Studying at the Cape Cod School of art helped me to gain vital informations about how the Impressionists got the look they had. They were painting light, and using color to tell their story. As I do my ACEO paintings, I always try to do at least on original reproduction of an impressionist work. This week all three works are original reproductions of Impressionist work. YOu can find the work of Mike Taylor and PHT at our website: willowwispfarmstudios.com

I'm sure everyone will agree we are all happy to see 2008 go. From here it is onward and upward; yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to come, so we have to do the best we can with what we have today. Willow Wisp Farm Studios is busy working on two new art related ventures for 2009, lots more beautiful marquetry items made by Mike Taylor and more paintings everyone can afford to buy created by PHTaylor. We have new websites going up within the next couple of weeks for all of our items which will make buying our products much easier. Marquetry boxes, plaques, trays and more can be found on Mike Taylor's area of the site. A new feature this year will be "Historical Sites", North Carolina Lighthouses, College Mascots, and more fun things all done in marquetry and found in Mike's section of the site. The PHTaylor site has been completely redone with more features and easy navigation options. And we haev another new permanent artist, Linda Cheek for our internet gallery. Her beautiful original landscape paintings will also be on display and available for sale along with PHTaylor's. We plan to continue with the fun we have had creating an auctioning ACEO art cards. We hope if you are one of our collectors you will continue to watch for our new work. So, here is to a happy and prosperous New Year for everyone!

Once again the holiday season is upon us and we are thinking about what to buy for gifts. With our economy being in a mess and fears running high, the price of your gifts will probably be dropping this year. From Willow Wisp Farm Studios and artists, PHTaylor and Mike Taylor you can get a quality gift everyone can afford; original miniature impressionist oil paintings and fine craft marquetry works in the form of ACEO Art Cards. Ten Reasons An ACEO Original Art Card From Willow Wisp Farm Studios Makes a Great Holiday Gift. •They make a great stocking stuffer •The price is right •Each ACEO From Willow Wisp Farm Studios is an original work of art •It isn't everyday you can afford to give real art as a gift •You do not have to sacrifice quality for price or size •Add a frame and you have a wonderful work of art anyone would be proud to own •You can start a collection for someone based on subject matter •You can commission an original ACEO work of your favorite scene •Forget about giving it away, YOU can become a collector of REAL art reasonably •Winning your ACEO at auction is FUN

Marketing our art on ebay has been an interesting venture. We decided to go the ACEO route for a lot of reasons. The size of the work meant they could be made quickly and for less cost. We set out starting price at what we were willing to take for the work based on the time involved and difficult of the work. Originally, we only submitted two works; on original PHTaylor ACEO oil painting priced at $19.99 and one original ACEO marquetry piece by Mike Taylor priced a $9.99. The marquetry piece drew a lot of interest because apparently no one out there is doing marquetry art cards. I have been painting miniatures for years, and the original reproductions of famous 19th century impressionists have always been popular, and they still are with the ACEO's. I have also learned there are certain locations people like, such a Provincetown, MA, Charleston,SC, etc. Flowers, fences and buildings are also popular with the mini works. IN regard to the marquetry ACEO's every subject matter except flowers sells. We have also discovered life is too short to only do one ACEO each a week, so our numbers have gradually increased and we are now doing four or five each. We have many repeat customers, and some customers who buy multiple items at a time. We are so happy and grateful because of these new collectors. Each time we ship an order we include a hand written note on a custom card that is actually a frameable giclee print. This is our way of showing our thanks and it gives us the opportunity to invite our new customers to visit http://www.willowwispfarmstudios.com, our online gallery to check out the "real deal", or regular size work. Meanwhile, we are having a blast doing producing these little business cards that are representing us and our work. Check out our ebay store at www.wnc-galleria.com.

Marquetry Art Cards are very popular; Mike Taylor's are going like hot cakes! I think he is the only one out there doing art cards in wood. We get emails from people all the time wanting to know if they are real or if it is a photo of marquetry. Mike is in his element here with these little things because he loves working small and lots of detail. PHTaylor is also doing quite well with her miniature original oil painting creations, and especially the reproductions of famous impressionist artists. Figures are quite popular and especially the works with children in them. These ACEO works are their artistic business cards for big and better things. Check out their website for regular size works. www.willowwispfarmstudios.com

After a couple of months of selling ACEO art cards on Ebay, we are learning the likes and dislikes of the bidding public. Sales are improving and we are now offering more than one art card at a time for auction. Mike Taylor's assortment of marquetry subjects ranges from cats and dogs to leave, flowers, sea life, hot air balloons, barns, and more. PHTaylor has local landscapes and originals still-life paintings. Her best sellers are original reproduction landscape, still-life and figures paintings after famous impressionist painters. Visit their Ebay store at www.wnc-galleria to check out all the items they have available this week.