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

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.

To celebrate the 4th of July, Mike Taylor is offering a marquetry art card that is the head of an American eagle. The contrast in values from the colors of wood make this small work very dynamic. Check it out! Mike will also have two other works offered this week; a flower and an oak leaf. PH Taylor is offering an original oil landscape painting reproduction of Theodore Robinson's, "Val d'Aconville." Robinson, an American artist, was a guest of Monet at Giverny back in the day of the Impressionists. This painting was of a nearby neighborhood. Happy 4th of July! Don't forget the hamburgers, hotdogs and all that good stuff!!!

I'm sure a lot of artists out there are wondering what items are hot these days??? I know the area we are in is very depressed in the art world these days, so everyone is doing whatever they can to stay afloat. Some folks are going back to work, some are moving away, some are working longer hours at their real jobs, and all of us are hoping for a swift change. Peggy and Mike decided to start doing these little art card works because large works are not is big demand right now. We may not be getting rich by doing it, but it keeps our names out there on the web, more people are finding out about Willow Wisp Farm Studios and the sort of things we offer as a result of this effort. If you visit Willow Wisp Farm Studios you will see a large selection of beautiful wood items made by Mike. In addition, Mike still makes and sells those great pochade boxes for both oil and pastel painting. Peggy is still painting, but her work has shrunk to a more affordable size to suit the troubled economy. She is taking advantage of the slowdown in the art world to redo websites and get things situated for the upturn which is sure to come. Willow Wisp Farm studios is also offering art classes for both adults and children. And the apartment is also available for rent for anyone interested in a short term rental. Come and see us. We know all the great plein air painting locations in the area!

Many years ago, a very vise old artist told me "once you have paid your dues; spend years outside on location painting, you can paint in the studio and fool the best of them." Twenty years later, I like to think I have paid my dues and learned a little about what happens outside as the light moves across the sky. I don't expect any of us will ever know all there is to know, and so we keep on plugging in an attempt to master the art of seeing the color and light. My years of experience have given me the skill to paint miniatures and art cards in the studio and make them look like plein air works. I also believe I do a fair job of painting my miniature reproductions of impressionist work. One thing I can tell you for sure, there is nothing like seeing with your own two eyes. The camera just can not capture what is happening outside in nature. And the pictures of those famous old impressionist paintings in books do not look anything like the originals; it takes a trip to the the museum to see what Monet and his impressionsit contemporaries saw. I believe the ability to paint is not dictated by the quality of your tools, or how swiftly you move you hand, but by your ability to see what is going on before you. It takes years of practice and years of seeing to master the art of painting. Anyone can learn how to paint, but few people do it skillfully. Keep Painting!

Mike Taylor has made woodworking an art form by making beautiful pictures using the art of marquetry. Mike uses his marquetry designs on wall plaques, mirrors, jewelry box tops and more. Some items are very simple in design, using the beauty of the wood to tell his story. Other items are very complicated with dozens of tiny peaces of wood peaced togther to make the image he is presenting to you. Go to http://www.wnc-galleria.com or http://www.willowwispfarmstudios.com so see a selection of work done by Mike.

Peggy (PHTaylor) and Mike Taylor of Willow Wisp Farm Studios in Fairview, NC have downsized and gone miniature for the fun of creating ACEO 2.5"x3.5"art cards. Let's face it, they are faster to create, the postage is less and with folks wondering how they will pay for gas these days, the price of these little gems is something just about everyone can afford. What a great way to start an art collection! Peggy has been selling miniature painting to collectors for year. She got started in the miniature world when Mike decided to make miniature furniture. He convinced her she needed to make copies of famous paintings at 1:12 scale to sell along with his furniture. So Peggy painting the paintings and MIke make miniature frames and easels. The frames were gold-leafed with 21K gold and were a big hit. The smallest painting she ever did was only 3/4" x 1". That is about the size of a stamp, just to put it into perspective for you. Mike has always had a fondness for fine detail, having built an entire fleet of WWII ships, so getting into marquetry and all the little pieces involved was right up his alley. Since he is used to working with tiny pieces of wood, going miniature was pretty easy for him. You can find work by Peggy and Mike at their online store: www.wnc-galleria.com and at their website: www.willowwispfarmstudios.com