Mermaids and Musk Oxen

More thoughts and a bit of inside info from the world of ACEOs (miniature art that was "born" on eBay). I've been creating ACEOs since late 2006, and since then I've seen that one of the big "fads" is mermaids. To see the mermaid phenomenon, click here and you'll get a list of the current mermaid themed ACEOs on eBay. Now, don't get me wrong, there's some wonderful mermaid art created by some very talented artists, but the subject matter just isn't my "thing" and I think I can safely guess that by this time next year another subject will be in demand.

Now it would be tempting to paint a mermaid, because so many people are and because it just might sell, but I'm not one to follow trends, so I had vowed not to paint a mermaid just because everyone else was! And besides, animals are my favorite subjects, not people or "people-like" creatures. Ahh, but never say never, right!? Well, I have to admit, I broke down and did one (but just one) mermaid ACEO. The kicker (and this is where I'm rationalizing my decision) is that it's subversive, a bit twisted, not at all serious and I did it because I (and a number of other ACEO artists) was feeling a bit snarky about the whole mermaid thing. With some inspiration from a few other subversive mermaid ACEOs, I came up with the lovely and fragrant ManureMaid. She didn't sell, but I did enjoy sharing her with my fellow snarky ACEO artists. She IS still available, by the way; if you'd like to check her out and read the full story of her "birth", click here.

And now for a few words about Musk Oxen . . .
The homely yet intriguing musk ox (or muskox) has a fan in an eBay buyer who posted his wish for ACEOs featuring this creature. Boy, did the ACEO artists respond! Not unlike the mermaid craze (although a bit shorter lived), a musk ox craze was born. ACEO artists jumped on this one like a duck on a june bug. Musk oxen in a variety of media and styles were created in the span of a week or two after the buyer's request came to light. There are still a few available now, although our dear buyer appears to have had his fill. One of the ACEO artists wrote this blog post that's an excellent summary of the musk ox art proliferation and of ACEOs in general. To see the currently available musk ox art, click here. Of course, you know I jumped on this band wagon! Our musk ox fan purchased 2 of my pieces (the first 2 shown below) - click on their images to see the archived listings. There are currently 2 more available (the last 2 shown below). The very last one, the skull, represents my decision to make that my final musk ox ACEO - I'm pretty sure that 4 is sufficient. The title, appropriately enough, is "The Last Musk Ox".