What are ACEO Art Cards?
ACEO Art Cards by Lisa Marie Robinson
An ACEO art card is a miniature painting about the same size as a trading card. While trading cards tend to vary slightly in size depending on whether you collect Pokemon or football, ACEO art cards have a set size of 2.5 x 3.5 inches. The term ‘ACEO’ is an acronymn for “Art Card Editions and Originals”. Collected and created by people around the world, these small masterpieces are certainly addictive.
ACEO or ATC?
The ATC (Artist Trading Card) is exactly the same size as an ACEO but they are only traded or exchanged between artists for another ATC. In 2004 an artist called Lisa Luree realized that the general public were missing out on these mini pieces of art so she started selling them and they quickly became popular.
Originals and Editions
ACEOs are sold as either an Original or an Edition. An Original is the actual painting while an Edition is a print of an original. Prints can be Limited Editions (restricted to a set number of copies) or Open Editions
Only One Rule
There is only one rule when creating an ACEO, It must be 2.5″ x 3.5″. Other than that you’re free to do whatever you please. This freedom lends itself to a whole array of different subjects matters to collect and different materials used in their creation.
Perfect for Small Spaces
Being small means literally anyone can collect them, even people with minimal space. ACEO paintings can be stored in albums like you would trading cards, you can use tins or pretty labelled boxes, or if you have the wall space you even frame them. Displaying 3, 5 or even 9 ACEOs together can make quite an impact.
They can be created with any medium
As an ACEO artist I prefer to use traditional painting methods and my absolute favourite is acrylic on watercolour paper. That’s just my preference, and you’ll find that other ACEO artists have their own. I’ve even found ACEOs made using encaustic wax, lino print, and even cross stitch.
One last thing. Be careful. ACEO art cards can be addictive!
