I recently discovered this amazing site called eBay, where all the riches of the world are laid out for purchase. Also a lot of crap. When I got tired of buying that, I decided to look at the art available. Plenty of dross there, too, but there were certain sellers that stood out. One of them was an Ontario artist, Cathy Horvath, whose impressionistic landscapes caught my eye.
She works mainly if not entirely in acrylics, a medium that I used briefly but abandoned when I decided they didn't smell as good as oil paints (and that sentence should tell you all you need to know about my short-lived artistic career).
They're also astonishingly luminous, probably second only to watercolor. The above picture doesn't do it justice; it glows like a piece of stained glass. It's also a people magnet -- everyone who sees it is drawn to it as though hypnotised.
It cost me $98 US (all eBay transactions -- at least the ones I've been involved with -- are denominated in US currency), and I think I got a good price. At the exchange rate and adding shipping it came to about $150 CDN. A more typical range would be $120-160 US. If there's a piece you simply must have, she has some pieces for sale on a "Buy It Now" basis with prices at $200-300. Or you could enter that as your bid in an auction and be pretty well guaranteed the win.
If you'd like to see some of Ms. Horvath's other work, her eBay store is here or go to eBay's home page here. You'll be prompted to open an eBay account if you wish to make a bid, and a PayPal account if you purchase something.
As for me, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. I originally intended the piece as a Mother's Day present; I'm trying very hard to convince myself that what she really wants is a box of chocolates.