There are many who turn up their noses at the art being sold on eBay. After all, it certainly lacks the glamour of the traditional gallery atmosphere. Also, there is a lot of fraud here on eBay, whether it's a fake Picasso or a print being sold as an original. However, there are a lot of wonderful, talented artists selling legitimate, thoughtful work here and once in a while I'd like to take some time to show you some of my favorites.

Patty A. Baker  is a professional artist who has been selling her work via eBay for about 4 years now. She has studied art at the college level and has been honing her talents even since, mostly using acrylics and oils on canvas. While her landscapes are probably her best sellers here on eBay, my favorites are her still lifes.

Still Life with Coffee and Apple

There are a number of things that make this painting remarkable to me. First is the color; the orange/red of the apple against the contrasting blue/green of the tablecloth play back and forth with each other but also push forward the lightness of the coffee cup, making us feel like like we are sitting right there and can almost pick it up and have a sip. Next, the balance of the shapes; the echo of the round apple in the top and bottom of the cup, the handle of the cup being almost a mirror shape of the right, shiny side of the apple, and the rectangular repetition in the cups shadow, the checks of the cloth and the wall behind. And lastly, the contrast in the almost stark flatness of the cloth and wall to the round, three-dimensionality of the cup and apple really makes this picture enjoyable to look at - and keep looking at. It is thoughtful and elegantly executed, clearly the work of an artist who is aware that her art-making choices have direct consequences to the outcome of the piece.

Here are a few more pieces by Patty for you to peruse:

Grapes

Still Life with Poppies and Fruit

Four Mourning Doves

If you are interested in finding out more about Patty, you can see her listings here: 
http://stores.ebay.com/Lookout-Studios

Or you can visit her ME page here:
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=pattyabaker