6,600 thank yous

A huge thanks to all that participated in MircoVisions. It was a record-breaking year, at $6,600.00!

Thanks to all the artists and bidders, winners and losers. Sadly, it takes a runner-up to make an auction — we appreciate all of you.

There will be a few more smiling kids next May because of all your efforts.

...Now, who should we get for next year.....

MicroVisions 5 auction now live!

MicroVisions 5 auction is now live on eBay.
Opening bids start at $50.00.
Auction ends Wednesday, May 26th.

Each year, Dan Dos Santos and I ask about a dozen artists to create a 5x7 painting of their choosing. These miniatures are exhibited at the Society of Illustrators and placed on auction with all proceeds going to the Society’ student scholarship fund.

This year’s contributors pulled out all the the stops and created an amazing exhibit. A huge thank you to the artists that have given so generously of the time and talent: Scott Altmann, Scott Bakal, Rick Berry, Bill Carman, Jon Foster, Donato Giancola, Michael Kaluta, Tim O’Brien, Omar Rayyan, Allen Williams, and Boris Vallejo.

The Society Scholarships are among the illustrations industry’s toughest awards. Less than two hundred students are chosen to be in the exhibit from nearly 6,000 entries—about half of them earn cash awards. Not only do these awards help subsidize students financially, they also go a long way to boost the confidence of young artists (and their nervous parents) by proving their voices stand out amongst thousands of others. It’s never long before you start seeing the winners on their way to becoming the field’s biggest names—John Jude Palencar, James Jean, Tomer Hanuka, Dan Dos Santos and hundreds of others since the Scholarship’s inception in 1981.

For those of you in New York, the exhibit is on display at the Society of Illustrators through May 22nd.

Boris Vallejo’s MicroVisions

Last, certainly not least, Boris Vallejo.

You know, when you’re dealing with Boris you never expect anything but his “A” game...and still he can knock your socks off. Wow.

Rick Berry’s MicrvoVisions

Rick Berry’s “Rainmaker” MicroVisions.

I was lucky enough to pick up one of Rick’s unreal portraits at this year’s Boskone. I love how his figures feel as though they are part of some primal shadow world, just on the cusp of corporeality.

Check out his newly updated website and his artbook, Sparrow.

Donato Giancola’s MicroVisions

Anyone following Donato Giancola’s website closely has seen a few new Lord of the Rings drawings and paintings. That’s because he’s working on what sounds like a dream job, a Tolkien inspired art book for Underwood Books (the publishers of Spectrum.)

Donato took advantage of the time spent on MicroVisions to creat this portriat of Dwarf Telchar forging Aragorn’s sword, Narsil, which will also appear in th ebook.

I’m getting so excited to see this little show. It will be on the walls at the Society of Illustrators starting April 27th. The auction will be the first or second week of May — stay tuned for details!

Michael Wm. Kaluta’s MicroVisions

Okay, who called Michael Kaluta and told him I have a thing for cranes? It’s true. I love cranes and herons, and pictures of cranes and herons. And I love the ballet of necks and beaks in this drawing.

Michael, a huge thanks to you, good sir! Like the rest, it’ll be a heartbreak to send it away.

Scott Altmann’s MicroVisions

Scott Altmann manages to be both pretty and its opposite, in his MicroVisions. I keep trying to look away,...and then I get sucked in for a closer look.

All the MicroVisions paintings will be in display at the Society of Illustrators throughout May. We'll have details on the auction in about two weeks. Anyone is welcome to buy them all for me.

Tim O’Brien’s MicroVisions

Tim O’Brien manages to be cute and analytical, with a dash of steampunk, and a generous helping of surrealism in his MicroVision. Bravo! Yet another one, that I cannot wait to see in person.

Scott Bakal’s MicroVisions

Scott Bakal’s “Rebellion” in the Galactic War for Rainbow Juice.

About a year ago Scott started a super-cute series of drawings about aliens landing in central park and scoping out NY. I fell in love with the guys and have been asking him, “What’s their story!?” ever since.

Scott is also the chairman of the Society of Illustrators student scholarship exhibit — he knows first hand how much the work of all the MicroVision artists is appreciated by the students. The Scholarship program is a huge job so extra thanks goes to Scott for taking the time to participate.

Jon Foster’s MicroVisions

...and the cow jumped over the moon-girl.

Mr. Jon Foster, always an Art Department favorite.

This MicroVisions is becoming insanely good. I have to thank all the artists, again, for being part of it
.
*wondering what the inbox fairy will bring me next*

Omar Rayyan’s MicroVisions

Say hello to Omar Rayyan’s MicroVision, “Hopalong Galahad.”

Omar‘s work has a lightness and humor that makes it impossible not to smile when you see it. It’s easy to see how charming and witty it is — and it's easy to forget all the backbreaking hard work that goes into honing that kind of grace in paint. Just the way it should be.

Allen Williams’ MicroVisions

Allen Williams just emailed me his contribution for the MicroVisions auction. And now I am getting very excited about this mini-exhibit.

Allen created the painting voted “Most Likely to be Stolen by Irene” at the first Illustration Master Class. I love his ability to know just when to push and pull edges — creating images that are both detailed and highly ethereal. He’s one of those painters that I wish I could step into their eyes and see the world as they see it.

Allen has been writing (damn, overachiever ;-) and illustrating a series of kids book for Little Brown, due out next fall. I’ve seen bits of pieces of the drawings and they look amazing. His blog, I just Draw, shows a few sneak-peaks.

Bill Carman’s MicroVisions

Bill Carman gets the gold star for being the first artists done with their MicroVision. Hurray. And he has set the bar high.

Thank you, Bill!

I love that his paintings suggest some kind of strange narrative but are never spelled out. Instead, the we are left playfully wondering, what on earth is going on there.

I haven’t sen the original yet but he’s tells me it is painted on copper — I can’t wait to get a hold of it, if only for a short while.

This painting, and a dozen others, will be up for auction in early May. More about this year’s MicroVisions auction here.

RELATED:
Interview with Bill Carman here.

MicroVisions 5. Or, The Return of 5x7!

Think small.

Each year, Dan Dos Santos and I organize “MicroVisions”, an exhibit and auction to raise money for the Society of Illustrators’ student scholarship fund. Over the past four years it raised $20,000.00 which was given directly to students displaying exceptional promise in illustration.

I am proud to announce this year’s line-up of participating artists. I cannot thank these guys enough for dedicating their time and talent to this endeavour. To carve out time for anything beyond work and family is not a trivial thing to ask, so, applause to:

Scott Altmann
Scott Bakal
Rick Berry
Bill Carman
Jon Foster
Donato Giancola
Michael Kaluta
Tim O’Brien
Omar Rayyan
Jordu Schell
Allen Williams
Boris Vallejo

Bravo guys! Rest assured, the students really appreciate the support these scholarships represent.

The works will be on display at the Society beginning April 26th. Painting and auction updates as I get them.

RELATED: Past MicroVisions here.

MicroVisions 4 raises $4,596.51

Even in tough times, we have done just as well (even a smidge better) as last year. Individual paintings went from $100.00 -$1,700.00. Many thanks to everyone that bid. 

I was at the Society's student scholarship exhibit Friday night -- without a doubt, those kids are very appreciative for the recognition these awards give them.

MicroVisions 4, auction is live

Any, we're off! The fourth annual MicroVisions auction is up and running.

Check it out on eBay:
MicroVisions 4
And bid, bid, bid!

These are 5x7 paintings created by the field's leading illustrators and comic book artists. All proceeds go to the Society of Illustrators student scholarship fund. They are kept small so that the artist have fun doing them and to make them affordable by casual collectors.

A huge thanks to teh participating artists:

Welsey Allsbrook, Volkan Baga, Chris Buzelli, Justin Gerard, Greg Manchess, Paolo Rivera, Luis Royo, Greg Ruth, Francis Vallejo, Michael Whelan

As it happens, the Society's scholarship exhibit is having it's opening night gala Friday, May 8th. Every year I am blown away by the incredible talent this show pulls together. I'm very excited to be meeting this year's students -- it's never very long before you start seeing some of their names out in the professional world.

MicroVisions 4

MicroVisions 4, lookin' good.
The eBay auction starts May 2 and runs to May 9th. I'll re-post over the weekend when we have a direct link to the auction.

MicroVisions: Michael Whelan, Wesley Allsbrook, and Francis Vallejo

The latest MiroVisions are here. Just a couple more and we'll get to work setting up the auction and the exhibit. In the meantime, enjoy....

The incomparable Mr. Michael Whelan. I have to admit, I was expecting him to knock himself out for this and "Wow!" was all I could say.

Wesley Allsbrook's amazing line drawings. We at Tor are huge Wesley fans. Go check out her comics, The Leviathan and Montmartre à trois.

And Francis Vallejo. I only have a few more weeks to say this so I will say it again: Holy Cow, I can't believe this kid is still in school. Francis is destined to be an illustration superstar.

Greg Manchess' MicroVisions

Apologies for the piecemeal posts but I seem to be too impatient to wait for these to gang up, I'm posting hem as they come in.

Here's Greg Manchess with jet-pack dreams.

April Fool's is our deadline, I'm amazed how ahead of schedule these guys have been. It's unheard of.

Still to come: Michael Whelan, Wesley Allsbrook, Francis Vallejo, and Michael Kaluta.

Chris Buzelli's MicroVisions

...next up, Chris Buzelli with "Daymare."

Check out Chris' blog -- it's one of my favorites. Besides great work, it's the perfect balance of final paintings and process materials with just enough writing.

(Chris -- Congrats on your Society medal the other day!)