I made the deadline!! Mermaid in a bottle.
SVSlearn.com contest submission for Mermay2019.
www.laurabalmaceda.com
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmacedaart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misslaurabalmacedaart

Laura Balmaceda
@laurasketches
@misslaurabalmacedaart
www.laurabalmacedaart.com

"Don't step on a crack, or the underworld attacks..."
A goggle search to research superstitions informed me that "Don't step on a crack" had once held the dark fear that demons would escape from the underworld if a crack was trod upon. And... Percy Jackson has been playing non-stop on audiobook over summer road trips...This is what I came up with...

My eleventh hour entry: the ink fairy.

Enjoy! And best of luck to those doing inktober! May your ink also be magical!

Bongo and Clyde! Going for practicing process on this piece.

@misslaurabalmacedaart
@laurasketchesart

This is the slowest of slowvembers for me. I played the viola in high school. (I was dismal at it..._)I daydreamed in Orchestra quite a lot. On the back of the sheet music for Vivaldi's Four Seasons, I sketched a cellist with a tree in each of the seasons sprouting out of the neck. The image has rattled around in my brain ever since.
For this piece, I wanted to explore some of the ideas I learned in the Light and Shadow class...and practice digital painting...which I'm still learning.
Slowvermber: Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Hopefully representing the power of music.

Snow angels... making tracks in the clouds.. I mean snow...
http://www.instagram.com/misslaurabalmaceda/

Hey y'all...I'm in for inktober this year.... (nail biting). But, in years past I've always become overwhelmed and burnt out. This year, I'm combining my desire to do some character design with the pressure of daily drawing. AND I loved @Braden-Hallett's idea of drawing through September so that I only need worry about inking each day. Also, I needed a theme: my art directing daughter (age 10) has been audiobooking through the first series of Percy Jackson. Which is the young adult stories for which I think my illustration style fits best. Speaking of style, I am also trying to channel my "influences" (read--I want my art to be exactly like) Wylie Beckert and Mucha. Here are some of my drawings....am I hitting my stated goals? Does it matter that I am disregarding the prompts completely? 

"Its bedtime...turn off the light!!!!" The conflict every night with my book-loving kiddo. Nightfall means the advent of imagination brought on by stories. My instagram: @misslaurabalmacedaart. It's my 11th hour entry....but, I made the deadline! (Thanks, leap year!) 

www.laurabalmaceda.com
@misslaurabalmacedaart
Eleventh hour entry... Cinderella (not the dress part of the story--although that would be really, really fun to draw, but the moment when the prince realizes he's just as excited to see the cinder girl as he is the princess).
Love this story....

This is so cool! be sure to post how it turns out.

@K-Flagg Thank you so much--yes, she is in digital ink. And @Coley Thank you, too! I've been looking at Loish quite a lot lately, as I've recently purchased her book... so, I suppose her influence has shown up in my work.

My eleventh hour entry: the ink fairy.

Enjoy! And best of luck to those doing inktober! May your ink also be magical!

The books that I see with a biographical information about an illustrator usually list where the artist studied, some detail about work and family life and a humorous side note. Sometimes they include self-promotional information (website) but sometimes not... Maybe the book will sell like hotcakes and you will get an unexpected kickback...???

This is a follow up question from a previous post. Should an organization want to license an image for printing a single year of Christmas cards (print run of 700) and additionally print the image for use in fundraising (on cards that are handed out as donor gifts-a print run of 1500 with the image posted on their website as incentive as part of a fundraiser) what should the licensing fee be? Does it make a difference if they are fund-raising nuns? (I am actually being serious...)

Just trying to get a good picture of what is being charged for a single run art license.
Thank you in advance for the help.
Cheers,
Laura

Thank you @NessIllustration this is the clarity I needed.... hard to refuse nuns, but a fundraiser using my artwork for less than pennies on the dollar for my time is easier.

Okay SVSers,
I was approached on Etsy messenger about allowing an image I sell as a print to be licensed to be printed on a Christmas Card. I asked the basic questions (how many, usage, etc.) and this was the reply:

"The Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill is a congregation of women religious founded 150 years ago. Currently, the median age of the 135 living sisters of the United States Province, which I serve, is 82 years of age. 940 sisters have preceded them in death. The sisters of the U.S. Province are white. Historically, these sisters followed in the example of the founder, Elizabeth Ann Seton, and served in education, health care, and social services. They have been champions for people in the margins and the impoverished. They engaged in civil rights initiatives as early as 1921. (A recent article was published nationally based on the history of the Sisters of Charity supporting efforts of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans may be found at

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/religious-life/news/new-orleans-and-seton-hill-sisters-bond-stays-strong-after-99-years.) We are proud that the Sisters have been recognized globally for their Christ-like love for all people in this difficult year of racial strife.

New Orleans and Seton Hill sisters' bond stays strong after 99 years | Global Sisters Report

In the 1960s, Sr. Sylvia Thibodeaux moved away from her Black congregation, the Sisters of the Holy Family in majority-Black New Orleans, to attend mostly white Seton Hill University, run by the white Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in the almost entirely white city of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, about an hour east of Pittsburgh. "I was a young woman, and I had never been away when I left home ...

www.globalsistersreport.org

A large number of our sisters are retired. A small fraction of our congregation remain in active ministry but all of the sisters actively support the social justice issues that plague our nation. Those who are able participate in local peaceful demonstrations here in Pennsylvania and those who cannot are active in prayer ministry for social justice. This is why I would like to present your beautiful image of the Holy Family to them as an option for their Christmas Card.

Our Christmas cards are designed in house by a talented graphic designer with fidelity to the artists rendition. We have them professionally printed. In recent years we send 700-900 Christmas greeting cards. Sometimes we use the same image for our Elizabeth Seton Prayer Guild Cards. We distribute 1000-1400 Elizabeth Seton Prayer Guild Cards to friends, relatives, and benefactors who request the prayers of our sisters as a Christmas gift for their loved ones. The "Guild" Christmas cards are provided to announce the gift of prayer. Traditionally those who enroll loved ones on the Guild prayer list offer a donation to the sisters.

We used to rely on the artwork of our sisters in years past but now because of their advancing age, we must seek out pictures of the holy family that inspire our friends and donor base with the tender reverence and love for the Incarnate Word. It is difficult to find pictures that aptly express this sacred miracle of God made man. Your art certainly captures this awesome love.

We have only once been requested for a stipend/fee to express our sincerity. I could only offer $100 without taking the matter to the Provincial Council for permission. We do offer attribution to the artist, including a reference to the artist's copyright and website or any other specified text on the back of our cards. The image would only be used for cards that we produced for distribution this year. We do show a small low-resolution image on our website of the card. The image we choose is only used for one annual production of the sisters' Christmas greeting cards. If the same image is used for the Elizabeth Seton Guild Christmas Card, only enough cards are produced for one year.

We would be honored if you would consider our request. May God bless you for using your gift to glorify Him. I look forward to your reply."

Am I being asked to give away the print for charity, what would you do? (I know it's a long read...thank you to anyone who hung in there all the way through.)...Here is the image for context:

Thank you for the advice!

@Nyrryl-Cadiz 2020 is kicking my butt and draining my creative energy...but I'd like to support Jake AND inktober...at the very least, I'm looking forward to seeing all of y'all's work.

Nice work! Clean and easy to navigate!

@Braden-Hallett I was wrong--I have a 13" screen--I feel your pain. AND It might be because it was designed to be both computer and tablet and screen, but when I connect it to photoshop, it will not give me a full zoom... so my working area is reduced to about 5X5 inches...(grrr) Hence the shop