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.

Julie Bell and The Path of Daggers

This month’s Wheel of Time ebook release features the fabulous Julie Bell!

“In the end, Julie created strong and individual characters, each one looking as competent in their own right as the next, clearly working together for a greater power.”

Check out the Tor.com article to read the whole story, including a video interview with Julie.