Collection: Custom ink house portraits: California wildfire relief fundraiser

When I was a sophomore in high school, my family lost our home to a house fire. While I took immediate comfort in knowing my family and pets were safe, the hours, days, weeks, and months after the fire were some of the hardest in my life. The one thing that really helped was feeling supported by school friends, our church family, my parents' colleagues, and our community. I worry about all of the families in California whose neighbors, colleagues, and community have also been hard-hit by the wildfires and are unable to support them. Together, we can help!

I invite interested folks to *EMAIL* photos of your home to me at erin@ErinThompsonStudio.com, and I'll be selecting from among the submissions to do as many expressive ink house portraits as I can during the last week of January. The style will be like that of the sample shown here, where my lines and ink application will be loose and sketchy (not photo-realistic) to create a vibrant, lively way to commemorate your beloved home. This is my favorite way to work! See below for additional terms.

I don't guarantee I will select your home, but if I do, you'll be able to purchase the resulting original art, and I'll be donating a portion of the proceeds to a cause that is helping those suffering through the California wildfire situation (specific cause TBD). If I don't get to depict your home during my week-long blitz, I can keep your photo(s) on file and if/as my schedule allows, I may decide to do another week-long blitz, or work on individual pieces here and there and will let you know so you can purchase the original (note: pricing may be different for future blitzes).

Legalese / required terms:

By submitting photos, you indicate that:

you have read and agree to the Artist's Rights and Source Material sections of my standard terms & conditions for custom artwork,
you understand that some of the ink I use may fade over time (as described in the Materials section below),
you understand that, within this limited offering, I am unable to communicate back-and-forth about or entertain requests for customization (as explained in the Customization Requests section below),
you agree to the pricing explained below if I select your home to depict, and
you understand that, due to the custom nature of this offering, all sales will be final at the time of purchase.

Materials:

House portraits will be done predominantly with pigment-based pens and Copic ink, which is an alcohol-/dye-based ink that I can blend on the paper as I work (it creates the colored portion of the artwork). Please note: Copic ink is less permanent than pigment-based media, and so it can fade over time regardless of light exposure and framing quality. As such, I will retain a scan of each original in case you ever want to order an archival-quality print as backup.

Sizing/matting:

Each finished original will be matted in an acid-free white mat cut for 5x7 art (outer mat dimensions 8x10).

Pricing:

Each original matted piece will be $700, plus applicable sales tax. This is a different price point than my traditional house portrait commissions (which most recently have been in the $2K range), because this current offering for custom house illustrations will be smaller than my traditional 8x10 commissions (as described in the Sizing/matting section above), done with ink only (black and colored), not allow for back-and-forth planning between us, and I will not be able to entertain requests for customization.

I look forward to donating a portion of the proceeds to an organization supporting California communities affected by the wildfire crisis.

Customization Requests:

These are not commissions, and as such, I will not be able to entertain requests for customization, like adding pets/people. I will exercise artistic judgment as I work to capture the essence of your home as I see it, and I may reposition/omit things like trees and/or signage to afford a better view, may slightly embellish your plantings to enliven things, etc. If your house reference photo(s) include pets or people, I will not be able to include them in the artwork within this limited-time, non-commissioned offering.

Completion/Timing:

I plan to conduct this house portrait fundraiser blitz during the last week of January, but I cannot commit to specific turnaround dates at this time, nor to completing a specific number of pieces of art.

Your reference photos:

I am unable to work from photos for which you do not hold copyright or otherwise have explicit permission from the copyright holder to use in accordance with my terms & conditions for custom art. I need a good main reference image that is NOT a real estate listing photo or Google street view image (unless you hold copyright to these images), but sometimes those can be helpful supplemental photos for me to reference alongside photos you've taken of your home.

Using artwork for stationery, wedding, commercial, or other printed/digital purposes:

Additional licensing is required if you wish to use my original artwork other than to hang on your wall at home (for instance, to hang it at your business or for other commercial purposes, print it on personal stationery, reproduce it to make additional prints, use it as your social media profile image, etc.). Please contact Erin to discuss your additional needs. Reproduction of the Artwork without Erin's prior written consent is prohibited, but you are welcome to post a photo of the artwork to your social media feed with attribution to me (@ErinThompsonStudio) -- I love to see photos of people receiving my artwork, in place on your wall, etc!

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