family

A close friend recently lost their family pet, Joey. As a tribute gift, I did his portrait. I usually just draw people, so this presented quite the challenge for me. I have never attempted to draw animals/pets. Bic4 Ballpoint Pen, Sanrio Novelty 10 Colour Ballpoint Pen on Archival 8.5" x 11" paper

Gentleman Cat was modelled on a victorian oil painting with a special family cat as the star of the show! Part of a pair for a special Christmas present.

I thought I would play with crayons this morning. The bird with the cute hairdo is a Livingstone’s turaco from the family Musophagidae. Found in the subtropical lowlands of southeastern Africa. This bird’s plumage is the color of spring. Crayola crayons on toned tan sketch paper.

Old family farm with Cinnamon.

Mixed Media. Sketchbook drawing of one of my family's new kittens.

Tribute to Malaysia Animation 90s. Story about egg family.

It's 2019 and I am thankful for family, turkey dinner, and Rebelle 3! This Thanksgiving holiday I'm teaching my boys how to draw in Rebelle. They've watched me for years but they're finally old enough to draw on the Cintiq. They're going to love it. Artist friends, check out the Rebelle 3 demo if you haven't already! Happy Holidays!

One of my favorite things about being a parent is listening to the stories my daughter makes up and really trying to encourage her imagination. She has named a bunch of the cacti which line our windowsills, while our cacti are very accustomed to their suburban lives they also like a bit of adventure, this is a group of them taking a family vacation to the desert.

An article/rant/annotation to an illustration. A #Hackney bar and its flies. This picture is not as sad and blue as it might at first seem, I promise. It is early in the week and the pub becomes the territory of the most outspoken drinkers. Raised somewhere between Churchill and Harold MacMillan, a night such as this is time for them to spin out a yarn of nostalgic fantasy. Encouraged by the lack of a crowd and with space to fill, statements start to fly. In the opening rounds the barman athletically hits back with factual blocks and reality-check haymakers; statistics and personal experiences are given. Two histories cross examined, one where 1982 means Thatcher and the Falklands, the other renders Reagan and the AIDS crisis. Stoicism and national pride vs mental health and realism. In the latter rounds the barman is fatigued, swaying on the backbar, glasses begin to stack up as form begins to drop. The older men seem stronger than ever. The barflies come in close now, they scrutinise his generations work ethic and make wild political comments on poverty, immigrants and the minimum wage. The barman is close to sheer bloody despair, he maintains his defence and focuses on breathing while maintaining his professional stance. But at the end of the night the barman knows HE will ring that bell, they will politely leave and they will return again in a week and maybe, just maybe there will be a change, common ground or maybe at least polite silence. But what these interactions have given despite the salt in the eye is community and an exchange between generations, culture and class of those participating. No home is ever straight forward, no relative without their good and bad traits and in a world where we often slide into echo chambers online or in our physical environments, the pub is still a place where society is family, face to face, pint to pint. Or maybe it's just a room with alcohol on tap?

Brown and yellow ink on watercolor paper. Can you guess who are related?

I stay home for my family, doctor, everybody. Take care everybody. #stayhome #IStayHomeFor #StayHome #StaySafe #StayAtHome #StayHomeStaySafe #StayHomeSaveLives #illustration #art #illustration

An excercise in negative painting with my set of bister inks. I wasn't completely happy with the results - the bister ink was not as transparent as i expected it to be.

Playing with procreate on my ipad during a weekend filled with family, travel, celebration, inspiration, and fun in the sun!

New painting commission + original sketch. 16x20 acrylic painting on wood. Check out the time lapse painting on my Instagram or on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXnUO5QHHTQ

This animal is in the family Theridiidae, a large group (over 2000 species) of haphazard web-builders.

First OFFICIAL Commission! 8x10, Watercolor and Pen. Hey everyone! This time, I'm actually back. First off, let me say I was not planning to fall off the face of the Earth again. At the time I last posted, I had a little less than a month of school left and I had hoped I could wrap up all my final projects early and be done. I was wrong. My teachers assigned more and I had work due up to the day before school ended, but I survived! Since my last post, I do have some updates. 1. I did indeed graduate high school! I was very lucky my school not only had a ceremony, but it was at Soldier Field. (I'm very happy to say I graduated Summa Cumme Laude and with the honors of completing the Alpha STEM and the Arts program.) 2. I also got an Instagram! I'll be using it not only to post final pieces but also as a way to post progress. {@mapalomar.arts} With regards to this painting, it is my first official commission, past commissions were from people I knew (family or friends) but this one isn't. I can say I'm pretty proud of the end result, especially as a person who doesn't consider themself a watercolor artist, it's not too shabby. :) Anyway, I hope this piece will have a safe journey all the way to its new home in Massachusetts.

i am so happy that i just found this sketch on my ipad. my grandfather and my family love cars like this. drawing this was so much fun, because it reminded me of all the great memories we had while travelling in the lovely car of my grandpa. thank you for reading & hope you have a wonderful daay!:)

It's good to laugh.

The monsters we create A collection of creatures born from our impact and existance on Earth. This is a work in progress project, it doesn't yet have a name, but the story becomes more clear every day. Soon I will have more details about it, until then take care, this runner is taking a real shape and it's after you. He is the money maker, the greedy, the selfish buyer of unnecessary things with money he doesn't have. Sounds familyar? 7x7 cm linoprint © Maria ! Balan, 2018

In July of 2022, Brianna Grier died falling out of a moving police car while having a mental health breakdown. Since Brianna passed, I have been heartbroken for her twins and family but also reflecting on my struggle with mental health. Mental health needs compassion and empathy, not police and punishment. The brunch strokes are purposeful, but I completed them with empathy in mind. I want to keep the composition simple but filled with meaning. The color theme represents vastness and loneliness, but also kinetic energy found in warm orange tones.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This year I got around to making various cards and simply sending them out to various family members and friends. (It was also an excuse for me to use as many puns as I wanted.)

A birb family sleeping before a journey

Here's the sketch for my Draw Your Fear submission. Drawn with a Pilot Custom Urushi fountain pen using deAtramentis Document Ink Black. Check out https://www.doodleaddicts.com/drawing-challenges/draw-your-fear/ tomorrow to see it in full color!

Where do I begin with this one? This is a drawing of my dad and I; the picture was taken back in 2006, a happier time, I suppose. I don't commonly think about my dad, I don't necessarily think about how much I miss him or how I wish I could see him again, so it was odd for me to sit and look through old photos. I don't really know my dad; I do, but I don't. My dad was physically part of my life for 10 years, the second half of those were not the best. Mental illness, self medicating for years, debt, heroin, arguments, threats, uncertainty. I feel like I remember the negative more because I was older, my parents couldn't hide it from me like they used to. At the same time, when he was sober and stable, life was good. Life was great, things felt complete. So here I am, 6 years since he died. I don't want to say his image is fading, but I know less of who he was than I did before. I see the good from some (the ones who praise him, who act like he was a saint), and I see the bad from others (the one who felt the pain). I suppose I no longer see my view, my memories aren't there anymore. I don't necessarily feel sad, the anger has faded, and I can't say I'm happy. Maybe I'll figure it out one day, but, for now, it is what it is.

Our Dining Room is my favorite room in the house. Every family meal we eat at home happens there - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meal times are our sacred family time to share our day, our thoughts, our struggles, our successes, etc. We do have a breakfast area. But aside from homework, projects, or reading the newspaper, the breakfast area doesn't get much use unless needed for overflow from the dining room when we have visitors.

Luisa was my favorite character in this beautiful, fun Disney animation. I drew this in Adobe Fresco in about 6 hours. Still learning the program and testing brushes. Be sure to check out the time-lapse of the drawing on my Instagram. Cheers!

Illustration from the sketchbook in gouache, based on a color palette.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NABRE)