the moon from my attic: Doodle Board

Showing posts with label Doodle Board. Show all posts

Monday, June 2, 2014

Surtex 2014 - Our Artist Community

As I juggle after show follow-ups with art submissions and new art requests, is fun to write articles for this community and allow some creative breaks. It's a good thing that I enjoy writing as much as I like creating art!

Paul, Martha and I at the show

I am also delighted to hang around with wonderful and inspiring people and artists. This Surtex has been very fun and we had such a wonderful time with many artists and friends: Cathy Heck and her family, Ronnie Walter, Stephanie Ryan, Sue Zipkin, Paul Brent and our new but unforgettable corner booth neighbors Martha Collins and her sister Betsy, Gina Martin and Kelly Portfolio.

Many other amazing artists and friends came by to say hi or to doodle. I apologize for not taking a picture or spending enough time with you all but I want to thank you for stopping by and connecting up with us!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Creativity and the Artists Behind our Doodle Board

There seems to be an explosion of excitement about eCourses, eMags & eBooks, art retreats/camps, workshops and editorials that teach about painting, creativity and styles - how to become a successful you, or how to find your true creativity and style, and so on. So many options in fact that it makes it impossible not to find something interesting to sign up for!

I am having a great time doing my own thing, you know, taking some time to explore new tricks and passions. My latest one has been to hand paint on linen. It was a pretty spontaneous experiment that has caught me by surprise, it is so fun!

Love Bouquet Collection - © Alessandra Colombo

So I'm learning that it is absolutely best to focus on creating art that makes me happy - not just in the final product, but also in the act of creating itself. I'm also learning that exploring my creativity means that I may have to pass on some manufacturers who I love and admire but I know are not the right fit for that art.

It makes me really happy to share stories and tips from this great community of artists as I move along on my art and licensing journey and I hope to share more about blogging and marketing as I have learned a lot about it in the past couple of years. I do have a big surprise in the works and can't wait to share it, I hope by the end of the year - meantime I want to thank you for your continued and amazing support, it makes this journey much more pleasurable!

As promised, although with a bit of a delay, I am publishing the names and links of all the artists that stopped at my booth at Surtex and left their magic doodle on our Artist Doodle Board! It took me a while to get this list together because I had to find all the business cards and postcards connected with the names. Some I wasn't able to locate so if you know you are one of the artists without name, please email me and I will add you in!

Stephanie Ryan - www.stephanieryandesign.com

Carol Van Zandt - www.carolvanzandt.com

Dianne Woods - www.diannewoods.com

Patty Gay - www.pattigay.com

Jennifer Parker - www.jenniferparkerdesigns.com

Cindy Lindgren - www.cindylindgren.com

Chris Reed - www.chrisreedstudio.com

Mark Gonyea - www.markgonyea.com

Ming Platt - www.mingartdesign.com

Pim Pimlada - www.pim-pimlada.com

Christine Kerrick - www.christinekerrick.com

Leah Hoelscher - www.leahhoelscher.com

Kim Gann - www.kgartstudio.com

Michelle Baker - www.majestystudios.com

Audrey Hopkins - www.audreyhopkins.com

Cherish Flieder - www.somethingtocherish.com

Cathy Hunt - www.cathyhuntstudio.net

Karen M. Beers - no website yet

Elizabeth Golz Rush - www.elizgolzrush.com

Feng Liang - www.fengliangdesign.com

Mittie Cuetara - www.mittiecuetara.com

Sarah Hudock - www.sarahhudock.com

Jessica Sporn - jessicasporn.blogspot.com

Bruce Cohen - www.lookinggoodlicensing.com

Alisha Wilson - www.alishawilson.com

Monday, July 8, 2013

Products that People Use and Live with - Artists Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick

If you look under the tabs above this post you will notice that we have changed the layout a little bit to fit in a new page called The Moon from My Attic Artist Doodle Museum. This page will feature all artists who came by our booth at Surtex 2013 and left a cute doodle on our board along with a link to their respective websites. It will be a permanent tribute and each year after Surtex we will post the new doodle board for that show!

And not to worry, if you don't plan to go or exhibit at Surtex, we will have a special surprise in the future. In fact, there are a few surprises in store! So don't forget to occasionally check this page and see what else is going to be part of our Artist Doodle Museum!

To add more excitement to our week, I am pleased to present a new interview with two special guests and veteran artists we met at Surtex this year, the talented Andrea and Dennis Brooks. They too are a family business, both of whom are talented and licensed with many great companies.

The Moon from My Attic: Please introduce yourself - Hi, I am Andrea Brooks, watercolorist and licensing artist. Dennis Kendrick is a graphic designer, cartoonist and licensing artist and also my husband.

Artists Dennis Kendrick and Andrea Brooks

We met when we were both children's book illustrators starting out in the business. Soon we had joined forces and moved into my loft. A year later we were married. Over the years our careers moved in a winding path - we were freelance illustrators working in the fields of editorial and advertising, cosmetic and food packaging, watercolor painting, cartooning, digital art and web design. Ten years later, I made the move into art licensing. Dennis followed and before long we began to team up on projects. I a watercolor painter and Dennis a designer. Andrea Brooks Studio now was run by two artists.

TMFMA: What brought you to art in the first place?

© Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick

Andrea: I loved any form of art as a small child and was always drawing. It was going to the HS of Music and Art as an art student that really crystallized my love and talent for art. I guess some of the real early influences were the John Nagy drawing kit. That's when I learned how to shade. It was very exciting. And paint by numbers. And then of course going to Music and art High School, definitely. I spent every Saturday at the Metropolitan Museum with my friends from High School. We drew from sculptures. That's how I really learned to draw.

Dennis: Agreed that early on for me it was the John Nagy kit. But here I diverge. The other big influence were cartoonists and comics. I went to the Paier School or Art in Connecticut where I studied a broad range of art including commercial art and design. I also played in my high school band and the choice was between music and art. I think I made the right decision.

© Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick

TMFMA: What's exciting about your creative work? Andrea: I love the entire process. Getting an idea and letting it develop. Collecting references. Watching a concept evolve as I get to the drawing stage. My drawings are usually very spare. Then the truly fun part for me comes which is the watercolor painting. And that's not the end. We scan the art and bring it into photoshop and Dennis and I sit together and work on the final design. He does most of it. I get to oooh and aaah and once in a while suggest a change. Before I worked with Dennis I did the complete painting myself. I'd like to get back to doing some of that again.

Dennis: I work digitally and just let the design take shape as I move along. I love it when a design all starts to come together. It's fun to get an assignment that gets me to move in a completely new direction. Recently I was approached to create the art for a set of e-books based on books that I had done years ago with Seymour Simon, a well known children's science writer. It was fun to do a more cartoony and wackier style for a change. And of course I love working with my wife!

© Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick

TMFMA: How long have you been doing art licensing?

Andrea: Well, I started licensing at least 20 years ago on a small scale. At the time I was doing editorial and advertising illustration. Little by little I made the shift to licensing. I was interested in it at first when I learned about the royalties. I like being part of a business where the end results are actual products that people use and live with. I like the marketplace and I enjoy the close contact with other artists in this field. Dennis as I said came aboard around 10 years ago when we did our first collaborative project for Plaid. We did three decoupage kits.

Dennis: I've been aboard for around 10-15 years. I like the freedom to come up with your own ideas. And ditto what Andrea has said.

TMFMA: What brought you to exhibit for the first time and how many shows have you exhibited in? We started doing Surtex together. At first Dennis didn't take to this new market. I stuck with it and began to make a name for myself and then eventually got a rep. That's around when Dennis joined me. We do Surtex every year since we have been working together. Now we also go to Atlanta in July and January to see manufacturers. After this year we'll go only in January. That's really the big show time.

TMFMA: Do you work with an agent or do you represent yourself? As I said we did work with an agent for around 9 years. Eventually we decided it was time to go off on our own.

TMFMA: What do you suggest new artists do to present themselves to the world of licensing for the first time? They should go to Surtex and walk the show and talk to artists. Make contacts and learn how other artist are representing themselves and how they put together a booth. It's necessary to have other artists in this business to talk with. Put together or get help doing a professional quality web site. And these days be active in social networking sites such as Facebook, Linked in and perhaps blogging.

TMFMA: In your view, what was of major interest to manufacturers this year? They are always looking for something fresh and new. This year we found manufacturers were still interested in nature themes, patterns and florals. I, Andrea, had put in time developing a freer, fresher watercolor look in florals and got very good feedback on this style.

TMFMA: What do you think the main trends are for 2013-2014? We usually look to fashion and tabletop to see what trends are.The tabletop shows in NYC are very helpful and we read a lot of trade magazines: Gift and Decorative Accessories, Retailer, and Giftware News to name a few. The fall shows should give a better idea of the new trends going forward.

We think that nature, birds, florals and patterns will go forward. Owls may continue. Bright colors. However, we've been seeing a return to neutrals in the home decor industry which is also a trend setter.

TMFMA: What advice would you give other artists that are considering the art licensing field? Really love what you are doing because you are going to do a lot of work on spec. That was something that was a no no when we were doing editorial and advertising illustration. Now we accept it as part of this market. Although 10 years ago I must say more companies were paying advances or comp fees. Go to a lot of trade shows. Make contacts at the shows and follow up afterwards. That's how I got my first really important licensing project.

TMFMA: Any other useful info that you'd like to share about art licensing? It allows for a lot of creativity. Don't pen yourself in trying to do what you think the manufacturers want. On the other hand when you get a submission list or a suggestion from a manufacturer of what they are looking for go for it. Timing is important because there is a lot of competition from wonderful artists.

Try not to spend time comparing yourself with other artists. We all do it some of the time, but limit the amount of that time. The alternative is to admire, learn from and connect with these artists. Have fun with it!

Andrea Brooks Studio
www.andreabrooks.com
www.bankstreetdesigns.com

Monday, June 3, 2013

Additional Notes on the NSS, Surtex 2013 and Our Fabulous Artist Community

We briefly walked the NSS on Wednesday morning before flying back home. Some quick notes and impressions from the show are that we didn't notice anything particularly new or different from last year but saw more of the same, such as beautiful hand drawn/painted art as well as fancy lace-lasercut and trendy chalk art. Sophisticated and fun letterpress is still big.

We also chatted with a couple of fun sales people on the floor who shared some insights into what is selling well and what isn't - owls are still hot along with deer and birds. It depends on territories. Soft lines, circles and round shapes are also trendy. Craft materials such as burlap and wool felt were also present. In all, it seems the there is an increasing interest in an artesinal style.

As for other curious insights, I was offered freelance work by one of the sales personnel while I was looking at some ribbons I liked! Another artist, who was selling cards at her booth said she licensed her art with three manufacturers right there at the show. I am sure other blogs and articles covered the Stationary show more in depth. Next year I will try to get more time to see what's going on there.

Some of the many inspiring artist Surtex 2013 press kits

But here is the real deal – the truly fun part of Surtex, aside from exhibiting and making connections with great companies, was to hang around with some really nice and helpful neighbors. It was an incredible and unexpected pleasure to see how a great, spontaneous mini-community developed between our neighboring exhibitors. We had a great time together with Mark Gonyea, Pimlada Phuapradit, Kim Gann, Eric Comstock, and Audrey Hopkins – openly sharing experiences, tips, and insights when not working with visiting manufacturers.

Colorful cards dropped off by artists at our booth; many of them
will be featured on this blog throughout the year!

And, for us a special highlight of the show was the fantastic opportunity to meet so many new and veteran artists who took some of their precious time to stop by our booth and say hi and to those who also shared a doodle with us. I know more exhibiting artists wanted to add their magic touch to our doodle board but didn't have time to come by.

The Moon From My Attic Doodle Board was a real hit and will be made into a permanent feature at our booth in future shows.

We also had a Guest Book where artists and other professionals left kind notes to us and we want to thank everyone again for being so nice and supportive and for reading this blog!

In the next 2-3 months we will be publishing interviews and articles with many of you who we met at the show, including agents, attorneys, consultants, and manufacturers. The list of names is too long to publish here but watch out for their so ever inspiring stories!

Pages

Monday, June 2, 2014

Surtex 2014 - Our Artist Community

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Creativity and the Artists Behind our Doodle Board

Monday, July 8, 2013

Products that People Use and Live with - Artists Andrea Brooks and Dennis Kendrick

Monday, June 3, 2013

Additional Notes on the NSS, Surtex 2013 and Our Fabulous Artist Community