Monday, February 13, 2012

An Art Licensing True Story - Artist Connie Publicover

I've done some amateur photography for many years and find it an incredibly diverse medium. Although I still have lots to learn, I enjoy experimenting with compositions, light and shadow, and the way photographs can evoke emotions. 

Inspirational indeed are the amazing photographs by Fine Art Photographer Connie Publicover. She lives in a small costal village in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia (Canada ) with her husband of 41 years. "I have always been interested in art and design. I'd been managing my own hair salon for over 20 years until health issues forced me to give it up – I was extremely ill and was not able to do much to fill my days, but by nature I was soon looking for something to fill my time.

Artist Connie Publicover
Photography provided me with the challenge I felt I was up for at the time; little did I know that it would turn into such great joy." Connie joined a few online photography clubs and rejoiced in every lesson she took. She met some amazing photographers whose work truly inspired her to want to do more than take snapshots. "I wanted to create something more but had no idea what that might be for several years."

Then came the photography lesson that sealed her fate ... she went out and photographed a dripping icicle! "I must have taken 50 shots of a dripping icicle hanging from my roof while standing on a chair on my patio before I finally captured the drop and rushed to my computer to get a better look at my masterpiece!"

© Connie Publicover
She was not happy with the results ... "my drop had a big dark spot in it; on closer inspection I learned it was a refraction of my back yard. I had seen refractions in still drops before but not in moving water. I couldn't find tutorials on the subject."  Connie spent about four years working with water drops before she was happy with the results. All other forms of photography fell by the way side for her as she worked with her obsession to capture the beauty mother nature has always known a water drop can hold.

"I find water drop photography to be extremely exciting as it allows me to see what the human eye is not fast enough to capture. These split milliseconds of beauty are mostly undiscovered and a true treasure to behold. I was inspired by this at a time in my life that I was needing to reinvent myself due to ill health." Connie truly enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture the beauty that can be found there.

© Connie Publicover
Art Licencing was something she knew very little about. In 2010 she attended the Surtex Show. "In my opinion Surtex is a must-go-to event. After walking the show and seeing all of the amazing work and showing my work to anyone who had the time, I left New York thinking that this was not something my work was well suited for," Connie said. All of the agents she had met, while they loved her work and told her to keep trying, did not know where they could licence her artwork; but she felt she needed an agent as she was not well enough informed to go it on her own.

A little over a year later she got a email from Michael Woodword with Out Of The Blue. "A phone call later and some serious checking and I decided to sign him as my agent. Things are at their very early stages for me in art licensing. I have signed a few licences for screen savers, prints and wall murals."

The bulk of her work is water drop photography, which is a very time consuming form of photography, she says. "I am self taught and thrive on working on new techniques to capture the beauty of the water drop."

© Connie Publicover
Connie also adds: "I would advise anyone who is interested in art licensing to walk the Surtex Show, it is a real eye-opener and can open many doors you did not know even existed. I believe it is important to keep one's work fresh so I keep trying new techniques."

She has also done some work for a designer who works with interior decorators on large Hotel projects and is looking forward to where that may lead her in the future.

"I find that the art world is a very large and exciting place and one never knows what new door will open."

More links about Connie's work:

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