The 2015 AmericasMart Atlanta - Artists & Trends, Part II

As mentioned in last week's editorial, Ming and I visited many showrooms at the 2015 AmericasMart Atlanta, although we only saw a fraction of what's there. It'd have probably taken a whole month to go through all of them!

While passing through we interviewed a couple of signing artists and noticed many interesting trends going on, some of which have been around for a while but some which seem to have the potential to branch out and develop more "new" directions.

ARTISTS AT THE MART

We met many fellow artists and took a few pictures to share with you all. Next time I will try to take more, although the lighting situation at the Mart and other meeting places is not in our favor, so I apologize if the images are not perfect.

Studio M had a great get-together with artists from around the country. It was so much fun to hang around with the very talented Ronnie Walter, artist, writer and agent for Two Town Studios and her husband Jim Marcotte, also a writer and agent.

Alex Colombo & Ronnie Walter at Studio M ~ Atlanta 2015

Ming and I had fun talking to artist Patti Gay of Two Can Art about her new product lines at the Mart. Patti did an artist signing with C & F Enterprises, featuring her Two Can Art coastal pillows she designed in collaboration with her son Noah, who is autistic.

Artist Patti Gay ~ Atlanta 2015, C & F Enterprises Signing Event

© Patty Gay, C & F Enterprises

It was also a great pleasure to meet R.B. Hamilton, a self-taught artist who has won Best-in-Show and First-Place (in acrylic mediums) for his work in various art shows. His wife, interior designer Betsy Drake, has expanded his art to include pocketbooks, totes, towels, and designer pillows. Hamilton's original art, limited edition reproductions, designer pillows and pocketbooks can be seen in fine gift shops, home furnishing stores, and galleries throughout the United States.

Artist R.B. Hamilton painting at the AmericasMart Atlanta 2015

Artist & Interior Designer Betsy Drake

ATLANTA 2015 - TRENDS

Watercolors are a strong trend seen at Surtex last year and also in Atlanta this year. This is a style that goes well with just about all trends.

© Alessandra Colombo

We have already seen the emergence of themes like woodland, forest animals, including owls, foxes, hedgehogs, and deer, but we heard people asking for "hunting, fishing & wildlife" several times, so this appears to be a branching out of the same trend: Nature, Earth, Organic.

Courtesy of Design Design ~ Trendspiration 2015

Birds are still going very strong along with more and more colorful botanical, florals and gardens. Farmhouse has a strong appeal with elements like distressed wood, roosters, pigs, cows and bunnies. And don't forget the dogs, cats and other domestic animals, they are also in demand.

Courtesy of Studio M

Consequently, the Rustic trend that started a while back, along with Primitive and Native Indian art appear to be stronger, although they are caught into the big mix of what is being called the "new Industrial Revolution" - the Makers Movement. I found a good definition for it:

"The maker movement, as we know, is the umbrella term for independent inventors, designers and tinkerers. A convergence of computer hackers and traditional artisans, the niche is established enough to have its own magazine, Make, as well as hands-on Maker Faires that are catnip for DIYers who used to toil in solitude. Makers tap into an American admiration for self-reliance and combine that with open-source learning, contemporary design and powerful personal technology like 3-D printers. The creations, born in cluttered local workshops and bedroom offices, stir the imaginations of consumers numbed by generic, mass-produced, made-in–China merchandise."

by Adweek.com

Industrial & Urban Chic featured lots of metal, wire, textures and grays or neutral colors. We saw some beautiful hand stitching & embroidered details and natural textures (variations of burlap, twine, bark and other similar materials). Below here you can see a new collection from Cathy Heck Studio featuring their new product line with Primitives by Kathy.

Courtesy of Cathy Heck Studio

Beaded art was featured by several showrooms, and although is not new, it's being interpreted in new ways.

Courtesy of Certified International

Another strong trend that has been around for sometime is the Editorial, Sentiment & Inspirational art. This is coming out with more variations, in softer and perhaps more spiritual colors and quotes.

Courtesy of Midwest-CBK

Calligraphy and wedding styles with whites and creams are taking their spot in this market already full of ideas. Fresh and beautiful Paper Cutting art was found in several showrooms. Chalk art is still present although in the descending, it seems. Metallics are the new emerging colors.

Courtesy of Design Design

Another trend spotted although not new to the market is the Blue Prints, Science & Math one. Very nice, with deep blues and other elements.

Courtesy of Certified International

Personal & Essential is a trend that comes from Europe. This general trend of very eclectic expressions of all sort features also some colorful Bohemian & Folk mixes. Mid Century is alive as well as contemporary art, with strong, vivid colors over neutrals.

Courtesy of Transpac

Travel & Places takes a spot in the trendy markets, with maps, scooters, bikes and famous cities or places.

And finally, the traditional Coastal is everywhere but with Mediterranean blues becoming prominent.

I am sure we missed some... we wish we had more time to spend with many more talented artists and creative manufacturers but we ran out of time. To the next AmericasMart Atlanta show!

~ oOo ~

AN INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO

I saw this video through one of my friend artists on a social media site. I thought to add it here at the end of this editorial as I found it very inspirational and encouraging for those artists who are just beginning in this free-lance & commercial art field.

Four Disney Background Artists Paint A Tree In Their Iconic Styles

~ oOo ~

References with links:

http://www.designsponge.com/2013/08/trend-watch-rustic-utilitarian.html

https://www.pantone.com/pages/index.aspx?pg=21163

https://editd.com/blog/2015/01/the-10-biggest-retail-trends-in-2015

http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/huge-design-trends-2015-11513805
http://blog.likemodern.com/various-home-themes-can-apply-2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324063304578522812684722382

http://www.housebeautiful.com/shopping/decorating-trends/2015-color-trends#slide-1

http://www.sunherald.com/2015/01/08/6007578_home-style-trends-for-2015.html?rh=1

https://blogjnet.wordpress.com/category/trends

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324063304578522812684722382

http://bcr8tive.com/etro-spring-2015-16-collection

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/?season=spring&year=2015

DesignDesign, Inc.'s Trendspiration 2015

Enjoyment of Painting and Exploring New Ideas ~ Artist Paul Brent

I recently happened to be on the Florida coast and I found it very inspiring for painting new collections. It reminded me of one of my favorite veteran licensing artists who has painted beautiful coastal collections and who was the very first person to help me when I started in art licensing ~ his positive encouragements were very helpful and also reassuring.

So I am very happy to present artist Paul Brent and feature some of his new beautiful paintings while sharing this great interview within this community!

Artist Paul Brent

The Moon from My Attic: Please introduce yourself - After a childhood spent enjoying art, I majored in Art at Cal State Long Beach and after two years decided to change my major to Architecture and transfer to the University of California at Berkeley where I got my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Architecture. I began attending outdoor art shows with a friend while I was still working in an architectural firm and sold my artwork at shows and galleries. I became a member of the Florida Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society and the Society of Illustrators during this time.

Along the way I began to print my work and from there I began attending print and framing trade shows in 1986 to sell the prints. At one of those shows I met a manufacturer of book marks who was looking for a Florida artist to create designs for coastal regions for bookmarks. That went well and I learned about a new show in New York, called Surtex, where I could meet more manufacturers. In 1988 I attended my first Surtex show and have attended every year since then. I opened a gallery and distribution center for prints in 1990 and my wife, Lana Jane, joined me as president of our company in 1992.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: What brought you to art in the first place? My mother was an elementary school teacher and always had a lot of art supplies around and would do art projects with me and my sister at an early age. I began drawing and my mother bought how-to-draw books for me when I was 5 and 6 years old. It was something that clicked with me and as I progressed people recognized me for my talent and further encouraged me to create art.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: What's exciting about your creative work? Each time I sit down and pick up my pencil or brush there is a new idea to explore. I really enjoy painting and creating and thinking up something new. I like thinking about trends and how my work can either go with a trend or in some cases begin a trend based on what is happening in the world. People ask if I ever get a creative block and the reverse happens with me. I have to edit and chose from the many things I want to do because I do not have time to create all of the work I want to.

TMFMA: How long have you been doing art licensing? I began licensing in 1988 so that makes it just at 25 years. I found licensing to be both interesting to me as an artist and financially rewarding. I began without really knowing what I was doing but after my first attendance at Surtex I began shaping my work for licensing. By the third year I had major contracts for wallpaper, bed linens, tile and home accessories. I found that my niche as a coastal artist worked well with art licensing and this has proved true over the years.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: What brought you to exhibit for the first time and what/how many shows have you exhibited in? A friend told me about Surtex and it seemed to me that my work might fit art licensing. So I have been in 25 Surtex shows and we have also exhibited in the Licensing Expo probably 15 times or more. That makes around 40 trade shows but does not include the gift, house ware and linen shows we have attended.

TMFMA: What do you suggest new artists do to present themselves to the world of licensing for the first time? First be unique. Find an area that you excel in and that says who you are in the world of art. Focus on your central artistic core until you are established. Don't try to exhibit every style and subject you can possibly paint. Pick your strongest and stay with it.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: Please give us your analysis of the market based on your own experience and contacts. It is a tougher market to get into now than when I started. When I began we had to explain what licensing was to manufacturers. Now licensing is a given and we have to compete with the number of established and new artists on the market. The emphasis on the new is now stronger than ever in art licensing. We also have to deal with copyright infringements that seem to come in ever increasing numbers. So I would say that art licensing has reached a mature phase which means that competition for each contract is more fierce than ever. A successful artist has to be a successful business person, too.

TMFMA: In your view, what was of major interest to manufacturers this year? I would probably say that collage, using elements that are put together rather than paintings by themselves was at the top. In this, the use of pattern with subject was very successful. If I were starting now as a licensed artist I would start with a strong holiday selection of designs.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: What do you think the main trends are for 2014? Contemporary styles are definitely trending up and the shabby chic direction and retro are stable to down trending. Holiday licensing is on the rise with Harvest, a look that can go from Halloween to Thanksgiving becoming a defined holiday style and Day of the Dead and Halloween merging. Mardi Gras is also expanding into many new regions of the country. It seems that everyone likes to party and that any holiday is an excuse to party and therefore it's becoming a licensing opportunity.

Second homes are also seeking new looks so more contemporary versions of coastal and lodge that are pattern oriented are moving up in trend. The phenomenon of the creative wedding has brought that category into the licensing field. Woodland themes for boys and girls are even more popular now. Chalkboard art has gotten a big boost from Pinterest and is going strong. We will have to see if that has lasting power. Look for sites such as Pinterest and Instagram to be the breeding places for new trends.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: What advice would you give other artists that are considering the art licensing field? Become familiar with the business before you exhibit your work. Attend Surtex or the Licensing Expo as a visitor first to observe and attend lectures. Go online to find information about art licensing: this blog plus several others, "The Art of Licensing" on Linkedin and my own informational site with free and low cost courses is www.askpaulbrent.com are all good ways to familiarize yourself with the industry. As far as your art, be confident, be original, be prolific and be professional.

© Paul Brent

TMFMA: Any other useful info that you'd like to share about art and licensing? There is something about being original and being in the market at the right time in the right spot. Luck has something to do with it but being astute and knowing how to use your talent to be in the market place with the right style and subject at the right time can be the biggest boost to your career whether you are just starting or in mid-career. Also you have to have perseverance in art licensing. Overnight success is not something you will generally encounter. It talks time to build your reputation, your portfolio and your knowledge of what manufacturers want.

Find out more about Paul Brent at www.paulbrent.com

The Inspirational World of Fine Art: Artist LIzzie Spikes

In an earlier post of my Fine Art series, I talked about a slogan for my art studio: "Making the World a Better Place through Art." But as I mentioned in a brief interview to Artsy Shark this week, I tweaked it to be: "Partnering to Make the World a Better Place through Art." It summarizes even better my main purpose for doing what I do because, truly, I work with many wonderful people - from other designers and artists to manufacturers - so it's really team work. And to me that's fun, inspirational and rewarding!

Artist Lizzie Spikes

This UK artist I am about to present is also very inspirational and fun. Her art is very close to my heart - she paints on driftwood. Her name is Lizzie Spikes and she is an arts graduate who lives, works and walks on the beautiful West coast of Wales. Lizzie says: "I live on the way to the middle of nowhere near Aberystwyth and I create a great many of my paintings on canvases fashioned from the driftwood that I find washed up Ceredigions beaches. The planks and other wooden flotsam and jetsam show evidence of their previous uses and users and I try to incorporate this into my work. I work with and am inspired by the layers of old paint, the nail holes and the man made shapes along with the forms fashioned by the sea in order to create original and inspiring canvases for my painting. I hope to give these pieces of wood new life and purpose."

© Lizzie Spikes

The Moon from My Attic: What brought you to art in the first place? I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember- very rarely does a day go by without me picking up a pencil or paintbrush. I love the sense of calm and removal from reality that I get when I am involved in making a piece. As to where it all began - my siblings and I grew up in rural Ceredigion in what we described as ‘the middle of nowhere’ and every Saturday morning a friend of our mum's called Haley gave an art class. We crammed into the back room of her cottage and discovered how to do collage, pottery and papier mache, how to make puppets and boats and bowls and how to realize what it was that we had in our heads. These art classes gave a focus to our weeks through primary and secondary school and a large number of Haley's past pupils have gone on to practice art and crafts.

© Lizzie Spikes

TMFMA: What's exciting about your creative work? What I find most exciting about my work is the element of the unknown implicit in using found objects. I march along the local beaches and collect the driftwood pieces that will dictate what it is that I am going to make. I usually know immediately what it is that I will turn the wood pieces into and it means that I always have new inspiration and a freshness in what I do.

TMFMA: Who has inspired you in your art journey? Many people and places have influenced me artistically - the main one being the teachers and tutors who I have encountered throughout my artistic education. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by some very interesting and inspiring people who have encouraged and inspired me a great deal. My younger sister, Dorry Spikes, is an illustrator and I am always amazed and inspired by what she creates.

© Lizzie Spikes

TMFMA: Tell us about a recent project you'd like to share. For the past eight years I have worked around being a full time mother to my two young sons - Jacob and Ollie. I found that having to focus on the boys gave me a sense of freedom from my own expectations and those of others and enabled me to make and create with a new found enjoyment. Ollie has just started school and I am gearing up to make new pieces for the Christmas shows and markets that I will have time to attend. I have an exhibition scheduled in Cardiff next Spring and my plan is to create pieces based on places along the length of the newly opened Welsh Coastal path … a winter of walking and sketching awaits and I can hardly wait.

TMFMA: Any other info that you'd like to share about? My sister's work can be seen at dotspikes.com.

© Dorry Spikes 

My cousin who lives over the hill is also fab - she works more in textiles (felt making, screen printing, sewing) and her name is Ruth Packham. You can find her on Facebook as Ruth Packham Art.

© Ruth Packham

Find out more about Lizzie at:

driftwooddesigns.co.uk

mail@driftwooddesigns.co.uk

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