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:

http://www.snapsdrops.com

http://www.secondnature.com

http://www.magicmurals.com

The Art of Photography in Licensing - Artist Dianne Woods

While working away at tweaking my new website and creating new collections, I've been learning more Photoshop shortcuts... vital to know in order to swiftly produce a series of designs and tearsheets for a deadline! 

And speaking of mastering tools like Photoshop, I invite you to read this great interview with artist Dianne Woods. She is a professional photographer and also creates beautiful images for licensing. Here's her story:

Artist Dianne Woods

TMFMA: Please introduce yourself – I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in photography from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Over the next 30 years I worked on location and in the studio shooting assignments for clients in the wine industry, design and advertising, manufacturing, and for publishers of books and magazines.

Today I live happily in Berkeley with my husband Brad and our tuxedo cat Sunny. Moving from one passion to another, I am retired from commercial photography and now devote my time to creating art for commercial applications. My client list includes companies in the stationery and giftware industries, wall art manufacturers and the music business.

© Dianne Woods

TMFMA: What's exciting about your creative work? I am particularly intrigued by the process by which an image moves from mere idea to something tangible and ready for licensing to a manufacturer. For example, last year my agent suggested I develop a collection combining two themes that sell well in the licensing industry and are of artistic interest to me – cats and flowers. I immersed myself in the idea and when I came up for air we had 20 new images that had not existed just weeks before. We called the collection "Felines & Floral" and Kimberly (my agent) placed them with a calendar company almost immediately.

In another example, I have a client on the east coast who manufactures wall-art for the home décor industry. She contacts me frequently with requests for art with specific themes. She might send me an email saying, "I need two pieces with poppies" to which I respond, "OK -- give me two days and I'll send jpgs for your approval." There is something endlessly fascinating and exciting to me about the path from envisioning an idea to a tangible result.

© Dianne Woods

TMFMA: Who or what has inspired you in your art? My late mother was my original source of inspiration for my attraction to art and photography; she graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York in the early 1940s. While she exchanged a career in commercial art to become a wife and mother, her personal history as an artist and her interest in art as an avocation in later years served as a model and paved the way for me.

I am inspired in my art by beautiful things to look at; great design; color usage and relationships; imagery that stirs emotions; and - at the top of my list - the quality of light. I notice its source and direction; how it draws shape and renders texture; and what feelings it evokes. In real life, as in art, I'm habitually alive to and inspired by the quality of the light.

© Dianne Woods

TMFMA: How long have you been doing art licensing? I signed my first contract three years ago with a greeting card company - which is a great place for an artist interested in licensing to get started. If you would like to explore the potential in the greeting card industry, I recommend Kate Harper's blog. There you will find a comprehensive list of greeting card publishers and their submission guidelines.

Over the course of my career, I have taken classes and workshops to stay on top of my game. It was in one of these classes that I became acquainted with a painting program. From the minute I booted the software I felt I was in the zone. 

I was delighted to find my years of experience as a photographer translated directly into the new medium. The learning curve was steep, but once I had a grasp of the software concepts, I was off and painting. While creating imagery is its own reward, the additional challenge and reward of selling my art adds to the satisfaction of working in this industry. 

© Dianne Woods

TMFMA: Do you work with an agent or do you represent yourself? I signed with Kimberly Montgomery of Montage Licensing last year. In the three years I've been in the industry Kimberly is my second agent.

This partnership has been beneficial to me in many ways. Working as a team, brainstorming on everything from business development to fine tuning imagery, I feel less isolated and have acquired a broader understanding of the industry and my place in it.

It's the agent's responsibility to negotiate the licensing contract. If an agent stays current with the players, politics and changes in the industry, they have a better sense of what to ask for in a contract, when to ask for more, and when to be satisfied with what is being offered. That's not to say that an artist can't negotiate a contract on their own behalf; they certainly can, and many do. I simply notice that I'm more comfortable leaving the negotiation of a contract to someone with more experience than I have.

© Dianne Woods

The keys to a successful working relationship with an agent are first and foremost: find a good fit. After that, be your creative self; work hard; never, ever miss a deadline; and give your agent the support they need to promote you.

And here's the best part: with each potential client Kimberly pursues and each new contract we sign, my work gets stronger; I feel more focused, and I'm having more fun!

TMFMA: In your view, what's a key/most important quality to develop as a licensing artist in order to succeed in this design field? Have the emotional wherewithal to hear requests for changes to your art and the technical skill to execute them promptly. If your art is rejected, and it will be, don't take it personally. Rejection is not necessarily a statement about the quality of your work – it's more likely a statement about market trends. Art licensing is a business. Be persistent.

© Dianne Woods

TMFMA: What advice would you give other artists that are considering the art licensing field? A topic frequently explored on artist and licensing blogs is the tendency for artists to become isolated. While solitude can be a great contributor to the creative process, it can also make you a little loopy.

My solution has been to join a group here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We meet once a month to discuss the industry, review portfolios, give and listen to feedback, get inspired, vent frustrations, hear guest speakers, swap technical tips, and just generally be connected and enjoy each other's company.

© Dianne Woods

Being a member of "Bay Area Licensing Artists" has been the antidote to isolation for me. I'm sure I wouldn't be enjoying art licensing as much if it were not for this group of creative people, all of whom I count as friends. I cannot recommend enough being connected with a group of licensing artists on a regular basis.

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