Above: See this odd little box? We discovered it at an antique shop in France

on my previous retreat. Can you guess what’s inside? Read on!

Because as visual people, we love odd and delightful objects. Stuff we’re not accustomed to seeing. Different sensibilities. Lettering and design from a different era.

I find exploring a quirky vintage shop as exciting as going to a museum–sometimes even more so! Plus, in Europe, this American gal delights in all the old, old, old things. They tell stories. They reveal other times. And the typography! So gorgeous! That’s why we’ve included visiting some antique shops on my upcoming Lettering Retreat in Spain October 2025

On my previous retreat in France one of the gang discovered this intriguing black leather box. (I forget who it was. If you know, shoot me an email!)

That’s why I love European antique shops.

That’s why we’ve included a day trip to charming antique shops on the Lettering Retreat in Spain October 2025. We’ll wander the tiled and cobbled streets, stop for lunch, and poke around like the visual maniacs we are and love to be!

We’ll plow through old books, odd pharmaceutical bottles, maybe a tarot deck or two, lots of oddities and delights waiting to be discovered.

Oooh, I can’t wait to tell you about them—from vintage shops to an Andalusian botanical paradise to wandering the quaint streets of a Spanish seaside village. Read on.

BOOK YOUR TRIP HERE.

A highlight of our trip to Almería is the chance to explore its charming vintage shops, or “tiendas de segunda mano,” where who knows what treasures we’ll

find. We’ll also bop into a local art supply store and obsess over any art supplies we don’t already own. If time allows, we’ll immerse ourselves in the enriching Museo de Arte de Almería, where the historical Museo de Arte Doña Pakyta showcases 19th- and 20th-century art, and the modern Espacio 2 celebrates contemporary works. We’ll wrap up our outing with a delicious lunch at a traditional Almería restaurant.

We’ll begin our day as always with a delicious breakfast and coffee before setting off on our own comfy bus (I know; I said that already but I love that we get our own comfy bus and just to mention, on my last retreat, we all had a crush on our bus tour guide). Ok, so as I was saying, we’ll enjoy a peaceful journey to a hidden, quirky little Andalusian botanical paradise nestled in the rolling hills of Almería. About an hour’s drive away, this enchanting garden to an small, but eccentric, garden with 1,450 exotic and carnivorous plants. I didn’t make that up!

You can savor the beauty with your camera or simply with your actual eyes if you prefer, while we feel inspired by nature’s rather obsessive desire to wow us with originality.

Our guide will show us around and I know I’ll want to ask about the 1,450 EXOTIC AND CARNIVOROUS PLANTS!

After our morning art studio time, we’re off to San José, a charming bohemian village by the sea. Just a short 30-minute drive through the stunning Cabo de Gata Natural Park, this former fishing village is now a tranquil retreat known for its pristine beaches and authentic local cuisine. We’ll enjoy lunch at a cozy restaurant before exploring at our own pace—stroll through the town, take in the views, or even dip your toes in the sea if the weather’s right.

As the sun sets over the azure waves, we’ll head back to the venue for a relaxed and delicious dinner, sharing stories, laughter, and perhaps a glass of wine with the group.

Read all about the day trips and all the goodness of this retreat here.

I can’t wait to spend a week with you—exploring, creating, and sharing our love of lettering in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Let’s sip coffee in the garden, wander through the estate, and make art that feeds the soul.

Book your place here.

xo

Instructor, Color Quest Art Retreat, Portugal, March 2025

Instructor, Lettering Art Retreat, Spain, October 2025

Instructor, CreativeBug

Columnist, Uppercase Magazine

Author, I Just Like to Make Things

Recently, out of the blue, a very cool temporary tattoo company approached me to do art for tattoos. Am I the coolest 69-year-old? Maybe. But of course, more importantly, if you stay in the business, keep showing up, things happen.

Not long ago, I had been doing some intricate drawings in my journal, using mostly fountain pens to color in the teeny tiny details. There was something incredibly calming and therapeutic about it. I forget why I wrote Expect Joy. It could’ve been that I was trying to calm myself down from political fears or life pressures. Anyway.

And then there were some funny little butterflies with feet I had been doing, which was a new thing for me, getting back into ink and watercolor, which I hadn’t done for maybe decades.

Magically, they were perfect for the project. Sometimes serendipity happens.

So when the wonderful folks at Tarttu reached out, open to anything I wanted to do, I had these ready to go.

I remember back in 1994 when my illustration MFA advisor told me this exact thing. She said, “Opportunities will come that you can’t even imagine.” Of course I didn’t quite believe it at the time but she was absolutely right.

My whole career is a testament to that, come to think of it.

You’ll love hanging out with your new friends as you paint, chat, sip coffee and listen to music in our own studio right on the estate.

I’ll guide and support you every step of the way. I’m here to help.

So you’ll build a treasure trove of varied and stunning color combinations and also make portfolio pieces. It’s going to be beautiful. And we’ll bond and enjoy the company of like-minded creatives.

But that’s just part of our week together! Read all about the Retreat here.

Book your place HERE!

https://uptrek.com/retreat/color-quest-art-retreat-artist-agent-lilla-rogers-portugal

I can’t wait to see you!

I have always had a love for creating artwork for life’s youngest bookworms.

I’ve mostly illustrated picture books, but recently I was thrilled to have the opportunity to illustrate my first novelty board book with Townhouse Books, which will be releasing soon.

I’m totally hooked on board books!

It’s a sweet, lift-the-flap book about putting woodland animals to bed.

It’s also got a cool cutout and gold foil on the cover!

The three images below were created for “Storyteller Summer Camp”, an instagram challenge I co-hosted with illustrator friends.

See more of Kim’s charming illustration work here.

Announcing my

Color Quest Art Retreat

She lives and works from her home studio in Adelaide, South Australia, with her husband Jeff, 5 teenagers 14-19 and 2 chihuahuas Chimichanga & Pippi.

The map became a label for their Urban Wine Collection. It was beautifully printed with embossing, debossing and spot UV. This wine collection is now exported worldwide. It really was a dream project and I loved being able to bring the vision to life for my client.

My client gave me free reign for this map project and so I made it a chronological history of all the travelling I’ve done around my home state. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and now sell this map myself.

It has been hugely popular.

Buy it here!

One thing I love about maps is doing research on places of significance and learning about them. I also love including little quirky things that are meaningful to my client and help bring the storytelling of the map to life.

I tend to work on one icon at a time and then bring them all into Photoshop to make the final composition. I also have a full library of painted textures which I use in every piece of work.

My favorite materials are pencils, notebooks and my iPad mini.”

You can see more Kate’s gorgeous artwork here.

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

Buy it here.

Buy them here.

We’ve agented commissions for some of the best artists in the world on, for example, a water tower in Albuquerque, painterly pillows and mugs for Anthropologie, huge murals for a Seattle hospital interior, for Ken Jennings middle grade books, many hundreds of picture books, miles of fabric, witty socks, charming tote bags, striking novel covers, and adorable toys. Agenting is dreamy.

(L-R) Patty Kantlehner, Julia Parker, Me, Susan McCabe, Kim Fleming

At 39 I founded an art agency with five artists, now forty-five artists.

At 58 I co-founded my teaching platform, Make Art That Sells, with brilliant Beth Kempton. I’ve taught over 40,000 students and I delight supporting them in their glorious creative careers.

I’ve loved every minute of it, but my passion for teaching has grown.

Closing the agency has not been an easy decision because I love mentoring my artists and working with my beautiful team, but, just as I always teach–follow your passions and let that be a guide–I am following my passions: teaching art on my Make Art That Sells platform and in Europe, writing, and making art.

After fifty years as a creative entrepreneur, how can I help the larger community? I want more time to teach on my beloved MATS platform, (I’m currently writing a brand-new course for 2025). I’ll begin a new chapter of teaching at week-long retreats in gorgeous locations in Europe like France, Portugal and Spain (and maybe finally do my book!)

For the immediate future my goal is to mentor my artists though this passage. I’m quite sure many of them will have no problem getting agents or might take this moment to try other creative adventures. Agents, feel free to reach out to them. They are stars.

Art directors and editors, we would be delighted to accept work for our artists through September 12. Rest assured, we will shepherd any new or existing projects for the life of the project. From September 13th onwards, you can reach out to our artists directly with new projects and that information will be on the website.

Should you need anything at all, simply reply to this email, or our team at info@lillarogers.com are just an email away.

To my beautiful, brilliant students, fear not! I will still be over at Make Art That Sells teaching with gusto, dreaming up more courses.

Agents, editors and art directors, if you would like to be a guest in a class review and see some of the strongest work by top artists as they create it, just reply to this email.

I hope we will meet in class or in person in Europe. (Ok, I’ll spill the beans. Just back from teaching lettering in France, I’ve been asked to teach in Spring 2025 in Portugal and Fall 2025 in Spain.)

And my thrilling new course for MATS is going to be about—oh sorry, just ran out of space. Stay tuned!

We never get bored of this walk, with its ever changing view throughout the seasons. There’s new plants unfurling daily, and always a chance of spotting swans flying overhead, a blur of a kingfisher along the bank, or if I’m very lucky seeing an otter darting into the river!

After our walk it’s off to the studio, a leisurely stroll down the garden path, tea in one hand, secateurs in the other!

After building the studio eleven years ago, the garden has naturally evolved around my obsession with plants and flowers! I’m inspired by the natural world, and love nothing better than to paint what’s around me!

I’ll often cut a few stems as I wander down the windy path, noticing what’s new and opening that day, ready to put in a jam jar to draw. Or if the weather’s good, I’ll pull up a seat and grab my watercolour set and paint right there amongst the flowers. My favourite work is always painting from life, I just lose myself in the process, listening to the birds and the buzzing of the insects.

It’s magical.

I use a Schmincke watercolour set and Winsor and Newton or Schmincke gouache, and mix the colours on old china dinner plates. I often use coloured pencils for details and textures.

My favourites are the Caran d’Ache Prismalo ones, or Faber-Castell Polychromos.