Sneak peek! Wanna see the proofs of Hsinping Pan’s latest book for James Patterson?
I’m dying to show you the proofs for Hsinping Pan’s latest book for Jimmy Patterson Books. You can pre-order it today! Hsinping is hot, hot, hot! She’s very in-demand for book illustration and you can see why. Scroll down to see three recent books she’s illustrated.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz from Cuddly Critters for Little Geniuses
Be Kind (Storey Publishing)
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
GIANT NEWS! Introducing our newest Artist! Revealing her pitch for a book.
We’re absolutely delighted to announce our newest artist, Erica Root.
I first noticed Erica’s work in class, where her distinctive style showcasing soft textures and rich colors stood apart. Since then, she’s developed a strong body of work, and after working with her privately for several months, I am thrilled that she is now represented by us. I am eager to get children’s books for her, in part because that is her dream, but also because I can’t wait to see and hold the magical book I know she’ll create. I’m confident that she’ll be snapped up for commissions, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re interested.
We took her on for several reasons. In addition to being able to illustrate incredible children’s books with appealing characters, we can envision her powerful editorial work gracing the pages of magazines and websites. Check out her Ida B. Wells illustration below.
Read on to see her book pitch idea…
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
It’s not easy to recreate Alice, but Erica has made a lovely Alice here. Besides the elegant color palette, the floating items help tell the story.
Erica illustrated this spread to demonstrate how she might illustrate a story in vignettes. In class, we encourage showing dramatic poses in a pitch. Exhibit A: Alice falling down the hole, hair flying upward.
This is one of my favorite characters Erica has created. I loved the softness of her trademark shading, the quiet color palette, the hand lettering, and the bright eyes that suggest a story is ready to be told.
This powerful likeness was created for the suffragette assignment for my Assignment Bootcamp course. This may have been the point where I stood up and took notice of Erica. Once I pulled myself off the floor, I took a deeper look: the telling tattoo imagery on her body, the piercing eyes, the suffragette badge on her mustard hat. We’re constantly getting assignments to illustrate powerful women in history, so we saw this piece as a plus.
We were impressed with this fresh take on emotions, plus the lovely Freedom and Letting Go bird banners as an embellishment to the figure.
One of things I look for is wit in an artist’s work. That tells me the artist may be capable of initiating their own projects. See next image…
Erica was a student in my MBA course (Money Bad Ass) where I fell in love with the lists she created. I’m currently working with her on a book concept of 52 lists, so please don’t hesitate to contact us to see the pitch or to chat.
‘The Real Life Mom Recipe’ (excerpt). This is the kind of wit and style I love.
Reach out to us to see more of Erica’s work or chat about your projects. See more of her work on our site here or on her site here.
How does an artist illustrate Eva Hesse with string and lettering? Lots of lettering by our artists.
Want to see the various ways in which seven top artists create beautiful and brilliant lettering? Read on.
Fun Facts: Did you know that agent Kim Fleming is fluent in French, and agent Joanne Hus is fluent in Spanish? Yup!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
“Let’s keep asking questions”
Clairice Gifford’s typographic illustration for Flow Magazine (France)
From the sketchbook of the genius Helen Dardik
Julia’s sketchbook from my MBA course
Lovely serif uppercase lettering from Marenthe’s sketchbook
We love this innovative lettering treatment from Sarah’s book “I Know An Artist” (Quarto)
Trina created delicate serif upper and lower case lettering in this gardening illustration for Baltimore Magazine.
Artists like painting animals and people and flowers. See why! Deer, rabbits, a tiger and some chickens.
Stay tuned for a big announcement from the Studio coming next week!
Artists love painting animals, people, and flowers, which is good news for our clients, because as you’ll see below, they are picked up for loads of applications, such as picture books, wall covering, even magnet sets.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
I’m crazy about the style of course, but the color palette? Love.
From of a magnet set for Badge Bomb.
There’s a reason that Daniel gets a ton of board book work, and so many other things. His updated mid-century style, color palette, and vintage lithographic effect is so appealing.
If you like this piece, wait until you see the work Kendra’s doing for my Illustrating Children’s Books course. Stay tuned…or contact us to see more.
Like a Girl (Sterling Publishing)
Seriously, the colors. And the likeness. And the composition.
This may be why you opened this email! Sarah Walsh’s sketchbook. This is the kind of thing she does for herself.
Wall decor for Open Road Brands
Happy stylized sunflowers! Those pink cosmos blooms; the feathers on the chicken; the fine pen and ink lettering: you can see why this charmer was picked up for licensing.
My favorite picks this week
We love showing you the latest and greatest by our artists. In this edition: a dragon, two unicorns, mermaids, a sloth, a wolf, and we think it’s a yeti. Plus lots of gorgeous lettering.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Galison/Mudpuppy
Valentine’s Card for BBDO Worldwide for AT&T campaign
Bedding for Anthropologie
Journal cover for Compendium
Jimmy Patterson Books
Personal piece
Personal piece for Folktale Week
Goal Map created for Lilla’s MATS Money Bad Ass (MBA) Class
Let me show you a few of my favorite picks: from a home spa on a swing chair, to a portrait of Marie Curie…
I’m happy to show you a few favorite pieces by my artists: from body-positivity yoga people, to a big-eyed cat for a board book, to painting on leather. Enjoy!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
I love the cool body positivity people illustrated by Katie Vernon.
From “I Know a Woman”, Aurum Press/Quarto
Not only do I love the historically accurate illustrated setting, but the color palette of aqua hues is lovely.
Campbell/Pan Macmillian
Daniel has a way of creating strong, cover-worthy characters. And the fur!
From the illustrated magazine Honest History
I have yet to see a piece by Sarah Walsh that I don’t love, and this is no exception. Sarah paints with such warmth, confidence and a cool yet accessible style.
I love this lush, dreamy piece that Anke created for our Menagerie on creating one’s own spa life. It’s the watery paint and the telling details–cacti, old radio, sleeping cat–that got me.
Flora writes: “A collaboration is in the works with the talented Namu Leather Goods. I will be painting on a limited number of leather pouches before they are hand constucted by Namu. I have never painted on leather before! It feels so good to try something different – this image shows some practice pieces.”
Always a star with decorative elements, I loved seeing Flora’s work on the textured surface and the muted tones.
I just fully enjoy the delight apparent in this piece by Kate, bursting with charming icons.
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
Why does our artist Carolyn Gavin get so many commissions to illustrate things like wine labels, Anthro bedding, chocolate bars, and more?
We love our artist Carolyn Gavin, and we’re delighted to profile her today. From chocolate and wine packaging, to Anthropologie bedding, Carolyn’s work adds lush watercolor beauty to any product.
I first became aware of Carolyn’s work many years ago in a tiny paper goods shop in Rockport, Massachusetts. Her journals for Ecojot absolutely floored me–her style was truly original.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha DeWitz
Photo courtesy CreativeBug
Check out Carolyn’s CreativeBug Class, “Daily Painting Challenge: Flowers, Fruits and the Natural World”
Watercolors
Click on the image above to see a Carolyn watercolor painting in action!
Packaging
Packaging for L’Occitane en Provence
Gift box and Pumpkin Spice chocolate bar packaging art by Carolyn Gavin
Wine label for Georges DuBoeuf
Books & Products
Carolyn illustrated two books in the Kids Can Press “Nature All Around” series.
File this under very cool jobs: Carolyn Gavin was invited by Fossil Toronto to hand-paint purses, wallets and watches recently.
Bedding for Anthropologie
There are several reasons why our artists love illustrating for editorial. See new work by our artists for the Washington Post.
There are several reasons why our artists love illustrating for editorial. First, the manuscripts open new worlds to illustrate. Second, concepting adds a rich dimension to the piece. And third, the faster time frame keeps it fresh.
Today, we are delighted to feature recent work by several of our artists for the venerable Washington Post.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Illustration on souvenirs from a variety of countries by Jessica Allen for the Washington Post Travel Section
Illustration on climate change by Jon Cannell for the Washington Post
Illustration on Father’s Day by Marco Marella for the Washington Post
Illustration on wellness by Sarah Papworth for the Washington Post
What to do in Anaheim and Orlando besides Disney by Trina Dalziel for the Washington Post Travel Section
Called “the Praying Mantis” for its shape, this illustration by Katie Vernon for the Washington Post illustrates the most gerrymandered district in Maryland.
A few of my favorite picks
Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite picks by my artists.
Animation by Anke Rega
Kelly Anne is currently taking my Illustrating Children’s Book course and writes, “Time for another round of Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children’s Books. I chose “Greta & the Wolves”, a wonderful text by co-teacher Zoe Tucker. I can’t wait to dig into the story and Greta’s world over the next four weeks.”
Clairice writes, “I recently did the design for these Fika cookie boxes for Valentine’s Day. So excited to see the actual packaging and is it bad I’m even more excited to eat the cookies. The lettering says ‘many hugs’ in Swedish.”
Click on this image to see a delightful video that Hsinping Pan created for Land of Nod.
Åsa writes, “Here’s a sneak peek of something I’ve been working on. Last year started out very rough but in autumn some amazing things happened. The fabulous Lilla Rogers Studio took me on and I remember telling Lilla that I’d love to illustrate a children’s book. I am so grateful that happened and for getting to work on this beautiful story The Perfect Shelter for Little Tiger Press, coming in the Spring of 2020. Crazy what can happen in a year.”
Bambi writes, “Meet Jack and Pearl… working on my characters for the latest Make Art That Sells kids book class and getting happily swept away by a world of tide pools and ocean goodness. Story by the lovely Zoe Tucker“. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
Follow us on Instagram for more fun.
xo
P. S. Read what our clients have to say about working with our agency here!
Here’s our GIANT ANNOUNCEMENT: THE BIG REVEAL–0UR NEWEST ARTIST!
Do you know what we love? We love signing artists. First, we love following them, then secretly working with them, and then finally announcing them. Why? Because as agents we love getting artists work. We really do. It’s just the way we’re made.
So when we see an artist like BAMBI RAMSEY, and all the amazing work she’s created, we envision her work on brilliantly illustrated books, magical children’s books, very cool editorial work, pretty fabric, happy toys, gorgeous lush floral cards, and just about everything else in the whole wide world.
We are delighted to now represent the brilliantly talented Bambi Ramsey.
Let me talk you through some of my favorite pieces.
Meet our newest artist, Bambi Ramsey
Here’s how I know that Bambi will be busy with commissions: I popped her art into this Bingo board I made for my Make Art That Sells students. You can see that she hits such a vast array of markets, subjects, moods, and more which is what I love to see in an artist’s body of work. I’m so eager to see what her first jobs are!
Find Fuchsia Food Fast
When I first saw this piece that Bambi created for a text I wrote for my Illustrating Children’s Book course, I knew I was dying to see her work in children’s books. Imagine what it would be like for the child who is looking through this book–the delight as they notice all the details like the shelf of jams, spotting the cat eyeing the love birds on the second floor, and did you notice the rocket ship in the alley? Contact us to chat about your book project. Let’s make it happen.
Bambi and I worked together for a few months before I signed her, and Senior Agent Susan McCabe and I wanted to see how she would do a full page illustration for a farmer’s market. We were also curious to see how she’d illustrate men. Result–> man bun man and flip-flop man. This stunning gem is what she did. Are you beginning to see why we just had to take on Bambi? Plus, she is wonderful to work with, and super-professional from all her years at a whole bunch of art departments.
Bambi took a whole bunch of my courses, and we love how each time she took the Children’s Book course, she developed her work in a different direction. Here, Bambi displays her ability to illustrate an historical text, researching period clothing.
Bambi crushed it in the Creating Collections for Home Decor course. She’s got such a gift for lettering, as you see above, and also further down this newsletter in the Patti Smith piece. When called for, she’s able to vibe out the color palette that’s right for the market. Here, she’s focusing on watery violet, gold, and black.
I always want to see winter holiday in a portfolio, and was delighted to spot this in Bambi’s portfolio. Folk art + winter holiday.
I worked privately with Bambi the past few months so that she could create a few more pieces to round out her portfolio. I asked her to illustrate any famous woman she wanted because we’re getting a lot of work for those kinds of images. She floored me with this portrait of Isobelle Eberhardt–a woman before her time–a Swiss explorer who moved to Algeria, dressed as a man, and was a writer and advocate of decolonialization. Not only did Bambi select a fascinating person, but the illustration is drop-dead gorgeous. I literally let out a gasp when I saw it.
Bambi already had this piece in her portfolio when I contacted her. I simply asked her to make it a tiny bit more ‘editorial’ by adding text to the cover of the book and scattering some seed packets around the figure, telling a quiet story of gardening.
I’m always happy when I see florals in a portfolio. They get work.
Patti Smith: The lettering. The intense, gorgeous face. The rich color palette. I mean, seriously, what more do you need? Case closed; let’s sign Bambi. So give us a shout and let’s make it happen with your project.
Yup, she was a semi-finalist in our highly competitive Global Talent Search. By the way, in lieu of the GTS this year, we are hand-picking artists from my MATS courses. I love the GTS, but I also am loving the ability to just swoop in and sign an artist I’m loving from class. Stay tuned.
