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Today we’re taking a look at LRS artist Trina Dalziel’s favorite things to illustrate. Take it away Trina…

I’ve worked as an illustrator since the mid 1990s and I’ve been represented by Lilla Rogers Studio since 2007. I’ve loved every commission they’ve ever found for me! They have a talent for getting a good fit with clients’ projects and artists.

I’ve illustrated hundreds of magazine and book projects over the years. I thrive on the challenge of finding a clear, clever visual solution to a text.

I love to create beautiful images and I work a lot on lifestyle, health, and women’s magazines.

I enjoy finding solutions for difficult or sensitive subjects.

Above: The Washington Post – Illustration for an article on ways to manage picky eaters

I like to make sense of complex information but in a soft, feminine way.

For this reason I love to work on “how-to’s”.

Left: illustrations for Woman’s Weekly

Below: My eye in real life tends to find beautiful vignettes amongst the everyday, and this translates into how I compose little spot illustrations.

Illustrations for Better Homes & Gardens — Dog washing, baking soda and sofa spots

I was fascinated by the atlas as a child and would spend many afternoons poring over it by the fire.

I love illustrating maps as I enjoy the process of capturing both the subjective ‘feel’ of a place plus objective information in one image.

I also relish the opportunity to add hand lettering, which I adore producing.

Right: Illustration for The Washington Post

Above: Packaging for Waitrose

A move from the city to the countryside a few years ago means I’m able to observe the changing seasons and to walk straight out into nature every day.

For the first time I have my own garden to grow flowers and vegetables in and I feel these up-close observations have fed into my work in recent years.

Left: Illustration for Breathe Magazine article “The Slow Season”

For commissioned illustrations, I work in Procreate which gives consistency in the process needed when working to tight deadlines.

For my personal work however, I’ve been exploring and exhibiting gouache paintings and ink drawings. I’d love to be able to carry over these ways of working into some of my commissioned illustrations in the future.

Left, Above: I’ve set myself a painting project to produce 100 paintings exploring gouache based on photographs I’ve taken. These are scenes from where I live, from Scotland, and the writer Robert Graves’s home on the island of Mallorca.

Left, Below: A page from a concertina sketchbook in pen, ink and brush. I illustrated a trip I made in 2019 to Bulgaria – this shows Sunday streets in Sofia.

Thank you for taking a peek into my process and subject matter. Selecting images and preparing text for this newsletter has been a good opportunity to reflect on what I do and what I’d love to do more of.

You can see more of Trina’s work at her LRS portfolio page here.

Your 94-page workbook for the Arty Book course, starting TODAY!

Dear Julia,

The big MATS Spring Sale ends Wednesday!

Don’t miss out on amazing deals on your favorite courses — 25% off every course and 45% off bundles.

Beautiful work from our artists

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

Lydia Graves

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Zoë Ingram

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Tara Lilly

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Maruga Koops

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Anke Rega

Clairice Gifford

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Charlotte Bruijn

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Your 94-page workbook for the Arty Book course, starting this Monday!

It’s a big week! The Make Art That SellsSpring sale is on now.

It’s a perfect time find a deal on one of my courses, like my new course My Arty Book Pitch which starts this Monday, April 10th!

What is an Arty Book and why should you do one? Join me this Friday for a free zoom to find out all the details.

Join me this Friday April 7th, 12PM ETI’ll chat about my brand-new course, My Arty Book Pitch, and pop up a volunteer or two to chat about their non-fiction illustrated (arty) book ideas, giving advice and guidance. You don’t want to miss this.Join the zoom!

Speaking of MATS, we recently wrapped up our Home Decor Live class, and LRS artists crushed it once again. Scroll down to see some of their amazing artwork, ready for license in Home Decor or to inspire you for book projects, stationery products and whatever you’re commissioning!

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

Jenny Miriam

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Mara Penny

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Kay Wolfersperger

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Paloma O’Toole

Available for licensing as of this writing.

This Week’s Featured Toy Pitch

Our Toy and Games Agent Riley Wilkinson has been working with our artists on some fabulous toy concepts for you. Feast your eyes!

Forest Dominoes by Tisha Lee

Oversized waterproof playing cards give families an excuse to deal some cards out in the rain!

Our concept is inspired by Tisha Lee’s beautiful hand-painted forest flora and fauna.

Contact us for more information about this fantastic toy pitch.

See more toy concepts–

ready to license–here.

All the images below were recent hits on Instagram. Thanks for giving them so much love ❤️.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram!

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

Tara Lilly

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Hsinping Pan

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Kay Wolfersperger

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Sarah Walsh

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Janie Secker

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Maria Gabriela Gama

Available for license as of this writing.

BRAND NEW Make Art That Sells class STARTS SOON: My Arty Book Pitch

Non-fiction illustrated books, or arty books, are an amazing source of income for artists, crafters, illustrators, writers, designers, photographers and more – basically anyone who is passionate about a hobby or an interest.Let me show you how you can build a career in this rewarding industry!

Sign up now at Make Art That Sells and get an incredible FREE five-part video series all about Writing and Illustrating Non-Fiction Books.

The very sparkly picture book My Mummy is a Unicorn, illustrated by Kim Fleming and published by Scholastic Australia is out now! Read our interview with Kim, below.

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

Kim Fleming

Kim writes:

“My Mummy is a Unicorn was so much fun to work on from start to finish.

I get to draw a dragon? A mermaid? A tickle monster!? Total dream project!

Plus it celebrates all of the amazing, creative, caring things that mothers do for their children every day, so what could be better than that? It’s a perfect Mother’s Day book!”

My Mummy is a Unicorn, illustrated by Kim Fleming, published by Scholastic Australia.

Buy it here.

From the publisher:

“Join in the fun as mother and child use their imaginations to create a magical day full of fantastical adventures.”

Q: How did this book come about?

A: The publisher saw this personal piece of mine (below), which prompted them to commission me. I do love adding magic realism to my illustrations, and Unicorn is certainly full of that, so it was a great match!

Q: What did you love about this project?

A: In this story, the main character imagines their mother as all sorts of different magical creatures. I absolutely loved that I got to bring that sense of wonder to the page–illustrating a dragon, a robot, a genie, and imagining each of their fantastical environments.

I also loved adding in little details not in the text, such as the purple swath of hair the mother character has in each personification, or the main character’s sidekick mouse friend.

Q: What medium do you use for your illustrations?

A: I use a hybrid traditional-digital workflow.

I hand paint watercolor textures, and hand-carve rubber stamps which I use to make patterns. I scan all of these in and assemble them digitally in Photoshop.

I was really happy with how these illustrations turned out!

Above: The watercolor texture became the spotlight behind the main character in the illustration below.

Right: The stars and rainbow stamps became patterns on the child’s shirt and overalls, and the loopy repeated stamps formed the pattern on the ballerina’s bodice.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

A: Yes, the cover is embossed with sparkles! Can I put in lots of smiley emojis here? And I just wanted to thank the team at Scholastic who were so amazing to work with.

Thanks Kim!

My Mummy is a Unicorn released March 1st, 2023 in Australia, and will hopefully be available worldwide soon. It is available for purchase here.

We are delighted to show you our artists’ portraits of important, strong women in history, in honor of Women’s History Month.

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

Erica Root

Available for licensing as of this writing

Paloma O’Toole

Betye Saar represented as Queen of Cups. Brilliant!

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Tequitia Andrews

“Queen Michelle”

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Brian Lambert

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Maruga Koops

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Sarah Walsh

Herstory: 50 Women and girls who changed the world

(Nosy Crow)

Buy it here.

Mara Penny

From Mara’s “Badass women” embroidery designs(C&T Publishing)

See more of Mara’s products for sale here.

BRAND NEW Make Art That Sells class STARTS SOON: My Arty Book Pitch

Non-fiction illustrated books, or arty books, are an amazing source of income for artists, crafters, illustrators, writers, designers, photographers and more – basically anyone who is passionate about a hobby or an interest.

Let me show you how you can build a career in this rewarding industry!

A Year of Weeks, written and illustrated by Erica Root and agented by Lilla, published by Running Press.

Sign up now at Make Art That Sells and get an incredible FREE five-part video series all about Writing and Illustrating Non-Fiction Books.

We’re thrilled to announce Erica Root’s first authored/illustrated picture book, Close To You From Far Away, published by Running Press Kids.

Below, Erica writes (and illustrates!) about the inspiration behind the book, and how it came to be. Enjoy!

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

Erica Root

Erica writes, “Recently, something amazing happened…I received a copy of my very first authored and illustrated children’s book!

This has been a dream practically four decades in the making.

I’m often asked what it’s like to make a picture book so I hope you enjoy seeing behind the scenes of Close To You From Far Away in this newsletter.”

Close to You from Far Away, written and illustrated by Erica Root, published by Running Press Kids.

Out April 4, 2023.

Available for pre-order now!

From the publisher:

“Find out how to maintain a feeling of closeness to someone you love while being far away from them in this delightful book about family, letter writing, and love.”

Erica: “Close to You from Far Away was developed during one of Lilla’s children’s book residencies. We were right in the middle of the Isolation Age (aka: May 2020), which left so many of us craving human connection in a way that we never had before.

At this time, we took my son to visit his grandma. They could only touch from opposite sides of the glass.

I found myself thinking about the unbreakable bond I had with my grandma and about what “connection” looks like from a child’s vantage point.

And that’s when Close to You from Far Away was born.”

Above: The genesis of Close To You From Far Away

Above: Getting published!

Below: Fun facts about Close To You From Far Away.

Above: Erica says, “Seeing and holding the actual book for the first time felt surreal!”

Below: Erica and Riley Wilkinson (toy and game agent/inventor extraordinaire!) worked together to develop the concept of tear-out postcards in the back of the book–one of Erica’s favorite elements!

Thanks Erica!

Close To You From Far Away published by Running Press Kids is available for pre-order now. It releases April 4, 2023.

See recently released projects featuring our artists’ illustrations: books, puzzles, newspaper articles, and more!

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

Åsa Gilland

Absolutely stunning picture book for Penguin Random House UK.

This title is available now in the UK and will be available in the US in December.

Buy it here.

Kendra Binney

Beautiful illustrations for Djeco.

Rebecca Jones

Fire station puzzle for Crocodile Creek.

Erin Vanessa

Local Living cover illustration for The Washington Post.

Read the article here.

Charlotte Bruijn

Katie Vernon

Fun new book for

Fleurus Editions.

Buy it here.

Map for

Galena Country Tourism.

Zoë Ingram

Spot illustrations for

Let’s All Keep Chickens,

published by Storey Publishing.

This Week’s Featured Toy Pitch

Our Toy and Games Agent Riley Wilkinson has been working with our artists on some fabulous toy concepts for you. Feast your eyes!

Mermaid magnetic checkers by Jenny Miriam

This two-sided game board features metal player pieces that children magically glide across the surface. After the game, flip the case over and take a dive into the underwater scene!

Kids strategize their win as they fall in love with Jenny’s bright, engaging art and diverse characters.

Contact us for more information about this fantastic toy pitch.See more toy concepts–ready to license–here.

BRAND NEW Make Art That Sells CLASS STARTS SOON: My Arty Book Pitch

Non-fiction illustrated books, or arty books, are an amazing source of income for artists, crafters, illustrators, writers, designers, photographers and more – basically anyone who is passionate about a hobby or an interest.

Let me show you how you can build a career in this rewarding industry!

A Year of Weeks, written and illustrated by Erica Root and agented by Lilla, published by Running Press.

Sign up now at Make Art That Sells and get an incredible FREE 5 part video series all about Writing and Illustrating Non-Fiction Books.