At first glance an e-course can sound like it might be impersonal – just you and your computer and your sketchbook, beavering away in your corner of the world. But the reality is the absolute opposite. A course like Make Art That Sells brings people together from all over the globe with a shared love of creating, a shared desire to monetise their talent, and a shared ambition to make great art that flies out of the door. The community that has built up around MATS is astounding – hundreds of lovely, generous artists supporting each other’s steps to success, in a way which is perhaps unusual in this highly competitive industry. And sometimes the participants even get their families involved. We love how Sarah Alcock’s daughter helped her create this adorable video about her experience in class. (It’s less than a minute long and we guarantee it will make you smile!) – click on the image to watch it.

If you have any problems viewing this video, click this link to watch it on Vimeo.com.

If you want to learn how to make art that sells in the top ten hottest markets, from one of the world’s top agents (who has sold art for products worth over $100 million) AND become part of an amazingly supportive artists’ community, sign up for Make Art That Sells now (begins October 7 online).

Check out this gorgeous video made by Antonija M, one of the talented students of Make Art That Sells Part A. In it Antonija shares what she learnt in the course, and creates a fabulous pattern with all her new ‘knowledge’!

If you can’t see this video properly click here to view it on Vimeo!

Excitement is building for Make Art That Sells Part B which starts on October 8 (registration is now open here). In this course we give you the inside scoop on the following hot markets:

PAPER 

BABY/CHILDREN’S APPAREL & DÉCOR

SCRAPBOOKING

EDITORIAL

PARTY PAPER

It works like a kit for each market – Lilla tells you what each market wants, and then walks you step-by-step through the process of creating a portfolio piece. Lilla teaches you how to break it down so you can respond to any brief, regardless of how daunting it may initially feel. With her help you can get that dream gig!

Each week includes:

• In depth market overview (what sells, who buys it, what they are looking for)
• Examples of real jobs
• Interview with a market expert, art director or flourishing artist known for selling work in that market – think Paperchase, EK Success, Real Simple Magazine and more!
• A professional-level assignment and step-by-step guidelines to respond with great art that sells
• Access to assignment critique from Lilla (a handful of pieces will be critiqued each week)
• Style development advice
• Hot trends & fresh inspiration
• Business and life advice from Lilla

You will also get access to a private community space where you can connect with other artists and designers, share your work and support each other.

The two parts of the course are designed to work together but you can just take one part if you prefer.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN EXACTLY WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR ARTWORK TO MAKE KILLER PORTFOLIO PIECES WHILE STAYING TRUE TO YOUR STYLE AND TASTE, THIS IS FOR YOU.

If you join this course and fully take on board Lilla’s advice, YOU ARE GUARANTEED TO GROW AS AN ARTIST, BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO AND GAIN MORE MARKET SAVVY so you can make great art that sells. But don’t just take our word for it – read our amazing testimonials from alumni of MATS here.

For those of you who wanted to sign up via our interest-free installment plan, please be aware the deadline for this is this FRIDAY (AUGUST 30). Find out more and secure your place here.

MATS Part A was simply amazing. Lilla’s first assignment – pure inspiration – resulted in fabulous artwork from more than 500 participants! Here are some samples from our own artists who found new inspiaration in the ecourse! Hope to see you in Part B (starting in October) – Jennifer

From John Coulter:

From Sarah Walsh:

From Allison Cole:

From Trina Dalziel:

From Rebecca Bradley:

It’s time to reveal the 50 Semi-Finalists in the 2013 Global Talent Search!

We were flooded with entries in response to the exciting brief set in association with Paperchase, inviting entrants to design a journal cover with a playground theme. Here is what Lilla had to say about reviewing the submissions, and undertaking the difficult task of making the selection…

“What’s it like to review submissions from over 1,500 participants from over 30 countries around the globe? I’ll tell you what it’s like:  It’s exhilarating! I couldn’t wait to see what would turn up as a result of the assignment.  For starters, I was astounded by the quality of work and the calibre of the artists. Work was submitted in every medium: paint, watercolor, Adobe Illustrator, even 3-D pieces! My goal was to seek out the best of the best, and by a very careful process of elimination, I was able to narrow down the selection to 122 images. From there I began an even more studied (and challenging!) examination, and then finally I brought in my crack team, Susan McCabe and Jennifer Nelson, for their savvy input as seasoned agents to help narrow the work down to this group of AMAZING 50 semi-finalists.

(In alphabetical order by surname)

Kiran Ahmad

Kelly Angelovic

Jan Avellana

Emily Balsley

Elspeth Alix Batt

Wendy Bentley

Maria Bogade

Gaia Bordicchia

Miriam Bos

Rosie Martinez Dekker

Chantel de Sousa

Susan Driscoll

Noemi Gambini

Lien Geeroms

Julia Glukhoy

Lindsay Grime

Lyndy Hants

Kim Hawes

Tamara Henderson

Denise Holmes

Victoria Horner

Jill Howarth

Zoe Ingram

Josephine Kimberling

Anita Kingsley

Tara Lilly

Dawn Machell

Lizzie Mackay

Antonija Majstorovic

Julie Mclaughlin

Lucky Nielsen

Erin Paisley

Juliana Pedemonte

Clare Phillips

Fatinha Ramos

Daniel Roode

Angie Rozelaar

Marta Rusin

Aimee Sicuro

Cindy Silverstein

Natalie Singh

Vesper Stamper

Amy Sullivan

Irene Tan

Megan Thomas

Victoria Weiss

Kara White

Selena Wong

Louise Wright

Janet Zack

Drum roll please… The winner of the Global Talent Search will not only be represented by Lilla Rogers Studio, but will win a Mini Collection license with Robert Kaufman Fabrics (and a host of other prizes – see here for details!)

The Mini Collection with Robert Kaufman Fabrics will feature 2-4 designs with 2 colorways per design.

Design by Suzy Ultman

The winner will collaborate with a Senior Stylist assigned by the Robert Kaufman Studio, who will personally guide them through all processes involved to produce and market their work on fabric. The details of the license, including royalties, will be negotiated by Lilla Rogers Studio on behalf of the winner. 

Registration for the Global Talent Search closes TOMORROW! If you have not yet registered, what are you waiting for? This is an incredible opportunity and someone has to win – it might just be YOU! Find out more and register here.

We are bursting with excitement to reveal unveil another fantastic prize for the winner of the Global Talent Search (registration closes this Wednesday June 26)…

The talented winner will win a license for a journal cover with gorgeous stationery chain Paperchase. The details of the license, including royalties, will be negotiated by Lilla Rogers Studio on behalf of the winner.

Helen Dardik for Paperchase

Find out more about Paperchase on their website here.

How amazing? If you haven’t yet thrown your hat into the ring for the Global Talent Search, why not? Someone has to win and it might just be you! Register here by June 26 to be in with a chance of winning this career-changing prize!

We are so excited to unveil yet another fabulous prize for the winner of the Global Talent Search (registration closes June 26)…

The talented winner will create a decorative garden product with Studio M, the new artful home and garden division of Magnet Works, Ltd.! The Director of Product Development will personally work with the winner throughout the development process to give them a better understanding of how a product line is conceptualized, developed, and marketed in the Specialty Gift Industry. The details of the license, including royalties, will be negotiated by Lilla Rogers Studio on behalf of the winner.

Find out more about Studio M on their website and blog, or connect on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

How cool? If you haven’t yet thrown your hat into the ring for the Global Talent Search, why not? Someone has to win and it might just be you! Register here by June 26 to be in with a chance of winning this career-changing prize!

We are thrilled to announce another prize for the winner of the Global Talent Search! Not only will they get represented by Lilla Rogers Studio for two years but they will win a host of licensing deals including…

A gift or home decor product line with Midwest-CBK!

Choosing from the uber talented pool of artists will be difficult, and winning will be quite a distinction. Midwest-CBK’s Vice-President of Design & Creative  will personally help guide the recipient through the process of understanding how a product line is conceptualized, developed and marketed, invented and reinvented. You will work together to create a strong product line of either gift or home decor, depending on what is the most natural fit. There’s the potential of developing wall art, lighting, textiles, ceramics, gifts, specialty products… all offered with the voice of this artist to help them build an identity & strong brand footprint in the marketplace. The licensing details will be negotiated by Lilla Rogers Studio on behalf of the winner.

Awesome, right? If you haven’t yet thrown your hat into the ring for the Global Talent Search, why not? Someone has to win and it might just be you! Register here by June 26 to be in with a chance of winning this career-changing prize!

We are so excited to announce that the winner of the Lilla Rogers’ Global Talent Search will get a fantastic licensing deal with Prima Marketing, one of the foremost companies in the scrapbooking industry.

The one who rises to the top will create a Journaling Set with Prima Marketing Inc. The winner will work directly with Prima’s own Creative Director and in-house Design Team through the development process, giving them the hands on experience to learn about this industry from the inside out.

Licensing details will be negotiated by Lilla Rogers Studio on behalf of the winner.

This is an incredible opportunity, and we are thrilled to be able to offer it as one of the licensing deals secured for the winner of the Global Talent Search.

Have you signed up yet? Hurry, registration closes on June 26! Find out more and enter here. This could completely change your art career…

(All images courtesy of Prima Marketing)

What a treat -I get to be on the cover of the gorgeous MOYO Magazine, which includes an 8 page feature all about life here at the studio, and the ins and outs of being an agent. I loved doing this interview and I hope you enjoy reading it. MOYO the world’s first online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design, co-founded by my artist Rachael Taylor and the producer of Make Art That Sells, Beth Kempton. It is FREE – you can get your copy here!

What’s inside? The fourth issue of MOYO is here and it is all about paper (yum!) and includes:

• Behind the scenes with Lilla Rogers
• An interview with stationery designer Carolyn Gavin (also from Lilla Rogers Studio!)
• Papercutting with Mr Yen
• Rachel Hazell on patterns in paper
• Hannah Nunn reports from a wallpaper factory
• MOYO learns to make paper
• …and much more!

There are also design tips, a designer diary, a brief for you and more – see inside for details.

Get your FREE copy of MOYO Issue 4 here!

PS: Make Art That Sells has finally begun and the energy is incredible! We are keeping registration open for latecomers until 7pm EST / midnight GMT on Thursday 6 June so you can still squeeze in if you are quick. Find out more and register here