We knew we would be amazed, but wow were we totally blown away by the outstanding quality of art submissions we received.

See the 50 semi-finalists here.

What is the Global Talent Search? It’s our annual competition to find the next top artist to represent. They win a boatload of assignments, licenses, and consultations with some of our favorite companies. (I will tell you that our GTS winners of previous years are totally booked solid!)

The fifty semi-finalists are from all over the world.
21 Europe
21 North America
6 Australasia
1 Africa
1 South America
80% have taken one or more of my e-courses, Make Art That Sells

The competition consists of three assignments. In the first assignment we asked the artists to envision what our fabulous and fictitious Brooklyn shop owner, Antoinette, would wear to bike to work.

Meet “Antoinette” who is the character in the three assignments.

She needs sneakers that she can bike in, instead of her platform boots.

Antoinette’s shoes. She’s in need of sneakers for bike-riding!

Q: Lilla, how did your team select the 50 semi-finalists out of the boatload of incredible submissions?
A: First and foremost, would we love to represent this look? On a gut level, is this a style we are infatuated with?

We considered the following in selecting the semi-finalists:
-Will this style get lots of work with our outstanding clients?
-Does the art stand out from the crowd? Do you get a sense of a well-formed and unique style?
-Did the artist give 110%? You’ll see, for example, that some artists illustrated the print on the inside of the shoe or embellished the bottom of the shoe itself.
-Is the technique strong and executed well?
-The color palette and the overall composition of the piece is masterful.

Why is the GTS important to our clients? It allows the agency to continue to deliver the freshest and best work in the industry along with our list of stellar artists. We are the place to find the newest and best talent from all over the world.

What’s next for the semi-finalists?
-The 50 semi-finalists have been notified today that they made it to the next round. You know they are going to be over the moon!
-They will receive their second assignment today as well. By the way, I loved writing the assignments and continuing the narrative of Antoinette. She’s up to some pretty amazing antics! The purpose of a narrative is to help the artist engage with the subject matter and demographic.
-The second assignments are due September 14th.
-Our panel of 20 top industry judges will privately select their favorites based on their highly-regarded expertise.
-The Public Gallery opens on September 16th for live voting for the People’s Choice. Here’s your chance to vote!
-We announce the six Finalists on September 23rd. Watch for that.

Check out my three videos I just recorded on:
-How I selected the 50 semi-finalists

-How to deal with not getting selected in a competition and how to turn that into an opportunity

-How to deal with getting selected and channeling your inner art god/dess.

Remember, you can cast your vote for your favorite on September 16th through September 21st. Stay tuned on the blog for more details. See all of the key dates here!

Again, we are honored that such top talent has participated in our annual Search!

Warm regards,
Lilla, Beth, and the Studio Ladies

We loved watching our feeds turn into seas of blue from Mini Assignment #2 “Fifty Shades of Blue”.  Mini Assignment # 3 is up over the Make Art That Sells Blog.   It’s all about The Word.

“As your third mini in preparation for the 2015 Global Talent Search, your mission today is to photograph the word “the” wherever you see it.”  Read the rest of the full details over here!

We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with and don’t forget to use #mygtsprep and #theword in your posts.

xo,

LRS Team

With the Global Talent Search just around the corner, Lilla has created a whole series of original mini assignments to help you get yourself prepared.

The assignments will be posted each day for 5 days, so check the Make Art That Sells blog and look out for #mygtsprep on our social media platforms!

This year’s assignments will be delivered in a slightly different format. All three assignments will evolve around the story of a fictional character: Antoinette from Brooklyn. By following a day in the life of the fabulous Antoinette, you’ll glean key information on an important demographic, and respond to the assignment with your end consumer in mind.

For all the information about dates, times and links to the assignments themselves, go to: makeartthatsells.com/mygtsprep

And please share what you come up with on social media using #mygtsprep or in the comments, we always LOVE to see what you’re up to!

And if you haven’t signed up for the Global Talent Search yet, you have until August 12, 3:59pm PDT / 6:59pm EDT / 11:59pm BST (UK) to do so!

Put yourself in the starting blocks for the Global Talent Search 2015!

The LRS team

We had so much fun following along with artist Rebecca Jones’ day on Lilla’s Instagram.  Since winning the Global Talent Search 2014, Special Studio Award, she has been very busy working with dream clients!  Rebecca lives and works in Australia.  Here is a glimpse of what a day in her life is like…

Setting out for the day in this beautiful dress.

Working on some Christmas projects for clients.

Shipping out prints to her Etsy customers.

Working on some woodland creatures and textures for a new client.

Cozying up at the end of a long and productive day with her favorite book.

Thanks Rebecca for sharing your day and beautiful work with us.  For more of the Rebecca’s work, see her portfolio here.

Stay tuned for the next Takeover Tuesday and catch another glimpse into a life of one Lilla Rogers’ working artists.

xo,

Reine

A wonderful article highlighting Flora Waycott’s journey and growth since becoming the Global Talent Search 2014 Special Studio Award Winner is published on Make Art That Sells.  Since winning, she has been represented by Lilla Rogers agency and created art for some of the great names in the industry!

She has been busy building up her portfolio, evoloving her style through paint, was exposed at Surtex and spoke at the MATS Global Art Gathering in Brighton – all that in only 8 months!

All photos credit to Flora Waycott

Flora in her studio in New Zealand

Work for Flow magazine

Kitchen Shelves

Jugs and Leaves

Flora at work in the studio               

To learn more about all of the new clients Flora is working with and how her style is evolving, be sure read the full article here and see Flora’s portfolio here.

Also, don’t forget to believe in yourself and enter into the Global Talent Search 2015!

xo,

Reine

A fantastic article has been written about “How to be a successful online creative freelancer” by Lilla Rogers and Do What You Love. Do What You Love creates award winning online courses that help people find personal and financial freedom through e-courses.  It’s chalked full of tips and advice on how to make the most of your creative career online. Read the entire article here on: Make Art That Sells.

“Never before has freelancing been so easy. It’s the democratization of work and access as creatives are now able to connect with their niche audiences worldwide.”
—Lilla Rogers

The participants to the MATS Global Art Gathering in Brighton meet Lilla Rogers and create precious connections with other artists.

xo,

Reine

I’m having my morning coffee downstairs. I’m loving this place.  Working on my Trend Report and Art Review PowerPoint for Friday.  #digitalnomad

Not often do you see a flyer for an accordion teacher.  I do love the serif lettering and the pencil drawing of the accordion.

xo,

Lilla

Hello!

Stylin’ with my groovy carry on the plane.

In flight entertainment is amazing.  I listened to Mozart and meditations!

I just love being somewhere else.

Slid through with my business visa.

An ad for an electric BMW in the airport.

Now at my hotel!

Love being in a foreign country. When I was young, I wanted to be as savvy as possible. Now I want to be uncertain and fascinated.

This is in the bathroom. What is it?

This is in the closet. What is it?

Went to the ATM.

xo,

Lilla

What an exciting time it is here at the studio.  Lilla, Susan and Joanne are busy packing up to head across the pond to Brighton UK for the Global Art Gathering. This exciting and revolutionary workshop is being held at the stunning Brighton Dome next week.

Passports are out and ready to go with these fabulous “I Heart Art” and Lilla Rogers Studio School buttons that just came in!

Lilla’s been busy creating and designing her gorgeous jewelry that she’ll be wearing for the event!

Lilla snuck this photo of me working on one of the creative activities she’s doing in Brighton next Friday! Her lucky staff were her test cases and I can attest the attendees are in for a treat.  It was so much fun and a great learning experience.

Lilla packing her bags!

Lilla’s trustworthy travel bag for Europe is buttoned with love from all of her artists and is ready to go!

Sadly, this event is sold out but we will be hearing from the ladies on their adventures in England and plan on bringing you live updates. In the meantime, read about more of the great things going on with Make Art That Sells here.

Stay tuned for more updates from Brighton and safe travels to everyone.

xo,
Reine

As a one-off special assignment in our current Make Art That Sells Bootcamp class, we recently challenged class participants to design a poster for our upcoming LIVE event in Brighton, UK, in June, ‘Make Art That Sells: The Global Art Gathering’. We were absolutely blown away by the response, and it was a difficult decision for Lilla, her studio ladies and our guest judge Judy Stevens, founder of Artists Open Houses Brighton.

After much deliberation they decide that the winner would be KATIE VERNON, whose stunning poster design completely captured the character of Brighton, a buzzing creative city on the South Coast of England.

KATIE VERNON

This is what the judges said about Katie’s piece:

Style

• It was definitely one of the most original pieces shown. It stood out from the others.
• The style is highly evolved and rendered in a consistent manner throughout the poster. The icons on the body are very beautifully painted.
• Reflects the vibe of Brighton, the Event and the MATS brand.
• The black line art is very cool. Minimal color palette adds sophistication.
• The hand-painted blue watercolor of the bathing suit is beautifully done and a is pretty foil to the more intense tattoos. We see the paint edges and subtle color modulations of the traditional media

Concept

• Edgy yet witty (Eye heart ART, Lilla as mermaid).
• An artist’s tattoos deliver the information about the event both literally and figuratively (in words and pictures). She’s wearing summer clothing—a bathing suit, perhaps—which communicates summer on the beach in a non-clichéd way. No seagulls or sailboats, not that that’s necessarily bad, but here it’s very fresh, which adds to the delight.
• The woman is holding three brushes which communicates that she is an art maker.
• The artist in the poster is very bad-ass (with nice lipstick).

Well designed poster

• The important info reads well very large (as a poster on the street) or very small (as postcards or on the web).
• The text is delivered in a hierarchy that matches the importance of the information (website info, etc., is smallest text)
• A great read quickly, but plenty of smaller details to reward a more careful look. I teach that your art needs to read well small for various purposes (such as web use). Here, the design reads well small: The woman’s shape is very graphic. The background yellow contrasts well against the silhouette of the body. The “Global Art Gathering” text is among the largest in any poster—and will read well from a distance—yet it doesn’t overpower the poster.

Plus, we just freakin’ loved it.

Katie wins $500, a 1-1 portfolio review with Lilla and a free place on the 2015 Global Talent Search (which will launch soon – stay tuned! Katie’s posters will be put up all over Brighton, and postcard-sized versions will be distributed in cafes across the city – congratulations Katie!

NOTE: There are only TWO places left for this event, which promises to be a special day of industry insight, advice, inspiration and community building. If you want to snap up one of the remaining two places, hurry and book here.

We were so impressed by the entries that we wanted to give special recognition to several others too. Each of the runners up will receive a free place on the 2015 Global Talent Search

The judges said about these entries: “There were loads and loads of fantastic pieces.

Here are just a few of the many that delighted us! These all exhibited strong compositions, were masterfully executed, and presented unique styles. The information was communicated clearly and in a way that was compelling as a poster. There was a quality of delight in each that would engage the viewer.”

MARTINA NG

DORIS LEE

JANE NEWLAND

KENDRA BINNEY

MARIA PARRISH

MEGHANN RADER

SANDRINE MONNIER

Congratulations all!