About Advocate Art
Kate Johnson
Julija Lalina
Hannah Abbo
Natasha Harding
Ghislaine Gayyo
Advocate Art was founded in 1992, with a group of illustrators who liked the idea of having an agent but not the other things that often came with that. We call our ethos four “F.A.C.T.s”: Fairness, Ability, Creativity and Trust. It’s about doing the right thing and being with the right people. We think our principles set us apart from conventional agencies, sticking to them has meant we have attracted the most creative illustrators and artists who in turn attract (with a little help) the best clients. The people we represent are perfectly able to conduct their own affairs but like working with Advocate Art because we offer value to them in the services we provide. Clients are assured that we represent artists that are like-minded professionals, pre-vetted and able not only to get the job done without fuss, but also to surpass expectations. It’s their choice to be with us, we have a high retention rate - with the most popular artists in our group being with us from the start! We were one of the first Agencies to give direct client contact with our illustrators, allowing creativity to flow without being diluted in translation. We were one of the first to offer re-sales as an important secondary income to artists. Now we have gone beyond that too, with the development of an on-line portal - ARTicle which enables artists to have transparency into the back office functions of the business, such as royalty management and credit control, amongst other things. Business is all about relationships, which is why we have a very high artist to agent ratio, clients often use us as artistic advisors, project managers as well a trend forward resource for pre-qualified talent. It is for these reasons that Advocate Art has become the largest illustration agency around and I’d like to think one of the most respected but- we understand we didn’t get that way by acting like the biggest. Come and find out for yourself…
LIMITED EDITION PORTFOLIO PRINT /
Anna Wilson
Amanda Hendon
Claire Gaukrodger
Lisa Musing
BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL
01
AMANDA ENRIGHT
Hello! I’m Amanda, a designer and illustrator living in West Sussex UK After completing a BA in Graphic Design at Camberwell college of art, I went on to do an MA in animation at the Royal college of art in London. Prior to going freelance I worked for several years in the animation industry and greeting card industry. I have since been freelancing for over 10 years and have been fortunate enough to have worked on a huge variety of projects, and many children’s books I live with my husband and two children, and enjoy a short commute to my garden studio surrounded by my huge collection of books and kept company by my dog Raffa.
02
AMY CARTWRIGHT
Amy was born in Gloucestershire, England and earned a degree in illustration from Central Saint Martins in London. Amy now lives with her husband in the USA where you may see her hiking and drinking the occasional carrot juice.
03
ANGELIKA SCUDAMORE
Based in South London! I’ve always loved drawing and my earliest memory is drawing with my dad. I was obsessed with Beatrix Potter with her beautiful illustrations of cute fluffy bunnies and animals. Ever since I can remember I always wanted to have the exact studio she had with her bunny sitting on her desk! Everywhere I go I carry around my sketchbook and jot down every idea that comes to my head. Before I became an illustrator I taught yoga to young children, making up innovative stories through yoga and this inspired me to illustrate children’s books. I love the hustle and bustle of the city and stopping off at small coffee shops, where I gather most inspiration from the people and atmosphere. I love illustrating cute, fun, exciting characters.
Caitlin specialises in all things kids. Her art is fun, quirky and colourful with an emphasis on pattern and her style translates well across many different design categories.
04
CAITLIN MURRAY
Arriving in Australia via the UK, Caitlin trained as an illustrator in Melbourne before a ten year stint as a graphic artist in the fashion industry - designing children’s apparel for many of Australia’s top retailers. Caitlin brings 15+ years worth of experience in transforming concept ideas into actual 3D products and her work can be found on toys, children’s products, stationary, picture books, clothing and much more. These days, Caitlin works as a freelance illustrator from her studio in Melbourne’s inner North, where she lives with her husband, her cat and her many art projects.
05
CEE BISCOE
Growing up surrounded by paintings and sculptures, I was always encouraged to draw. After school I studied Graphic Design at college but on leaving I worked for many years in jobs which had nothing to do with art. It wasn’t until 2000 that I really focused on drawing again and started getting commissions. In 2008 I passed the MA Children’s Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University as a part-time mature student. I paint mainly in acrylics and watercolour and love being a traditional artist because I like the physical connection to my illustrations – the way an image moves from my brain to my hand to the pencil or brush and then to paper. Now I’ve illustrated over 20 board books and picture books and, since being represented by Advocate Art, enjoy working for publishers all around the world.
06
CLAIRE KEAY
My illustrating style has always suited children’s books and I naturally gravitate towards the kid’s section in book stores, always preferring their lovely rich magical images rather than looking at those grown up books. I began with a pen and watercolour style which I still love but am increasingly spending more time working digitally and always enjoy exploring new ways to create my art. I am based in an old market town in the south of England and when not illustrating you can find me pottering around in my garden or cheering on Arsenal from my seat at the Emirates!
07
CLARE WILSON
Clare originally studied Children’s Illustration, where she spent hours drawing, painting and printmaking. She spent 12 years working in-house as a senior designer for leading greeting card publishers in the UK and as an artists’ agent and design consultant in London. Clare is now in her third year of freelancing from her home studio in the North Somerset countryside. Over the last few years, she has been able to rekindle her love for creating colourful, fun characters, experimenting with different styles and techniques. She enjoys the challenge of creating work that makes children and adults alike smile!
08
DANIELA MASSIRONI
I was born in 1984 in a small town near Milan, Italy. I have always loved drawing. Since I was very little my favourite pastime was sketching and doodling, giving life to the fantasy stories I had in my head. I studied Graphic Design in Milan and in London, where I lived for four years. There I had the chance to work as a children book designer. This experience gave me the possibility to get in touch with amazing and inspiring illustrators and to see my dream of becoming an illustrator come true!
09
DAVID MCTAGGART
I’m Dave McTaggart and I’m originally from Liverpool but now living in London. I studied illustration at Newcastle, where I was taught by Quentin Blake, amongst others. He, along other artists made the biggest impression on me as I was developing my art. I now have a young, fresh style which has a gentle humour and I hope to illustrate my version of The Wind in the Willows, the wonderful novel that sparked my love of children’s books.
10 DEAN GRAY
I was born in Roehampton and I’m currently based in south London. I studied Graphic Design, which makes that conceptual thinking plays a huge part in my idea process. I take a lot of inspiration from watching films, animations, browsing the Internet, collecting vinyl toys, kawaii culture and science fiction. I have a character driven approach to my work and I am passionate about story telling. Creating a character that someone can have an emotional connection with is what I find most exciting.
11 ED MYER
Ed Myer is a Manchester-born illustrator represented by Illustration agency Advocate art. Ed is now living in London. After growing up in an artistic household, surrounded by other artists in the family, Ed studied ceramics at university but always continued drawing pictures. As well as illustration, Ed likes travelling, playing computer ames and walking little Ted (his Jack russell).
I am a coffee addict, an avid snowboarder and bad joke teller. I completed my degree in Illustration in Plymouth and now living in Worcester with my (equally bad joke-telling) boyfriend.
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ELLIE O’SHEA
We love lazy Sundays watching cartoons all day, my biggest inspiration for drawing! I’ve always loved watching cartoons and when I was around 8 I decided, “Hey, I want to draw like that!” So I picked up my pencil, and here we are. I love writing and illustrating children’s books. Starting with scribbles before drawing and colouring up in Illustrator and Photoshop. When I’m not doodling or drinking coffee, you will usually find me shopping for makeup, binge-watching cartoons or watching pug videos on Youtube. Yes, I am an adult, why do you ask?
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ESTELLE CORKE
I live in the West Country with my small family and spend my days working at my desk in the conservatory, occasionally being destracted by my puppy and husband, demanding attention! Aside from illustrating, when I get chance, I can’t resist packing the bags and travelling somwhere new and interesting. I love creating gentle, affectionate scenes, that are also fun. I illustrate using both a gouache style which is bright and cheerful and a watercolour style, that allows me to create both delicate and interesting textures.
My career in art was built on the enthusiasm of a bubbly, eccentric art teacher who claimed with exuberant arm waving: ‘Darling, you must do art!’ So I did – a foundation course at Hornsey and then a BA(Honors) in Graphics at Middlesex. Followed by a PGCert (art and design)….at which point, having spent as many years as is polite in education, I realised I aught to get a job!
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GABI MURPHY
I have been a freelance artist for over 35 years (did I mention I’m quite old?) and have spent happy hours creating lots of cutesy, fluffy, ahh type characters – which is strange as I’m as far from cutesy! I have recently studied acrylic and oil painting at ISoA and have also discovered an interest in digital art. Everything and anything can trigger a scribble session, but colour is my greatest inspiration, the more colours on my palette the happier I am – which is where I differ from ‘proper’ artists as they will usually work with a chosen few colours. Perhaps I’m just greedy: think: ‘child in a sweet shop’. Actually, I like sweets too.
15
GAIL YERRILL
Gail has always had a passion for creating art. During her career she has won several art competitions and was awarded 2 places in the Cadbury’s Touring Art Exhibition out of 44,000 entries. During her foundation art diploma she discovered a new love for photography and textiles and her style is now a mix of illustration, mainly in watercolour, combined with pattern, texture, and typography, and she loves trying out new mediums and unusual combinations. Photoshop also plays a large role within her work and is used as an extra tool. Gail studied BA (hons) in Two Dimensional design at the University of Hertfordshire. She has gone on to illustrate childrens books and create illustrations for products and greetings cards after her studies. To relax Gail loves walking through the countryside, listening to music and going out with friends. She lives in a sleepy, rural village with her husband, 2 kids and 2 cats.
What can I say I’m a perfectionist! But with this comes a meticulous eye for detail. I treat everything in my design as an important part of my final artwork right down to the letter spacing! Something I think that defiantly translates into my work.
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GARETH WILLIAMS
My background comes from the greeting card industry where I have learnt to build up a wealth of styles, approaches and formatting, something I think is really important in story books. An ultimate ambition of mine is to work in Book Publishing more, and to produce my very own storybooks. I love using textures to build up a design and recreating a certain style is something that really drives me. I am really proud to have a diverse ranges of styles in my portfolio and being represented by advocate gives me a great opportunity to elaborate on new and exciting skills working on various projects and clients around the world.
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GINA MALDONADO
Gina is a Colombian illustrator living in the bustling city of Hong Kong with her partner and 2 cats. She studied architecture and interior design - in Colombia, Mexico and Italy!- but decided that creating cuddly and cute animals suited her personality better. She loves to draw all kinds of animals and flowers with bold colours mixed with hand-drawn textures.
18
GIOVANA MEDEIROS
I was born in the late 80’s in a city called Criciúma, in the south of Brazil. I always loved drawing. Watching cartoons and doodling kittens were my favourite activities as a kid. When I grew up, I decided to apply my drawing skills to what – I considered at the time – a more “practical” career. I got a job creating prints for textiles, and ended up studying Fashion Design in college. After I graduated, I quit my job, and moved to Dublin to study English for a year. I fell madly in love with the city, and applied for an Illustration course at BCFE. While studying Illustration, I could experiment a lot of new my materials and leave my digital background aside, and got in touch with more traditional medias, which I think gave a more organic feel to my work. I moved back to Brazil in 2014 and have worked with illustration for books, magazines, textiles and games.
19
HANNAH WOOD
Hannah grew up in the Netherlands and Norway. Returning to England she studied politics and history and university, she finally saw the light and after a spell as a graphic designer followed her first love – illustration. Illustration styles and techniques are always evolving. She lives in a little quaint village in the middle of England with 2 cats and an ever-growing collection of 50’s ephemera and cook books.
20
HELEN ROWE
My BA Degree was in Craft Pottery at Staffordshire University, I continued on there to do an MA in Ceramic Design for Production which led me into a 12 year career as a surface pattern designer in Stoke-on-Trent. There came a point when I felt I needed a new direction in my life and I relocated back home to Wiltshire with my partner. I started to design and sell greetings cards and approached Advocate Art to see if they could licence the designs onto other products. Advocate suggested that I would be suited to children’s book illustration too, so I developed some samples for my portfolio and soon got some projects to work on. I loved illustrating the books so much I decided to wind up my greetings card business as I spent more time doing accounts than drawing. I also love creating puzzles and games and especially like illustrating the natural world. I work from my studio at home where I live with my partner and little girl. Apart from illustration I love walking in the countryside around us, gardening and pottery.
21
ISABELLE NICOLLE
I like thinking of myself living in coloured worlds full of little enchanted creatures. I’m an illustrator for publishing, press, creative card making, communication and have been working in the industry since 2005. I LOVE my job, it’s just happiness, and I want to get my little readers very happy as well. I live in Southern Burgundy countryside with my beloved kids and lots of cats. The best conditions to get inspired… I like imaginary worlds and I’ve plenty of ideas.
22
JAYNE SCHOFIELD
I was born in Morecambe, by the sea in Lancashire, and after many years of travelling I came back to this area to raise my family. My grandad was an artist and I spent most of my younger days sitting with him learning to draw and paint. I spent every available moment immersed in my sketchbooks! I gained a degree in Illustration and Design at Staffordshire University and from there I went to work within the gift and fashion industries. I now work as a freelance illustrator / designer from my studio at the back of our home. I produce my illustrations using a combination of traditional and digital collage techniques and like to mix textures, type and imagery to create playful and fun art. My husband tells everyone that I draw fairies for a living‌.! I tell them that I have the best job in the world !
23
JENNIE BRADLEY
Hello, I’m Jennie: illustration addict, colour-er-innerer extraordinaire, serial picture book purchaser and wild llama juggler*. I’ve always loved to draw, but it was whilst studying for my degree that I discovered drawing in a digital form and I’ve never looked back. I graduated in 2007 and have been doodling professionally ever since (freelance since 2011). I work from home in my little studio (in either my pj’s or my onesie!) surrounded by hundreds of picture books (did I mention I’m completely obsessed with children’s books!?!) Quick-fire facts: My son Rocky is a mini walking/talking/ giggling bundle of inspiration, I’m a massive Rammstein fan (ROCK!!), documentaries of choice: all things science and space, World geography is my specialist subject, I’m scared of oil rigs and airships (don’t ask!), I was (very) nearly eaten by a lion in Botswana and chocolate is my nemesis. *Stories of llamas and juggling skills have been fabricated.
24
JO DE RUITER
Rainy days were always my favourite when I was a little girl. At school, they were the days when we were allowed to draw in our ‘Rainy Day’ books to our heart’s content; or at home, my sister and I would spend hours making up little crayon worlds on paper. Being from the drizzly fishing town of Grimsby, I was lucky enough to experience many of these rainy days. My work is created with a dip pen and ink and watercolour; I love their unpredictable nature. I’ve been blessed with a big imagination and I want to raise a smile with what I draw. Details are my favourite, and I want people to return to what I’ve drawn and see something they didn’t see before. I live in Bath with my lovely husband and puppy Arnold. When I’m not drawing, painting or collecting picture books, we are off exploring the world’s curiosities – and eating yummy food.
25 JULIA SEAL
When I was five, I decided I was either going to work in a shoe shop or draw pictures for a living and luckily, many years later, I graduated from University with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. After working in the Greetings Card Industry and getting covered in glitter everyday, I moved onto my dream job illustrating children’s books. I now live in a small village near Bath with my husband and two children, surrounded by books and inspiration.
26
KATE DAUBNEY
Kate lives by the sea in sunny North Devon, England, with her partner, Roger, and her scruffy sidekick, Taz (the dog). After graduating with a degree in Illustration from Falmouth University, she has worked on numerous children’s books using a mixture of both digital and traditional media in order to create her colourful and quirky illustrations, and has been published in the U.S.A, Australia, Japan and most of Europe. When she’s not busy illustrating, she loves nothing more than riding her bike or taking a walk across the local beach, where Taz enjoys chasing the seagulls!
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KATHRYN SELBERT
Kathryn Selbert is a freelance children’s book illustrator currently living in New Haven, Connecticut, with her French bulldog, Margot. She earned her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work is inspired by the people she meets in her everyday life, our colorful world, flora and fauna and having fun.
28 KEV PAYNE
I grew up with a love of books, comics and cartoons which inspired me to draw. I see life as a cartoon and that is pretty ok with me. My artwork always starts with my sketchpad before moving on to digital. I love bringing ideas to life and, as a primary school teacher, have a keen interest in educational ideas. My first book, ‘B is for Blobfish’, was inspired when planning a science lesson and features a wide range of unusual and unloved animals.
29
LAURA WATSON
Laura Watson was born in Peterborough, Canada, in the heart of the lovely Kawartha Lakes region. She now resides in Toronto’s leafy Riverdale neighbourhood in a narrow 100-year-old house with her husband and six-year-old daughter, Posy. A childhood spent drawing, painting and making crafts out of kleenex boxes led to moody teenage years spent doodling pencil collages of fashion models and pop stars (Duran Duran!), which then led to the sudden realization that illustration was an actual job… and seven years of art school (York University for Fine Art and Sheridan College for Illustration). Since then, Laura has been creating lighthearted and whimsical illustrations, working with bright, textured swatches of colour, ornate vintage type and other collaged elements. Inspired equally by mid-20th-century children’s books (Mary Blair!), vintage Americana like roadside signs, surfer and Vegas kitsch, and random amazing thoughts her daughter shares.
30 LIZA LEWIS
Liza is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Originally from Belgium, she now lives in Southampton, England, and works from her home studio, where she creates fun, quirky illustrations and unusual children’s designs. She gets lots of inspiration from her pets, family, animals, toys, music, art, fabrics and plants - anything really! She has a particular interest in children’s illustration and enjoys creating new and exciting children’s characters that she likes to incorporate into her designs. Liza’s illustration style incorporates lots of colour, texture and detail. She likes to draw a rough initial illustration by hand and then take it to the computer where she adds lots of colour, detailed texture and bits and pieces. This is where the illustrations come to life and where the magic happens.
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LOUISE ANGLICAS
Louise Anglicas hails from Manchester, but now lives just down the road in the heart of the Potteries, Staffordshire with her partner and 2 young children. She graduated with a degree in Ceramics and Surface pattern, and started her career as an in-house designer at a tableware manufacturer, designing patterns for high street clients as well as for cruiseliners for the hotelware division! After picking up lots of commercial design awareness, she then ventured into the freelance world....and now 14 years later has had the privilege to work on many diverse products from childrens books, to wall art, to greeting cards, to jigsaws, to name a few! She still loves surface pattern design, all these years later, and can’t resist sneaking patterns into the outfits of her characters! Those first passions are in the blood! She feels very lucky to be able to illustrate and design for a living...12 years and counting being represented with Advocate Art, and still loving the diversity of work... the adventure continues!!
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LUCY BARNARD
I am from Cheltenham but now live in Manchester with my husband and two children. After completing my art foundation course in Cheltenham and my Illustration degree in Exeter, I worked at various publishing companies in London before joining Advocate and becoming a freelance illustrator. My portfolio originally consisted of greeting card and print designs but I subsequently moved into children’s book illustration. I work predominantly in acrylic paint and pencil crayon but I also love to use collage to add texture. As well as illustrating for others, I also write and illustrate my own stories, quite often inspired by my children!
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MARIA PARRISH
Born and raised in Guatemala, Maria spent her childhood sketching and watching Anime. She currently works in the San Francisco Bay Area as a Graphic Designer, where she discovered illustration and loves every minute of it. Maria describes her illustration style as a blend of Latin and Japanese influences. She specializes in designing print layout publications as well as mobile sites. Her work has been featured in Computer Arts Magazine, Capiusa Magazine, and many websites around the world.
From an early age I have always loved to draw. My favourite pastime was taking left over rolls of wallpaper and drawing on the back.
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MARTINA HOGAN
I started my career as a childrenswear designer, this helped me to gain the commercial awareness plus the understanding and importance of trends that is needed in the design business. I then moved on to the homeware and gifting side of the business as a design manager. I found this extremely rewarding. Being able to start from a mood board to then turn that one trend into a commercial range to suit the clients customer base, making sure that products cost in and met all technical requirements and working closely with the factories was a challenge that I loved. From this I progressed to designing childrens toys and I really loved this! This really took me back to my childhood and the imaginary play worlds I would create. This made me realise that something was missing. It was my roll of wallpaper and pot of pencils. So after ten years of management I decided to take the big leap into the world of freelance, armed with my roll of wallpaper or rather my Mac I’m now drawing all day long with just one aim‌ to make all my customers happy and smiley!
35
MELANIE MITCHELL
I’ve always loved drawing - ever since I can remember! So studying art was a obvious choice for me. After college, I studied illustration at the North Wales school of Art and Design, where I gained a degree. I’ve been working as an illustrator for 15 years now and I’ve been lucky enough to work on a variety of illustration projects, from packaging and greeting cards to children’s books (which I enjoy illustrating the most). I live in Mid Wales with my two children, who are always a source of inspiration, and my partner Paul Nicholls, who is also an Advocate artist.
36
MICHAEL BUXTON
Michael Buxton is a designer with over ten years’ experience in the greeting card industry, producing best-selling ranges for many large retailers. Since becoming freelance, he’s branched out into producing designs for t-shirts, homeware and books. He produces quirky, fun designs with an emphasis on humour and while his work is mainly digital, he likes to keep a loose, hand drawn feel. He loves to create characters and will take any chance he gets to draw monsters, cats or monster cats.
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MICHAEL EMMERSON
Born in 1974, Michael has been drawing pictures ever since he could pick up a Burnt Sienna crayon and scribble all over the new wallpaper. Nowadays, he tends to use a Mac, pencils and paper. He lives in Surrey, with his lovely wife Alice and crazy children. When he’s not drawing colourful fun pictures or solving mysteries, he also designs Toys and Chocolates. Yum.
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NACHO GOMEZ
Nacho Gómez was born in 1966 in Madrid, Spain, and studied Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid. He’s an illustrator with over 26 years of experience He likes to change his illustration style from time to time; right now, Nacho is very interested in different textures, strong colour and flat perspective, but always in a funny way, with a very expressive characters.
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NATALIA MOORE
I was born in Ormskirk - famous for gingerbread, which explains my need to have a gingerbread man with my cup of tea in the afternoon. I currently live in a little village in South Devon called Kingsbridge. I spend my time painting, baking, gardening and watching classic cartoons with some homemade popcorn. I have a pet dog called Meeko, a black rabbit called Oswald and, finally, a terrapin called Terry. My grandfather was my biggest influence in becoming an illustrator, he was very encouraging and always praised my work and still does! I studied Illustration at university, which lead to me later training as an art teacher. I always knew I would be an illustrator, teacher or a princess! I try to capture an animated image and bring something simple to life. I also like a bit of mess and paint splatter.
Ned is from the north of England.
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NED TAYLOR
He has always enjoyed drawing and painting and he loves creating colourful illustrations for children to enjoy, and it delights him when he hears how children have loved the books he has illustrated. Christmas is his favourite time of year and a favourite subject, which is good considering the amount of Christmas cards he has done over the years. Having worked in a variety of creative roles he is able to work professionally and efficiently on a project. When he is not illustrating he likes to go for rides on his much loved motor bike and experience the freedom of the open road.
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NICOLA ANDERSON
Nicola is an illustrator, designer and doodler and has been since she could hold a crayon in her hand, but professionally since 2001. After many years working in the digital industry designing websites, animations, print resources and basically mastering the tools of the trade, she now crafts imaginary worlds from her home studio in Manchester UK whilst her two dogs fight for her lap.
42
NIGEL CHILVERS
I was born and raised in Aintree, which is just outside Liverpool. After completing my Art Foundation at Hugh Baird College, I went on to study Illustration at Wolverhampton University. I originally trained as a paper based artist until switching over to digital work in 1997. Since then, I have worked for many years freelancing in licensing before arriving at Advocate. Whist working in licensing, I got to work on many character based books for Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Noddy and many more. I worked for many different publishers in that time and now, under Advocate’s guidance, have branched out into many new and different styles.
43
NOOPUR THAKUR
Noopur is a children’s illustrator and a surface patterns designer based in England. She began her career in India as an in-house textile designer at a large soft furnishing company. She went on to become the creative head of a design studio, leading a team of designers. Her creative inspiration comes from simple things around her like art, food, nature, going to parks, going to museums with her boys, visiting local craft markets, bookshops and cafes. She uses a lot of traditional sketching and painting skill to help influence her digital work.
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PATRICIA REGAN
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Patricia is an illustrator who lives with her family and 2 cats in Richmond, Yorkshire. She works from her home studio with the help of her two feline assistants! Her work is now majority digital and often colourful – in her spare time she loves to cook and experiment with new recipes and also enjoys travel and exploring new cities and towns.
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PAULINE SIEWERT
I grew up in lots of places: Tanzania for the first eight years of my life then Brighton, London and Surrey. After doing a foundation course at Wimbledon School of Art, I studied Graphics and illustration at Kingston Polytechnic. I worked for a display company and was the visualiser for a small design group in central London. I had always wanted to illustrate children’s books through and in 1998, became freelance to do just that. I am married and we like in Farnham, Surrey. When not illustrating, I love to travel, read and walk in the Surrey and Dorset countryside.
46 POPE TWINS
Liz and Kate have created art together since leaving Stafforshire University in 2001. They both gained a first class degree in Surface Pattern Design, a very broad course, which allowed each student to find their own strengths. During this time Kate became passionate about colour, often experimenting with bold shapes, combining pattern, collage and mixed media. Liz edged more towards illustration, focusing more on finer detail and line, soon finding a real style of her own. They both still very much work with the same set of skills, mostly working together on commercial briefs, Liz sketching and then passing along to Kate to colour up. However when it comes to a one off fine artwork, we go our separate ways a little and let our individuality show through! Their adventure as artists began back at their Mum and Dads in the bedroom they grew up in! Turning their beds into desks! They now work at Liz’s house in a small studio, that’s full to the brim with paints, collage papers, children’s books, sketch books, it’s certainly the messiest room in the house!!
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ROSE CLAYTON
Rose graduated from Falmouth Art college with a BA and MA in Illustration and since then she hasn’t stopped illustrating for children and the greeting’s market. “I love using all kinds of media, from digital to wax crayon all on one piece of art; it creates an exciting an often unpredictable result, such as working with watercolour on a non-absorbent paper! I have always drawn quirky animals, including people! - My favourite past time is is sitting in a coffee shop sketching the interesting characters I see. I like to add interest with pattern and stylised form, undoubtedly artists like Klimt have had an influence on my work, and time spent in Cornwall heightened my awareness of Barbara Hepworth and how she interpreted form. I’m very happy with the Advocate team and look forward to the variety of interesting projects they put before me!”
Sarah lives and works in Worthing, on the sunny south coast of England with her daughter, who is a daily source of inspiration.
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SARAH LAWRENCE
Her love of visual story-telling lead her to art college where she studied illustration, graphic design and animation. Since graduating in 2006, Sarah has worked in children’s publishing, both in-house and freelance. She creates bright and engaging digital illustrations using Illustrator and Photoshop. In her free time, Sarah loves to paint, play guitar and bake cakes. But not all at once. That would be crazy‌
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SARAH CONNER
Sarah lives in the lovely English countryside in a cute cottage with her dogs and a cat. She spends her days sketching and doodling the world around her. She has always been inspired by nature and it influences much of her work. Sarah always used to work with pens and paint, but in recent years has transferred her styles to the computer. However she still likes to get her watercolours out from time to time and paint the flowers in her garden!
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SIMON ABBOTT
Artist and designer Simon Abbott has been illustrating children’s books, games and stationery for over 15 years. He specialises in bold colours and delightful characters of all kinds and describes his work as fun, fresh and happy. His easy style has instant appeal and helps to communicate complex ideas and concepts in a flash. Whether he is drawing playground fun, astronauts, dinosaurs or monkeys swinging through trees, his art is always engaging and is guaranteed to make children smile. Simon lives and works in Suffolk, UK, with his partner and their 3 boys. When he hasn’t got a pen or paintbrush in his hand, he enjoys music, festivals, running and ice-cream.
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SOPHIE HANTON
From a young age, Sophie Hanton always had a pencil, crayon, or paintbrush in hand, always knowing she would follow a creative path. After graduating with a BA(Hons) in Surface Pattern from university, she worked on various projects whilst freelancing. Later, joining a busy design studio, she designed wraps, tags, bags, and boxes for the market. After gaining lots of commercial design experience, she blossomed! Over ten years ago, she decided to become a self-employed freelance designer/ artist/illustrator. This has allowed her to broaden her experience by working with widely varying projects. She has illustrated lots of books, designed for toys, puzzles, logos, fabrics, tabletop, and the greetings market. Sophie sees every brief as a new challenge and always does her best to fulfill it, knowing how lucky she is to be doing a job that she is so passionate about. She lives in beautiful Cornwall in the UK, and spends her free time swimming in the sea.
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SUZANNE KHUSHI
I am a professional British designer and illustrator, and live in the North of England. I graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a Masters in Spatial Design, studying interiors and textiles. I have since worked for many publishing houses creating designs for greetings cards, prints, stationery, ceramics, textiles and book illustrations. I work both digitally and traditionally with pencil and inks on paper. I enjoy surface pattern design and my hobbies include sewing and machine embroidery and hand printing on fabrics.
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VERONICA VASYLENKO
I live and work in the small market town of Otley in West Yorkshire, surrounded by beautiful countryside. It is my daily inspiration. I love to draw and paint and graduated from Liverpool Uni with a BA in Graphic Design in 1980. Since 1986 I have worked as a freelance illustrator. My background is in greeting cards and I have illustrated many children’s picture books thanks to the Advocate Agency. When I am not working I love to cycle. I also like yoga, walking, reading and listening to music.
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XENIA PAVLOVA
I was born in Riga, Latvia, but was brought up and studied in Moscow where I still live. I’ve been working in children’s publishing for over 20 years now – that’s probably the influence of my mum and grandad who were both illustrators. I love animals and everything about them, so more often tan not my illustrations show scenes from Woodland creatures’ lives.
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