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About Advocate Art
Kate Johnson
Lisa Musing
Natasha Harding
Ghislaine Gayyo
Amanda Hendon
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 /
Eunsun Lim
Maria Creech
Courtney Walls
Sophie Youle
Imogen Glover
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NEW SIGNINGS
01
ALBERTO PEIRUZ
Pieruz studied fine arts at Salamanca University specializing in painting, graphic design and audiovisuals. He studied one year in Saint-Etienne, France. He spent two years working in his art studio in Salamanca. He had some of his individual and collective exhibitions there. At that time, he made his doctorate in illustration at Salamanca. He also has exhibited his work in cities like GijĂłn, Oviedo, Barcelona, and Madrid. A scholarship gave him the opportunity to move to Barcelona. Seeking to combine different ways of artistic expression, Pieruz decided to take up illustration studies at the EINA, Centro Universitario de DiseĂąo y Arte, de Barcelona. There he found more expressive and graphic forms of communication. Now, Pieruz works as an illustrator in his studio. He talks about himself in the third person.
02
ANNIE WILKINSON
I was born in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1966 to a family that encouraged artistic pursuits of all kinds - including writing, drawing, photography and music. At the age of 21 I came to Vancouver with the band I was in, in order to find a new drummer (we would eventually go through 8 before disbanding). I had not considered being an illustrator in spite of drawing my whole life, but now that I’m doing it cannot imagine any other job I would like to do more. The artwork I produce is created digitally using my iPad pro, either with native apps or as a graphics tablet, and I am interested in juxtaposing traditional looking elements with purely digital elements to create something that looks new. My work is constantly evolving. When I’m not drawing or pouring juice for my two kids, I play in a few bands with good friends, where the socializing is as important as the singing together. Lastly, in order to clear my head of everything else, I love to engage in a weekly game of ice hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer.
03
AUDREY DOWLING
Audrey Dowling is a French artist and illustrator living in County Kilkenny, Ireland. She initially pursued a career in the Fashion Industry in Paris but somehow ended up in the Irish countryside, with her husband and a flock of 4 children and 3 pets. She now works as a fine artist and children’s book illustrator and sells her paintings in markets, fairs and galleries. She also works on commissions. Her favourite technique for fine art includes a mix of oil pastels and ink washes, with finishing touches in oil paints and pencils. For illustrations, she usually starts working traditionally by sketching with pencils and then colours digitally. Her universe is colourful and narrative, often praised as graceful and poetic. She is deeply inspired by folklore, fairytales and life in different eras, which comes through in her vintage drawing style and palette choice.
04
CHRISTOPHER ABLES
Christopher Ables is a digital illustrator and graphic artist based out of Los Angeles, CA. A self taught and natural artist, Christopher has been drawing since he was a child. After relocating from San Antonio, TX to Los Angeles to pursue an education in the arts, he went on to work within the film and television industry after receiving degrees in Studio Arts and Digital Filmmaking. Heavily influenced by Disney animation and his role model Tim Burton, Christopher’s work can best be described as a whimsical love letter to pop culture. Currently Christopher holds the position of Senior Motion Graphics Designer for the visual effects company, Ingenuity Studios. Outside of work, he is developing an animated series and self publishing a graphic novel. In his free time, he can be found drawing, sensing incoming intense weather patterns, quoting lines from 30 ROCK and The Golden Girls, carrying on conversations about Dinosaurs, finishing off an entire cake with little to no shame and falling in love with every dog he sees.
05
CLAIRE O’BRIEN
Claire is an Irish illustrator who loves bright colours, picture-books, folk-art, and collecting woolly hats. She holds an M.A. in film-direction and production from the National University of Ireland, and undergraduate degrees in Music and Media Communications Studies from the University of Limerick and the University of Glamorgan. Her passion for travel and learning about different cultures has brought her to beautiful Hong Kong, where she really enjoys eating more egg-tarts than she should and avoiding busy train platforms. She also enjoys extreme jigsaw puzzling (it’s not, but it sounds a lot cooler when you say it that way), and pronounces the letter ‘r’ like ‘oar’ (it’s an Irish thing). And, once upon a time when she was but a smallie herself, she decided to eat one of her yellow and black stripy flip-flops. But in her defense, it did look pretty delicious.
06
ELA SMIETANKA
Ela Smietanka is a Polish illustrator. Her adventure with drawings has started when she was a little girl. In order to make her dreams come true she graduated from the Faculty of Graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakรณw, where she now lives with her husband, two sons, a cat named Zuzia, and some other cats from the neighbourhood. She is a freelancer. In her work she combines pencils, paints and Photoshop, happily discovering again and again new digital techniques. When she is preparing draft illustrations, she listens to audiobooks, and with a good sensation novel she may work until dawn. She spends her time off on a bicycle, listening energetic music. If she were to choose a job other than an illustrator, she could be a dancer.
07
FABIANA ATTANASIO
Fabiana Attanasio was born in March 1985 in Rome. She has loved to draw since she was a child and started her career graduating from the “International School of Comics” with a degree in Illustration. Since then, she has worked as illustrator for children’s books. She likes to use traditional media, loves the feeling of using brushes and pencils, but she works also with digital media. Now she lives in Anguillara, a small lake town close to Roma, with her three men: her husband, her dog and her bunny! She loves everything handmade, animals, flowers, videogames, Japan and, of course, her job!
08
GABRIELA CASTRO
Gabriela Castro is a graphic designer and illustrator living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her boyfriend and her dog Mr. James. For 10 years, she has provided services of illustration and graphic design, creating nice characters that can be applied to designs for products. She graduated from the Faculty of Architecture Design and Urbanism. She has done numerous courses in illustration and participated in numerous exhibitions in universities and art galleries in Argentina, China and Mexico. The work method used for her illustrations ranges from vector drawings to photoshop and she loves to draw with watercolors (a technique she is currently perfecting). Her hobbies include cooking rich and sweet things, being in touch with nature and animals, embroiding, weaving, making stamps and products and everything related to creativity and crafts. And she has a great admiration for Japanese culture and vintage retro art.
09
GABRIELLE ESPOSITO
Gabrielle Esposito is an illustrator whose work is characterized by lively kids, animal characters, and scenes rich with detail. She strives to capture the feelings that make everyday moments special and memorable. Her art portrays characters and scenes with a depth of emotion, whether fun and whimsical or more dramatic. Gabrielle resides in the city of Chicago and graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the American Academy of Art. She got her first illustration job her senior year of high school, creating artwork for the children’s book “The Story of Snowy Bear and the Lost Scarf,” and has wanted to work in illustration ever since. When not drawing and painting, she can be found spending time outdoors, kayaking and hiking, gardening, and visiting zoos and museums. Her constant source of inspiration is her orange and white cat who also serves as her muse.
10
KATE DAVIES
Kate lived in South India as a child and thinks this gave her a love of strong colour, and curry. She studied Graphic Design and Visual Communication at Bath Academy of Art and has worked as an illustrator ever since. She has also lived in the Bath area ever since, and enjoys life in a small village where she joins in as much as she can. She goes on walks with her small dog, plays guitar and sings, tries to play piano, loves gardening and collecting stuff, and is helping her husband build a small cottage. Kate works mainly in watercolour -she takes local scenes and creates a world of whimsy by introducing anthropomorphic characters into them. She has worked in many aspects of Children’s Book publishing, and this is where the journey has taken her-so far.
11
OLIVIA DUCHESS
Olivia is a self-taught illustrator, currently living in London. As a child, she loved to watch cartoons, like Powerpuff Girls and Spongebob Squarepants, and would often draw the characters from them. As an adult, she is constantly inspired by her mum and by her faith in God. Olivia would describe her artwork as detailed but unrealistic and thinks she always gets a bit carried away drawing eyes! She enjoys exhibiting at Comic Con events and loves playing video games. Her favourite piece is one she created for one of Solange’s album covers. Olivia feels inspired whenever she listens to Gospel music whilst drawing. She hopes one day to have as many cats as possible!
12 PABLO ZWEIG
Pablo grew up in Buenos Aires, where he still lives. When he was 7 years old, Pablo’s uncle gave him his first Tintin album as a present, still his greatest influence! He is a self-taught illustrator - although he started studying Architecture, he quit when he realized that his buildings would crack down and that what he really wanted to do was to draw. Besides Hergé Pablo’s influences are all graphics, comics, posters and designs from the 30’s to the 50’s decades - that’s why he would describe his work as vintage or retro style. Pablo usually draws his illustrations with pencil and paper and colours them digitally afterwards. His illustrations for books and magazines have been published in Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Argentina. Besides drawing, Pablo’s hobbies include rowing in the delta near Buenos Aires and listening to old LPs on his record player.
13
TAMARA CAMPEAU
Tamara works both traditionally and digitally to create her painterly storytelling illustrations. Her work has a strong sense of lighting, naturalistic colors and dynamic compositions. She is strongly inspired by wildlife, children and the environments they reside in. She uses this inspiration to add a layer of realism to her work. Tamara’s illustration journey began at Dawson College where she earned her associates degree in Illustration and Design. Shortly after, she furthered her studies at Sheridan College, where she attained her Bachelor degree of Illustration.
14
THANOS TSILIS
Thanos Tsilis was born in June 14, 1977 in Athens, Greece where he was also raised. Since 2016 he lives both in Athens, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus, as he moves too often from one place to the other. He studied and graduated as a graphic artist initially but his passion for drawing things led him into the classes again for 3 more years, this time studying illustration and 2d animation. Starting a career in 2002 as a free lancer in a small country forced Thanos to become quite versatile in order to have jobs coming in. In the past he has done realistic illustrations, cartoon illustrations, he has worked as a 2d animator, as a game artist, advertising artist, and of course as a children’s book illustrator which he likes the most. He personally loves to draw stylized characters semirealistic with a cartoony sense of exaggeration, classic buildings, cities and historical themes. He loves to make children’s book art from 5+ to young adults colored or black and white and he has a flare for history.
15
VALERIA ISSA
Valeria Issa was born in Rome in 1988 but lived in a tiny village nearby for most of her childhood. She studied Character Animation and Digital Illustration at Nemo NT Academy of Digital Arts in Florence. Straight after graduating she moved to London and realized she wanted to pursue her interest in illustration. After all, she couldn’t stay away from her pencils and sketchbooks! She loves portraying children and animals in humorous situations and using bright and captivating colors. She takes inspiration from everything and everywhere around her, in that unconventional way that defines her style and creativeness. She loves chocolate and cats, messy doodles and when it rains at night. When she is not working she can be found writing short stories, watching movies and trying new recipes in the kitchen.
16
VIOLETTA BORIGARD
Violetta is a Kyiv-based illustrator and author of children’s and young adult literature. Her favourite techniques are watercolour, ink, pencils and digital pastel. She graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Printing with a degree in Book Graphic Design. Though her official artist name is Violetta, her friends and family prefer to call her by her birth name, Natalia!
17
WALTER GARCIA
Walter was born in Argentina in 1956. Now he lives in Buenos Aires. When he was a child, he spent his afternoons reading comic about superheroes like Superman or Batman. He was fascinated by those illustrations and he began to draw, copying the pages. . Walter studied drawing at a high school. His degree was Publicitary Drawing, which then became Graphic Design. After that he improved techniques by himself trying to reach a good quality in his works. Walter describes his work as Digital Illustration. He works through the internet, he makes illustrations for interesting books and spends a lot of time in front of a screen.
18
YINGYING JIANG
Yingying is a self-taught artist with an overactive imagination and propensity for daydreaming. After graduating with a science degree from the University of Oxford and spending the next seven years working in Japan, she realised her true passion for art could not be stemmed and made the stomach-plummeting leap from hobby to career. She works mostly with digital painting and describes her natural style as semi-realistic. As a Chinese-British national, she is interested in combining western and eastern influences in her art, as well as exploring environment and character design with an emphasis towards fantasy and sci-fi. She finds endless inspiration in the beauty of nature, as well as from creative geniuses including Hayao Miyazaki, John William Waterhouse, and Ludovico Einaudi. Outside of art, she enjoys working on her young adult novel, tinkling away at the piano, and seeking out the best afternoon teas in the land.
19
YULIYA PIELETSKAYA
Yuliya Pieletskaya was born in Odessa, Ukraine but spent the later half of her childhood in upstate New York. She graduated in 2012 from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a double major in design and business. She realized she wanted to get into illustration after interning at Marvel Entertainment. Though she had a business internship there, she would spend her extra time pestering the illustrators with questions and watching them render digital illustrations. Luckily they were nice enough to teach her a few things and she now uses a combination of traditional mediums and digital rendering in her work. Since graduating, alongside working on commissions and freelance illustration, Yuliya has been creating and selling her own collection of greeting cards and coffee mugs. Like many artists she finds, nature and animals a cherished source of inspiration. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois with her two bunnies, Marnie and Ham. When she is not working you can find her in a city park checking up on the ever expanding wild bunny population of Chicago. If she wasn’t an illustrator she would be working in wild animal rescue and rehab. Yuliya is a member of SCBWI.
Our Principals,
Fa i r n e s s , A b i l i t y, C r e a t i v i t y, Tr u s t a n d t h a t ’ s a F. A . C . T.
Our mission, Great available ar t from Great available ar tists.
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w w w. a d v o c a t e - a r t . c o m mail@advocate-art.com Advocate Ar t Ltd. S u i t e 7 , T h e S a n c t u a r y, 23 Oakhill Grove, Surbiton, KT6 6DU UK +44 (0)208 390 6293 Advocate Ar t Inc . 33 Irving Place Suite 2070 N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 0 3 USA +1 212 946 4792 Advocate Ar t, S.L. Nuevos Aires, 6ºC C/ Alonso de Bazán, 1 Marbella, 29602 Spain +34 951 503 439