SPECIAL EDITION: ART STORIES

CREATIVITY BEYOND LIMITS Special edition

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EDITORS Karolina Barnes Emilia Vespoli Flavia Young / luxe-layers.com Nicola McCullough / strawberryblondebeauty.com

ART CONTRIBUTOR Monika Pick / pickarthome.com Elina Gough / artsnug.com

PROOF READER Claire Smith / eclairesva.com

CONTACT estila.co / IG @estilamag Tell us your story: editor@estila.co Website: estila.co COVER IMAGE Jasmine de Silva, the story on p. 34

This is the first ART EDITION created by STUDIO ESTILA t/a Palantti Ltd. The entire content of this edition is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without written consent from its creator. Printed in the UK.

The views expressed in this edition are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the creator.

Original work and photography are copyrighted by its owner. This is a FREE edition.

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Welcome to the first annual edition of

ART STORIES The idea to put together this guide came out of a conversation I had with my team about how we can help artists to share their amazing talent and stories in one, well-curated place, available to everyone to enjoy.

This is the result of many hours spent looking for unique creativity that is inspiring and diverse.

As always, thank you for reading and your continuous support.

Enjoy!

Karolina Barnes / editor-in-chief

Anne-Claire Fleer Tea Party, Body Paint, the story on p. 74

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Dear reader, I love art. Since my childhood, I was drawn to different art forms and culture.

The first artist I truly admired and researched thoroughly was Vincent Van Gogh. I probably discovered so-called contemporary art back at university when, generally, I got more chance to attend art exhibitions and galleries. I still remember my first exposure to the performance art of Marina Abramović or the brilliant sculptures by Louise Bourgeois.

Art is very personal, and you should always follow the feelings someone’s art piece creates in you. Also, art should be inclusive, without barriers or the glass ceiling. I’d like to cite William Morris here: “I do not want Art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.”

Our selected artists come from a wide range of backgrounds and they use a variety of techniques of creative expression from photography, through oil painting to collage. Their journeys are interesting, in many cases full of trials and tribulations, hence, prepare to be inspired.

If you love art, you’ll love our selected artists.

Monika Pick PickArtHome

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FEATURED ART STORIES Emma-Jayne Allsup p.6 Alexandra Gallagher p.10 Claire Gill p.14 Amy Beager p.18 Mel Cormack-Hicks p.22 Drawn Together p.26 Paul Brown p.30 Jasmine de Silva p.34 Elizabeth Hornby-Lund p.38 Clare Nicolson p.42 Stephen Pick p.46 Sophie Ward p.50 Roy’s People p.54 Elina Ruka p.58 Chelsea Lee Winterbottom p.62 Linda Skoglund p.66 Syrett p.70 Anne-Claire Fleer p.74 Lumitrix p.78 Four tips for artists from Erica Wolfe-Murrey

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EMMA-JAYNE ALLSUP PORTFOLIO: portfolio.emmajayne-designs.co.uk IG: @emmajayne_designs

MY STORY I’m Emma Jayne. I’m a freelance illustrator and pattern designer, based in beautiful Cheshire, UK. I graduated from university with an honour’s degree in Surface Pattern and later a Masters degree in Textile Illustration. I’ve produced designs for greeting cards and gift wrap, apparel, home décor, children’s books and magazine editorials. Clients to date include; Dorma, NEXT, John Lewis, Chester Zoo, Scholastic, Deva Designs, TESCO, Radio Times, Babbel magazine and The Art Group.

More recently I came within the top ten out of eleven thousand in a sock contest! I love colour and bringing joy and happiness through my work.

MY STYLE AND PROCESS The best way to describe my style is bold, whimsical and I love to experiment with media and techniques. Initially, I sketch out my ideas, work them up in colour on my iPad and finally polish in Photoshop.

MY INSPIRATION I take inspiration from different sources. These include; nature, Pinterest (so addictive!), magazines and children’s books. I love the patterns in Anthropologie, Oliver Bonas and Bonnie & Buttermilk, and illustrations by of Penelope Dullaghan and Beatrice Alemagna.

LESSONS LEARNT The biggest lesson I’ve learnt so far is to just be yourself. Create what inspires you.

Having people love your work is a massive high for me, and it’s hard work. You are your own boss as a freelancer, so you need to be pro-active and market yourself, as well as be trend-aware, creative and be able to liaise with all types of people from the general public to potential clients.

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When becoming an artist, create what you feel passionate about; be excited about what you do and just be yourself. It is important to build your portfolio, post your work on social media and network with fellow artists.

FUTURE In five years’ time, I’d like to have my own fabrics collection, to see my designs in boutique shops such as Anthropologie and Oliver Bonas. I’d like to have my own greetings card range, as well as produce illustrations for children’s books and editorial pieces for magazines. For now though, I have a shop on Etsy and Spoonflower where I sell art prints and fabrics for apparel and home décor.

FAVOURITE Movies/plays: Moulin Rouge and Pulp Fiction Musicians: Royal Blood, Arcade Fire and David Bowie

Squirrel 21 x 21cm | 30 x 30cm Limited Edition

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EMMA-JAYNE ALLSUP

Pink Cheetahs 21 x 21cm | 30 x 30cm Limited Edition

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EMMA-JAYNE ALLSUP

Desert Camel 21 x 21cm | 30 x 30cm Limited Edition

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ALEXANDRA GALLAGHER PORTFOLIO: alexandragallagherart.com IG: @alexgallagher80

Alexandra Gallagher is a British multidisciplinary artist, whose work takes the form of collage, street art, prints, photography and painting. Gallagher’s work celebrates the surreal and sublime. Between the realms of memory, dreams and experience, her work looks beyond our subjective limits and often tells a story of inner imagination and thought. Often working within a series, each piece is visceral and organic, the artist never knowing how each piece will transform.

Exhibiting and selling both across the country and internationally, she has been nominated for a number of awards. Shortlisted for the Zealous X, she was awarded the Saatchi Showdown Surrealism Second Place Winner and the Secret Art Prize Runner Up Winner 2016. Her recent achievements include being a London Contemporary Art Prize 2018 Finalist and being shortlisted for the Rise Art Prize.

Carry My Soul Heaven 60 x 60cm Limited Edition 10

THE START Just being able to do what I do is my biggest achievement. It’s truly humbling that people like my work and I’m able to do it every day. I started out years ago as a portrait painter but felt my work was very stale and I lacked the knowledge to push it further, so I started experimenting with different ideas and different mediums. I started taking photos of my youngest daughter and making them into collages. This then developed into more retro landscape collages but felt it still wasn’t my voice. I was asked by a friend to create a piece as a wedding present which sparked a whole new direction. I started mixing my collage style with my old painting style, but with more symbolism. I now feel this is my voice and love trying to push it as far as I can!

THE PROCESS AND STYLE I think my style has formed over the years into a surrealist, low brow mash up, mixed with influences of old masters while using modern tech. I use Photoshop as a sketching tool for paintings and also as a tool to create pieces. I find it keeps up with the way I think rather than the traditional sketchbook. As much as I love to draw, I find working with Photoshop allows me to work in a more organic way. When using a sketchbook, I lose something, like it’s over planed and doesn’t quite work. With surrealist work, it’s all about the subconscious – the space behind the mind. The essence of that to me is lost when using a sketchbook.

INSPIRATION My biggest inspiration is human nature and the symbolism we attach to things. I use a lot of symbolism in my work to create narratives about life experiences as a female in western society.

FAVOURITE Artists: Jenny Saville, Malcolm Liepke, Henrik Uldalen, Ellen Rogers, Artemisia Gentileschi… there’s actually way too many to mention.

Movies/plays: Leon, Labyrinth, Beetle Juice Musicians: Everything from Classical to Hip Hop!

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ALEXANDRA GALLAGHER

Don’t Speak What the Heart Flutters 60 x 60cm Limited Edition

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ALEXANDRA GALLAGHER

Pin and Needles in My Blood 60 x 60cm Limited Edition

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CLAIRE GILL PORTFOLIO: clairegill.co.uk IG: @clairegillfineart

Artist Claire Gill uses the technique of digital photomontage to explore “A Sense of Place� in the images she creates, many of which are inspired by the coast. She exhibits and sells her work in the form of Limited Edition Prints.

Her images are created on the computer, by layering, juxtaposing and combining original photographic imagery to create an entirely new scene. The ambiguous use of space within the images adds depth to the pictures, which at first glance seem straightforward but on closer inspection are surreal. Her love of colour, texture and structure inherited from a background in textile design combine to create poetic images, which hopefully tap into a sense of the coast that is familiar to all of us.

Ghost Ships 50 x 50 cm Limited Edition Print

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THE START I trained as a textile designer, but after working in this industry for a few years and starting a family I wanted to find a creative outlet that didn’t involve lots of machinery and the threat of constantly being copied. When I produced the first photomontages, I didn’t know what they were. They weren’t really a design, as although I used many of the skills I had learnt as a designer, they didn’t fulfil any brief. They weren’t considered photography and many galleries weren’t open to exhibiting photomontage and didn’t at the time consider them to be art. I was lucky enough to have work accepted by a new gallery in Margate, now the Lombard Street Gallery, and it sold straightaway. This really gave me the indication that whatever I was producing had the potential to be explored and developed further and as I have gone on, I know the work I produce is Art and that I am an Artist. As my artistic journey has progressed, I have discovered what the work is about and hopefully created stronger work. I have also built relationships with some lovely galleries.

One of my biggest achievements to date is to have had my work accepted for the Royal Society of Marine Artist’s Exhibition in the Mall galleries for the third year running. I felt I had found a home for my work when I initially visited the exhibition, because of the subject matter. The Society itself is quite conservative and full of hugely skilful painters, so I felt a real sense of achievement when they thought my digital photomontage was good enough to exhibit alongside the members’ work. It was also an acknowledgement that the art world was becoming more open to new ways of working, which was really encouraging.

BEST ADVICE Work hard and with passion in the time you have. Turn up and do the work everyday. Show commitment and work in a way that is authentic to yourself, even when it feels like you are not getting anywhere.

FAVOURITE Artists: Patrick Caulfield, Henri Matisse, Christian Hook, Philip Buller, Alice Sheridan, Chuck Close Movies/plays: The Bourne Films, The Shawshank Redemption, Narrow Margin in fact anything with Gene Hackman in it.

Musicians: I will listen to anything that moves me or makes we want to move. I love music and have a very eclectic taste. My partner is a DJ so luckily I get to listen to a very varied selection.

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CLAIRE GILL

Seascape 54 30 x 30 cm | 50 x 50 cm | 62 x 61 cm Limited Edition Print

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CLAIRE GILL

Game of Chess 30 x 30 cm | 50 x 50 cm | 62 x 61 cm Limited Edition Print

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AMY BEAGER PORTFOLIO: amybeager.com IG: @amybeager

MY STORY I have always loved making art from a very early age, my dad as an Art Editor, always encouraged me to pursue art and have a career in the creative industry. I studied Art & Design through to college where I began to lean towards a career in fashion and went on to achieve a BA in Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University.

Illustration then became a hobby alongside my career as a Womenswear Designer, painting whenever I could in my spare time in the evenings after work. I started to build a following on Instagram to share my work and see how people responded to my illustrations. It made me even more determined to pursue this full-time. I felt that I wasn’t creating my best work with the limited time that I had, trying to do this alongside my demanding full-time job which had a long commute, and frequently having to travel abroad and work late. So last year I made the decision to quit my job so that I could focus on building my own business and make a living through my art, something I have always dreamt of doing!

Versace Hair Goals 29,7 x 42 cm 18

I saved up some money before leaving to keep me going whilst I got myself set up and organised. I started to build my studio, create my own branding, build my website and Etsy shop, and source a local high-quality Giclée print supplier. Now I spend most of my time in my home studio researching ideas, working on commissions and new work for my shop, working on my Instagram @amybeager and reaching out to influencers, potential brands and magazines to work with.

It’s still very early days, as it’s only been a year but my Etsy sales are thriving and I have my prints stocked in three independent shops in the UK and The Netherlands.

I get a great sense of achievement from each sale / commission or enquiry, but I would say that my greatest achievements have been getting featured on @britishvogue and having my illustration on the cover of a magazine for the first time!

MY STYLE AND PROCESS I would describe my style as expressive and a bit graphic with a dark edge. I think it can also sometimes have a touch of retro. My process starts with research, I will constantly be looking for inspiration through Instagram, Vogue, exhibitions, backstage beauty looks, and combine these ideas to create an image in my own style. My fashion background has highly influenced my work and keeping up with trends and researching has become a constant practice. I start each illustration with a quick pencil or pastel sketch, then I add the colour with a mix of pastel pencil, ink and acrylics, and usually finish with the black or very dark tonal colour to create a strong contrast.

MY INSPIRATION I am constantly researching and looking for new inspiration and influences that can come from anywhere! I think it is important to keep an eye out all the time for any visual references that you like and could potentially inspire your work. I’m always taking screenshots, photos and notes throughout the day for new ideas. Some never become anything, and you might look back and think what is that! But it all contributes towards your creative knowledge and learning to self-edit your ideas. Some of my favourite inspiration tools are; Vogue.com, Instagram, Noctis Magazine, Create!

Magazine and Pinterest. Fashion illustrator Jason Brooks was a huge inspiration for me when I was at school and made me want to be an illustrator.

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AMY BEAGER

Prada 29,7 x 42 cm

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AMY BEAGER

RiRi 40,6 x 61 cm Limited Edition Print 21

MEL CORMACK-HICKS PORTFOLIO: artistmelcormackhicks.com IG: @artistmelcormackhicks

Melanie’s studio at home in the Cotswolds is located only moments away from the woodlands she walks daily and paints within. A getaway in Devon allows her to explore the diverse Jurassic coastline regularly where she can be found on the beach in all weathers, surrounded by paint splattered pebbles. In the 90’s she took a Fine Art Painting degree, going on to happily teach in a secondary school for 20 years.

She rediscovered her artist’s voice painting in Devon where she fell in love with the possibilities of creating evocative artwork that mirror the energy she feels whilst painting. Since turning professional last year Melanie has had a solo exhibition at Chapel Arts in Cheltenham, she was selected to exhibit at The Other Art Fair, was awarded Artist in Residence at WWT Slimbridge, has opened her Etsy shop and is running her own 3-day painting workshops in her beloved Cotswold landscape.

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Hushed Presence 135 x 100 cm Fine Art Print

THE START I was walking towards the woods with my dog a few years ago and I heard a voice say, “You would love to paint those negative spaces between the trees.” I almost looked behind me, I was so sure those words were spoken by someone else and not myself. It took me a while to take notice of that voice. When I finally decided to listen, I reduced my teaching to 3 days a week. I felt compelled to paint and experiment with materials and processes until I found a style that suited the person I am today. I explored media for well over a year to find the visual voice that I continue to develop and learn about today.

THE PROCESS AND STYLE Chaos then calm. I love creating energy in my paintings through the initial application of paint and ink. I throw materials onto the surface in a seemingly haphazard way - ink drips, water is sprayed. Wax resist and masking fluid are used to inhibit my control of the materials in the initial stages. This creates a range of happy accidents as well as tremendous energy. It can also leave me scratching my head about halfway through a painting wondering what on earth I have done! That’s when the tricky bit starts, harnessing the painting and deciding which marks and accidents to keep without losing that precious energy. The calm comes at the end when the process is much slower, those last few marks and strokes take lots of thought and therefore time.

LESSONS LEARNT You need to ensure that your painting’s voices are heard. Every form of artwork is a form of visual communication, but only if they have an audience. Therefore, be prepared to learn how to run and own a business. You are an artist first and foremost, but your creativity can be used in your business too. I would also tell myself to get my Fine Art prints out into the world sooner.

FAVOURITE Artists: Art Crush! Kurt Jackson. Claire Wiltsher, David Parfitt, Maz Hawes, Eibhilin Crossan, Magdalena Morey Movies/plays: Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet Musicians: Amy Winehouse, Django Reinheart, Foo Fighters, Aretha Franklin, Example, Plan B

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MEL CORMACK-HICKS

Peering Through 57 x 57 cm Fine Art Print 24

MEL CORMACK-HICKS

Morning Woodland 57 x 57 cm Fine Art Print 25

DRAWN TOGETHER PORTFOLIO: drawntogetherartcollective.com IG: @drawntogetherart

The Drawn Together Art Collective unites two female artists, Maria Nilsson and Rebecca Hunter, who found friendship and a shared creative vision in a South London studio. Influenced by a love of nature and their surroundings, the duo combined, enabling them to embark on various projects, including gallery displays, market stalls and collaborations.

Although working closely together, the individual members manage to retain personal identities of artistic style and expression, allowing their art to be accessible to all.

London Splash Available in A4, A3, A2 sizes Limited Edition Print 26

THE START Our journey has been quite a slow one. We started Drawn together Art back in 2014 but we didn’t really have any intention of turning it into a business. It was more of an experiment. But after getting such a good reception to our artwork, we have been lucky enough to turn our passion into one.

Both of us have always been creative from a young age but didn’t believe it was possible to actually make a living being an ‘artist’. We have both worked in many jobs surrounding the creative industry such as customer service and admin roles in art galleries, but this just encouraged us to continue making our own art. Drawn Together Art has given us many unexpected achievements, for example having our work used in a BBC programme was amazing (unfortunately as the show hasn’t aired yet, we cannot give any more information!)

THE PROCESS AND STYLE Being collaborative artists, we have a few different styles that have developed over time. Maria’s style was initially more illustrative and Rebecca’s more expressive. We try to incorporate both styles in our artwork, but we’ve been working together so much we are definitely starting to see crossovers in our styles.

BEST ADVICE Surround yourself with other artists! Nothing influences you more than the people you spend time with. Everyone has such a different journey to become an artist, it’s so inspiring to hear everyone’s stories. Also just keep making art and don’t give up, if it doesn’t immediately work out.

FAVOURITE Artists: Anything with expression and colour! John Virtue, Frida Kahlo, Leon Kossoff, Hilma af Klint, Bridget Riley Movies/plays: The Women in Black (play), David Lynch films Musicians: Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Pulp, Velvet Underground, Rolling Stones, David Bowie

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DRAWN TOGETHER

October Hunters Moon Available in A4, A3, A2 sizes Limited Edition Print 28

DRAWN TOGETHER

Birds in Brighton Available in A4, A3, A2 sizes Limited Edition Print 29

PAUL BROWN PORTFOLIO: riseart.com/artist/paul-brown IG: @paulbrownart Available to purchase at riseart.com

Born in the North East of England but spending most of his formative school years in Yorkshire, Paul always had an interest in drawing and painting. After finishing his A-levels he went on to study Graphic Design at Liverpool Polytechnic, where he specialised in Film and Animation, and to Saint Martins in London to complete a postgraduate diploma in Illustration.

Just as his career as an illustrator was beginning to take root, he became seriously ill for a number of years, leaving him with the lasting legacy of an acquired brain injury and putting an end to his ability to cope with the pressures involved in commercial work. In the years following recovery, he has found a way to free himself from the constraints of briefs and deadlines and produce the abstract work that he is comfortable with.

THE START It wasn’t until after the brain injury put a stop to my illustration career that I concentrated on more abstract image making again. I’d always kept sketchbooks full of line and colour work, laden with paint and ink with still wet pages often stuck together.

After finding I could create the work I was happy with through digital means, it’s been a case of trying to get the work visible to an appreciative audience. I’ve been fortunate to be taken on by Riseart and feel a bit awestruck at sharing gallery space with the likes of Bruce Mclean and Sir Peter Blake who I’ve admired for years.

Using art as therapy post brain injury really gave me the boost in confidence I needed to start putting my work on show online and at art fairs and in public spaces through art loan schemes. It’s slowly raising my profile and finding people who love what I’m doing and choose to follow my work on social media.

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THE PROCESS AND STYLE Having to work from home meant either being very careful with my materials or find a way to produce the images I wanted without the paint spillage. I researched drawing and painting apps and eventually found Procreate, which has fit in perfectly with my way of working and still gives me that direct contact with the image and a huge range of variation in the types and sizes of brush and line marks I can make. I start with a blank canvas and make initial marks, block in areas of colour and take it from there, adding layers and swapping them around, rubbing out, altering colours with no plan in mind. The image builds and develops and instinctively choices are made that steer the direction it takes. The pressure of the pencil on the screen varies the thickness of the stroke and I can vary the transparency to allow layers below to subtly show through. There’s always the option to go back to ink mark making and get that scanned in and added to the work in progress, adding another element to the work’s development, finding how and where it sits well within the image.

BEST ADVICE Be patient, very patient. It takes time to find the space to show your work and for the people who will love what you do to find it. Don’t tire too quickly because you never know what might be about to happen.

FUTURE It’s hard to allow myself to look that far forward given the almost farcical state of affairs politically in some areas of the world today. In terms of the artwork, it would be great to have found an audience that really appreciates the work I create and chooses to introduce pieces into their lives.

FAVOURITE Artists: Painters I enjoy include Francis Bacon, Peter Lanyon, R. B. Kitaj, and Jean Michel Basquiat. There are also sculptors like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

Movies/plays: Film wise I do enjoy my scary movies like The Shining, Alien, Psycho and Scream but balance that with Wim Wenders “Wings of Desire”, Bertrand Taverniers “Round Midnight”, Alexander Sokurovs “Russian Ark” and the comedy of Pedro Almodovar’s “Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”.

Musicians: Again a bit of a mix because I’m a pop tart at heart with Duran Duran, A-ha, Kylie and the various incarnations of ABC always in favour but there’s also David Sylvian and Japan, Billie Holiday, Erik Satie, and Herbie Hancock too, especially for “Berengere’s Nightmare” from the previously mentioned film “Round Midnight”.

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PAUL BROWN

Gone 53 x 59 cm Limited Edition Print 32

PAUL BROWN

Coping 74 x 89 cm Limited Edition Print 33

JASMINE DE SILVA PORTFOLIO: jasminedesilva.com IG: @jasmine_desilva

Born in the UK, Jasmine started pursuing photography at the age of 16. She has since studied and worked in Milan and completed a BA in Fashion Styling and Photography at the London College of Fashion, where she is now in the final term of her Master Degree. Jasmines’ photography has also developed into moving image, often working with bold colour palettes, and expressing ideas of the everyday human desire to be perfect, and the manipulations we undergo as humans in order to achieve what we believe to be perfection.

How to Build Your Human Collection

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THE START I started off experimenting with photography when I was about 16 in art classes at school, always with a draw and focus to fashion and staging people. After school I moved to Milan for a few years and worked within the fashion industry, shooting fashion weeks and studied a short course there in photography. After leaving Italy again, I knew I wanted to study at London College of Fashion, as this was my original plan after finishing school at 18, but they didn’t accept me onto the course the first time round. It worked out for the best as I think I was much more focused starting it at 21 rather than 18. These three years were key to guiding me into figuring out what topics and concepts I was interested in creating in my photography. I had a year out between the BA and then decided I wasn’t quite finished so I am currently in the last few months studying my MA in Fashion Photography back at LCF. I think this was the best move that I have made, as I believe I needed that extra year of guidance and feedback to really understand the path I’m taking with my work.

My biggest achievement is potentially the fact that the short film I spent the past few months creating will be screened at Aesthetica Film Festival this November.

This is something I never really saw coming so I’m super excited!

THE PROCESS AND STYLE I think my process is fairly slow. I like taking my time to figure out each image and storyline and sketch this out, deciding upon all the little details. I love the sense of eerie alter realities where something is slightly wrong and confusing. I think this is something I’m always aiming to capture. I love sci-fi movies where artificial intelligence outruns humans, as this is a big theme I enjoy working with – our creations surpassing us. Hans Bellmer’s dolls are amazing with all the manipulated posing of the human body. I love looking at choreography as well to think of ways to pose characters/models.

FAVOURITE Artists: Alex Prager and Weronika Gesicka Movies/plays: Edward Scissor Hands, The Labyrinth, Deathproof, Ex Machina Musicians: Rolling Stones, Gaslight Anthem, Pink Hotel, Broken Bones Matilda

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JASMINE DE SILVA

How to Build Your Human Collection

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JASMINE DE SILVA

How to Build Your Human Collection

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ELIZABETH HORNBY-LUND PORTFOLIO: neptunesoul.co.uk IG: @elizabeth_hornbylund

Elizabeth Hornby-Lund is an abstract artist producing vibrant, colourful and uplifting pieces from her home studio. Her paintings are completely unplanned and she works by allowing her intuition and the paint to guide her. Natural, instinctive and unexplained creativity is at the core of all of her work and each piece is uniquely different. Elizabeth’s approach is intrinsically spiritual and she believes art is the language of the soul. Acrylics, inks, spray paints and watercolours are her mediums of choice and the bigger the canvas the better.

THE START I’ve always been an extremely creative person and over the years have pursued my love of photography and design. But my love affair with painting began just a few short years ago after the heartbreaking loss of my baby. I craved colour and expression and light in order to heal. I became obsessed with playing with uplifting colours on large scale, painting whatever my feelings wanted to convey. My paintings are raw emotion and as you can imagine, my home was covered in paint! Fast forward to now and I’ve gone on to sell works in the UK and America, and have exhibited at art fairs in Surrey and Dorset.

My journey so far has been uplifting, wonderful, sad at times and frustrating all at once. Of course, there have been times when I have questioned if I’m any good and should I carry on; as with any creative person, I am my own worst critic. But people continue to tell me how happy my paintings make them feel and how interesting they find my style. I’m only at the beginning of my journey and feel blessed to have discovered my passion for painting. I have so many exciting ideas to explore so watch this space.

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THE PROCESS AND STYLE My style is intuitive abstract expressionism. I am led completely by intuition and my moods. There is no set process I follow when I am painting. I often work with what paints just happen to be close by or what brush or palette knife I can lay my hands on at the time. If the mood to paint strikes me, I must paint - simple as that.

My paintings are unique and I do not reproduce anything in print. Think vibrant and bold form on large scale - this describes my style.

INSPIRATION Inspiration can come from anywhere. Rain hitting the window softly or a shaft of sunlight suddenly breaking through the clouds while I am walking. Travelling always gives me a renewed and refreshed mindset, if I have a bit of “artists block”.

And sometimes I will see colours and shapes in my dreams, which I will try to recreate on canvas. Mainly though, I work by listening to my intuition and letting my emotions run free.

BEST ADVICE Just go for it. There is nothing stopping you apart from the boundaries of your mind. Buy some paints, brushes and paper and begin. Just let your soul pour out, the world needs more of this.

FAVOURITE Artists: Clyfford Still for his use of scale and bold use of colour. Helen Frankenthaler for her vivid yet soft style.

Movies/plays: I’m an anime fan - probably because I’m a big kid at heart but mainly because anime movies are so visually stunning - especially Studio Ghibli movies. My absolute favourites are Spirited Away and The tale of the Princess Kaguya.

Musicians: I love all music. I can’t live without music. Music speaks to my soul the same way that art does and I can’t seem to paint without music on in the background...I’ve tried and nothing comes out! Depending on my mood or the piece I’m creating, I will either listen to something atmospheric like classical - maybe Eric Satie or something more energetic and upbeat like hip hop or reggae. I love a group called The Internet at the moment and Fka Twigs is always top of my playlist.

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ELIZABETH HORNBY

On Top of The World 63 x 40 inches Commission work 40

ELIZABETH HORNBY

Blurred Bouquet 40 x 40 inches Commission work 41

CLARE NICOLSON PORTFOLIO: clarenicolson.com IG: @clarenicolson

MY STORY I’ve always been interested in art and being creative. I decided to study textile design when I left high school and trained as a weaver for 4 years. I started my own business designing and selling printed textiles and art back in 2004 and now I’ve adapted into creating a range of art prints and woven wall hangings and cushions.

As a child, I would say I wanted to be an artist when I grew up, before really knowing what that meant. It was probably when I was in art school that I was sure that I wanted to design and create for myself, on my own terms and not work for someone else.

MY STYLE AND PROCESS My style is definitely colourful. I love using colour in both my designs and my styling work. I usually like to keep things quite minimal though. I love the use of block colour, or white space with pops of colour to keep things fresh and clean, and not too busy. I normally begin with a basic idea (usually a rough sketch) and my colour palette. I then create the design in Photoshop, sort of a digital collage - cutting out shapes and changing colours as I go.

MY INSPIRATION I try to look for inspiration everywhere I go. I always seek out pattern and colour whenever I’m out and about and especially when I travel. When I’m researching for a new project I like to look back through my old travel photos and also through Pinterest (I’m addicted!).

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When I’m working from home, I always try to get out and go for a walk or swim to clear my head and often I’ll be hit with inspiration. Sometimes I’ll see an interesting colour combination on a wall or shop sign or a stranger’s outfit and I’ll take a photo of it to inspire me later.

LESSONS LEARNT There have been ups and downs in the last 15 years that I’ve been creating. I saw a huge shift in buying patterns at the start of the economic crisis and that definitely affected sales because a lot of the shops I sold work to sadly went out of business.

It’s always harder working for yourself because there’s not a guaranteed amount of money at the end of every month like in a regular 9-5 job. It’s scary to live like that at first but I’ve learnt to embrace it and enjoy the freedom it gives me.

BEST ADVICE Definitely stay true to your own style and don’t compare yourself and your success to that of others. I don’t like to follow trends too much and create things that I like and enjoy making. Do what makes you happy otherwise your creative life will become a chore.

FUTURE I still see myself creating new work and hopefully lots of new products. I’d love to create a range of ceramics. I’m really enjoying exploring new textile techniques and creating work with them so I’m excited to see where that takes me in the future.

FAVOURITE Artists: I’ve been obsessed with Warhol since I was a child but newer artists I love are Claire Ritchie, Kit Agar, Sofia Salazar and Beci Orpin Movies/plays: Such a cliché but any/all Wes Anderson movies.

Musicians: I’ve been making lots of soul, disco and African disco playlists lately and I’m always partial to a bit of Dolly Parton!

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CLARE NICOLSON

Colina Available in A4 and A3 size Limited Edition Print 44

CLARE NICOLSON

Mountain Available in A4 and A3 size Limited Edition Print 45

STEPHEN PICK PORTFOLIO: pickarthome.com IG: @pickarthome

Stephen is a filmmaker, visual artist, and lecturer turned creative entrepreneur. He has exhibited in Poland and the UK, and his short films have been screened internationally. As a graduate of Film and Video at The University College for the Creative Arts, he uses different languages of creative expression interchangeably. Currently, Stephen’s focus is on abstract photography, urban and multi-media art. Working from his newly renovated Victorian cottage in Essex, UK, Stephen uses digital manipulation to produce his work before GiclÊe printing the image on high-quality art paper using a local, award-winning, fine art printing studio.

Myrna Darby Available in A5 to A1 sizes 46

THE START I was always drawing from a young age and since then there has always been something artistic happening at the same time as trying to earn a living. It might be drawing, collage, photography, filming, or whatever, but something is always going on or being planned. My parents and wife Monika have always encouraged me and without them, I’d be a bit lost, to say the least.

THE PROCESS AND STYLE With the photographs, I start with researching the location and document the journey. Mostly in London, I would make small maps of the general area and then drag my partner around town on a Sunday morning when the city was pretty empty. I loved those treasure hunts but haven’t been on one for a while; we ended up in all sorts of odd places. Most of the pieces aren’t there anymore but that’s the deal with street art. Part of all of this is to document and preserve the pieces forever. After photographing, the pieces are manipulated digitally to make them pop off the paper when printed and displayed.

THE HIGHS AND LOWS The lows would be getting rejected from various spaces and platforms but you need to get a thick skin pretty quick and get over all that. Highs would be seeing a work properly framed and hung in someone’s house and hearing how much they like the piece.

BEST ADVICE Do not compare yourself to others. Just do your own thing and enjoy doing it.

FAVOURITE Artists: In no particular order: Dave Gibbons, Picasso, Dali, Marina Abramovic, Hokusai, Bosch, Albrecht Durer, William Blake, Casper David Friedrich, John Martin, Francis Bacon, Shusaku Arakawa, Bill Viola and Jan Fabre.

Movies/plays: Everything from the long form observational documentaries of Frederick Wiseman to the king of all summer blockbusters Jaws. Opposite ends of the spectrum there but I enjoy everything in between.

Musicians: Faith No More, Black Sabbath, Psytrance, Father John Misty and desert rock. I’m a huge fan of the Queens of the Stone Age. Rock!

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STEPHEN PICK

Warsaw3 Available in A5 to A1 sizes

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STEPHEN PICK

Spiral1 Available in A3 to A1 sizes Limited Edition Print 49

SOPHIE WARD PORTFOLIO: sophieward.co.uk IG: @sophiewardstudio Available for purchase at eastendprints.co.uk

MY STORY I dropped out of two really good art schools and regret it terribly, although when I did finally graduate in my mid-twenties from UCA EPSOM, I was on a course I really enjoyed and my friends were the tutors rather than the other students. This meant that I started working professionally as an illustrator in my final year for House of Holland, designing a range of t-shirts. By chance, I answered an in-store ad on Brick Lane looking for a mural artist and so then I was also suddenly a mural artist, which led to creating a hand-drawn window for Selfridges. In the past six years, since becoming a parent, I have really focused my energy on trying to be a better artist creating more personal work. I always get a thrill working for big clients like Topshop and L’Oreal and enjoy collaborating with their creative teams, as usually I work quite insularly.

Recently, I have been producing work for East End Prints which has been so fantastic. It means that my artwork has a further reach and is on people’s walls rather than just being seen at events and in commercial spaces, which is a huge thrill. But by far my biggest achievement is my solo show OH! which I created for House of Vans.

It was a passion project about the search for happiness and the existential anxiety felt by women today.

MY STYLE My style and process are colourful, considered and detailed. I make fashion portraits and typographic pieces, two very different practices but they always have an undercurrent of psychedelic, macabre running through them.

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MY INSPIRATION My inspiration is my life, where I’m at on my own private little journey, the voice in my head that helps me deal with motherhood and adulthood, and the eternal search for happiness and contentment. Podcasts featuring rock stars (for quotes and sayings) pictures of old broken down signs and architecture that I collect on my travels, beautiful women, cities and nature, esoteric words, the cosmic, the moon, the stars. Basic stuff that inspires me daily...

THE HIGHS AND LOWS The high for me is - I love my job, I draw things and people pay me! The lows are that art is subjective and I am a commercial artist, sometimes I have to work to a brief and that’s when it becomes work. When I get commissioned to do whatever I want, then that is still the best feeling ever.

Exist Loudly Available in A1 - A3 sizes Art Print 51

SOPHIE WARD

Outlaw | Where Boom Bands Are Playing Available in A2 size Limited Edition Print 52

SOPHIE WARD

Not Your Babe Available in A1 - A3 sizes Art Print 53

ROY’S PEOPLE PORTFOLIO: royspeople.com IG: @royspeople Available for purchase at artsnug.com

Roy’s people is an urban artist combining miniature figures, photography and the streets to create a world beneath our feet. Having started 3 years ago with just installations, Roy took inspiration from the current urban art scene and headed to the dirty streets of London to photograph and capture his work permanently.

He adores the multitude of aspects the subjects can achieve, setting about creating situations in a miniature world that reflect on our surroundings, feelings and emotions. Each figure is carefully adapted from its original form, allowing Roy to create anything he desires. The little people are then taken to the street to get the perfect vibe for us all to enjoy.

THE START My journey so far has been one huge adventure. Since starting to live off my art in 2012, I’ve taken something that was a small hobby and made it into a way of life.

Having originally worked with many galleries, I now focus on creating artworks for marketing campaigns for the likes of Apple, Zizzi, Gillette and The Royal Mint. This new direction allows me to create artworks based on ideas that I wouldn’t originally thought about and completely throws me out of my comfort zone. My biggest achievement to date, if we are talking professionally, would be to have worked with Apple on a 1- day project in their Regent Street store.

THE PROCESS AND STYLE My style is to be as simple as possible, to create an image with only a couple of figures but that has a strong, sometimes obvious message that the viewer can understand quickly. I like to add a little humour to the artworks, too. In the early days, my influence was urban art and photography. These days I don’t search for influence, I see stuff in everyday life that may spark an idea, but I think the best ideas come when you least expect it.

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BEST ADVICE I try to encourage anyone who wants to be an artist to just do it. Since creating Roy’s People Art Fair in 2017, I have had the pleasure of working with many artists, and some of them have been purely hobbyists but if the art is good then that is all that matters. For someone not in the art world it seems daunting and out of reach, but I believe artists need to be bold, put themselves out there, enter group shows, approach galleries and go in with a positive attitude that your work is as good (or better) than anyone else’s.

Love Life 30 x 42 cm Limited Edition Print 55

ROY’S PEOPLE

The Race 42 x 30 cm Limited Edition Print

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ROY’S PEOPLE

Anything’s Possible 84 x 59 cm Limited Edition Print

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ELINA RUKA PORTFOLIO: elinaruka.net IG: @elinaruka Available for purchase at artsnug.com

MY STORY I have been in the arts for a relatively short time, the thought of becoming an artist germinated for a while. My artist’s journey has been wonderful so far; five years ago l obtained Fulbright Fellowship to study for a Masters degree in Fine Arts. After graduation, I have been working as an artist, it is my full-time job. I am making new work, applying for grants and residencies, writing, researching and experimenting.

This year, in particular, has been productive and successful, full of surprises, lessons and a sense of achievement, but the biggest one is following my dream and believing that I am an artist.

MY STYLE AND PROCESS Rather than thinking about a style, I prioritise a subject. My main concentration of artistic interest is water. The subject of water is extensive, there are numerous aspects I am still discovering and I cannot tell just yet what form and style they will take. It’s fascinating that the deep ocean holds so much unknown for us. We only look at the surface, but what’s beneath the surface? I mostly work with photography. It is a tool to create art, I take photographs to make images; it is not about depicting what is in front of me, it is giving a physical shell to what is within me.

The complexity and multi-layering is an important part of my work right now. Layering in my work is both physical and conceptual. I work on water’s properties, by using a transparent material, layering images, cutting and organising them in the space. I often photograph the same body of water multiple times, stacking the images to convey that nothing is black or white, there are layers of intricacy.

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There is also a three-dimensional aspect in my work. The impulse came from water’s constant movement and how it doesn’t have a form until it takes on the shape of its containment. I am questioning photography’s confinement to flat, two-dimensional pieces on the wall. By adding the third dimension, I am hoping to create a surround experience.

KEY INFLUENCES I find it in nature, walking, hiking, running and observing the seasonal changes; music, science, arts and other creative manifestations of the human mind. I love water work of Roni Horn, ocean drawings by Vija Celmins, “Seascapes” by Hiroshi Sugimoto, works by Olafur Eliasson, particularly, “Waste of Time” and “Deep Ocean Void”, “Littoral Drift” by Meghann Riepenhoff; Sophie Calle, Liz Deschenes, Starn Brothers, Ann Hamilton among others have been a long time inspiration.

Working itself is a way to get inspired; when working on one piece, I often get ideas on what to make next. When something does not work out, I either put it aside for a while and return to it with a fresh look or work it through. I use my intuition and trust the process.

BEST ADVICE It is never too later to do what you love but it is hard work. Be persistent, patient, flexible and always truthful to yourself. And never give up as difficult as it gets.

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ELINA RUKA

Descent

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ELINA RUKA

Reciprocally

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CHELSEA LEE WINTERBOTTOM PORTFOLIO: chelsealeewinterbottom.com IG: @chelsealeewinterbottom

MY STORY My journey has been a rather tricky and complex one, but not something I would ever alter if given the chance. Studying art at school, I knew I wanted to take my education further as I loved the security and focus academia provided. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but education to me was a blanket of comfort I not only wanted, but needed. Having a difficult childhood with divorced parents and moving homes, academia never changed it only grew, and this was the stability I focused on that nurtured me as a person and excited my learning.

After finishing school, college came next followed by university studying Fine Art. This by far was one of the most important times in my life, being thrown into a whole new place and a sea of faces I didn’t recognise tested me, but it also made me. After completing my degree, it was full-time work in grown-up jobs such as account managing and working within the fine wine investment market. During this time, I made the decision to study my Master’s Degree part-time in… would you believe it… Criminology & Criminal Justice! Although I had focused heavily on professional work and demanding education, I always took up a paintbrush or illustration pens and created because I knew I needed to. Once I had completed my Masters Degree, it became apparent that my love affair with art was yet again pulling at my inner heartstrings and needed to be explored. So I made the decision to give myself and my art a chance, something that will not only be a career, but something that could help others.

My journey has been and still is riddled with self-doubt and anxiety, but recently I finally allowed myself to break through my own chains and kick all doubt (or as much as possible) out of myself.

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One huge achievement of mine was to be involved in my first art exhibition and it was in central London! It went so well my face ached for at least a week after because I smiled constantly.

MY STYLE AND PROCESS The process I take to create works is a journey, I create emotional self-portraits.

Starting with colours and tones that speak to me, I try to push out any conscious thought and go with the first choice of colours that come naturally. I work with boards and begin using my hands to cast a shape and form. From that I will continue to work this movement with a palette knife, layer after layer of paint, focusing on the emotion and channelling that onto my board through the notion of play. One huge reason for my style and process is that of an ability to control and express my mental health, dealing with anxiety is a difficult one, but for the first time ever I am able to use this to my advantage, rather than it using me. I create works as a form of diary keeping, an outlet of emotion and confidence builder. Once I have created a piece, I will create elements within the painting of ‘light’, using 24k gold leaf, this for me will always reflect my inner light.

MY INSPIRATION Apart from my own emotions experienced at the time influencing my work, I am hugely inspired by nature. Growing up in the Surrey Hills, I had greenery all around my life. The woods are always an ever-present safe place, a place that always caresses my senses. This key inspiration dictates what colours I use. I also get very excited about different materials and how they make me feel. To say I am a magpie is an understatement, anything that sparkles or glitters I’m right there gazing at it. Recently I have discovered and incorporated diamond dust within my works – always making sure each element makes sense to the true meaning and reflection of the art.

FAVOURITE Artists: Maurice Bishop, Kelsey Beckett, CallumDGArt, Anne Bengard, Grayson Perry.

Movies/plays: Girl, Interrupted (1999), Alice In Wonderland (1951), Moana (2016), 12 Angry Men (1957).

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CHELSEA LEE WINTERBOTTOM

Playtime Nine | Affair Six 50 x 50 cm | Also available for commission in bespoke size Limited Edition 64

CHELSEA LEE WINTERBOTTOM

Bespoke Commission 4ft x 4ft

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LINDA SKOGLUND PORTFOLIO: lindaskoglund.co.uk IG: @lindalaluna

Linda Skoglund is a Swedish London based artist and workshop facilitator with a love for colour and the creative process. With a nod to her Scandinavian roots and the surrealists her vibrant paintings explore themes around dreams, symbolism and take inspiration from nature and the whimsical festival world. An important part of the process is finding the essence of the subject where the work is often simplified in the drawing stages by taking away unnecessary information. She trained as a visual artist in Sweden followed by Art & Design Foundation and BA in Visual Communication.

She currently runs surrealist art workshops in South London, alongside undertaking commissions and showing at exhibitions. Feel free to contact her: info@lindaskoglund.co.uk for more information.

THE PROCESS AND STYLE My art has been described as Postmodern Soft surreal or circus themed. I usually say: elephant in top hats, flying elephants and Goddesses.

THE CHALLENGES To stay connected to my creativity, to tirelessly make space for painting, exploring and learning. Understanding my worth. It’s so easy to underestimate the time and cost of creating a good piece of art and it’s difficult to put a price on all of the years of practice.

BEST ADVICE Show your work to audiences and be open to feedback. Getting it out there will help your growth as an artist. You’d be surprised what people like, the painting you’d discard being loved by plenty of people.

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FAVOURITE Artists: I fell in love with the London based Canadian artist Andrew Salgado. His work has really developed, become more vibrant and textured. He has grown as a painter and done so in front of his audience. I still favour Dali’s surrealist landscapes.

Emma - Zebra Zen 40 x 50cm Limited Edition Print

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LINDA SKOGLUND

Zebra Social 40 x 50cm (with border) Limited Edition Print 68

LINDA SKOGLUND

Infinite I 40 x 50cm (with border) Limited Edition Print 69

SYRETT PORTFOLIO: syrett.com IG: @syrett Available for purchase at artsnug.com

THE START I started exhibiting about 12-14 years ago, although I was exhibiting at university too. How that started was I had an online culture and arts magazine in the North of England and a gallery approached me to help promote an Urban Art (as it was called then) exhibition. They had a very little budget, so I suggested that I do it in return for a space to exhibit myself. They agreed. So my first group show was with Blek le Rat, Nick Walker, Swoon and others.

Through that gallery who ended up representing me, I started with the Woolf Gallery in London and then it all snowballed from there. I’ve owned my own galleries in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, I’ve agented artists, I’ve done the lot. But three years ago I had to deal with cancer and that changed everything.

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Girl 60 x 60 cm | Also available for commission in bespoke size Limited Edition

About a year later my life changed even more with the end of a relationship and this together with my illness, I had a breakdown. It was through counselling that I started painting again, but this time in a very different style. I started to use nail varnish to create large very colourful, shiny abstract pieces. Recently I have started a new art movement called XIII Untitled which is a group of fashion-focused artists based in London and together we run the Soho Salon Supper Club, an event where guests can meet contemporary artists over dinner. We also have artist talks and do fashion drawing. I am now represented in galleries in the UK, France, Hong Kong and USA. THE PROCESS AND STYLE Haute Couture Abstraction My process starts in the laboratory, I’m lucky enough to be sponsored by the nail varnish brand True Brit London. They allow me access to their lab to work with their colourists and create my own range of colours. They then manufacture litres of the stuff for me. The next part is I weight each colour and I test its movement and drying times. This helps me with creating, as some colours don’t move as well as others.

Now the fun begins. I choose which colours I’m going to work with and give them a really good shake, I then very quickly pour drip, splash the varnish on to my canvas (My canvases for the originals as Perspex), then using glaziers suckers I move the Perspex about to make the varnish mix and blend. Once I’m happy (I only have about 4 minutes before a skin forms), I then leave the canvas to cure (which takes about a month), then a clear lacquer is applied to protect the varnish and add an extra shine.

KEY INFLUENCES Always fashion; so magazines, the internet etc. But mainly I like to go to the Selfridges accessory department and study handbags to get inspiration.

BEST ADVICE Go to college or university and study.

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SYRETT

Varnish on Body Photography by Jean-Luc Broaurd

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SYRETT

“W” 60 x 60 cm | 100 x 100 cm Limited Edition Fine Art Print

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ANNE-CLAIRE FLEER PORTFOLIO: anneclairefleer.com IG: @artbyanneclairefleer

MY STORY I’m a corporate gone creative. I believe change is inevitable and everyone will be faced with life-changing decisions. Becoming an artist is mine. I am a bold, energetic, enthusiastic, open and dedicated abstract expressionist and fine art body painter who uses canvas, body, photography and paper to create and make my unique pieces of art.

MY STYLE My art is colourful, chaotically structured and contrasting, my approach intuitive and my main media acrylic and spray paint. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSPer) the canvas is my main outlet to process stimuli from the outside as well as my complex and rich inner life. My interest in exploring the human body comes from an ongoing obsession with own body limitations, after having been forced to give up aspirations for a tennis career due to injuries at an early age.

MY PROCESS I start with creating bold and energetic abstract action paintings on canvas.

When I work on bodypaint model in the same style, I let the model blend into the background. I then photograph body blending into her artwork. In terms of my abstract photography, I create original abstract art on photographic paper with bodypaint photographs as a base layer. My final step is creating a bodypaint collage on paper and re-use peeled off bodypaint as a base layer.

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ANNE-CLAIRE FLEER

Bubblegum 35,5 x 25cm Original Artwork (spray paint, ink, acrylics on canvas) 75

ANNE-CLAIRE FLEER

Zuid West Nederland 60 x 90 cm Original Artwork (mixed media on canvas) 76

ANNE-CLAIRE FLEER

Tea Party Body Paint Limited Edition Print 77

LUMITRIX WEBSITE: lumitrix.com IG: @lumitrix

What is the story of Lumitrix? How and why was it set up?

Lumitrix founder, Cara Connell, is a freelance photographer herself. Struck by how hard it is to break into the fine art photography market, Cara launched Lumitrix in 2013 to give talented photographers a new platform for their work – “I had been assisting photographers to learn the trade and saw how hard it was for them to earn money while building up their portfolio. By licensing these photographers’ works we aim to help them do just that, and help them carve out an established professional career.”

Lumitrix now represents photographers from around the world and is always searching for new talent. Some of our photographers are just starting out and use Lumitrix as a springboard for their career. Others are already well-established and see our site as a great way to get more exposure for their work.

Our mission is to offer the very best in photographic talent. We want people to be able to buy beautiful photographs for a price that is accessible and without having to go through a traditional gallery. We represent a carefully curated gallery of images that is growing all the time.

What do you think most interior designers struggle with in terms of sourcing art?

There are so many exciting artists out there, but often the reality is when interior designers are back to back with meetings, presentation deadlines and emergency calls outs to sites, it can sometimes be overwhelming, not to mention time consuming, to go and discover new ones.

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When it comes to sourcing art which is little bit different, it is always worth snatching a bit more time to explore beyond one’s comfort zone - as we said, there are so many wonderful emerging and established artists to happen upon, often just at the click of the button, or by wandering through the streets of London with an eye out for new galleries and pop ups.

This is particularly true of emerging artists who, at the beginning of their careers, don’t always enjoy the breadth of exposure that established artists have. This is not to say that talent and artistic credibility is limited to artists and photographers with lengthy careers already behind them. One of our now more established photographers, Annelie Vandendael, was originally spotted by Paul Smith just after she finished her Master’s degree in Photography when he asked her to do his Swimwear campaign.

So if you keep a creative eye out, you might just spot the next thing.

Pushkar IV by Helene Sandberg Available in A0-A3 sizes Limited Edition Print 79

Dream Fish by Lisa Cervone Available in A0-A3 sizes Limited Edition Print 80

Can you briefly describe the process of how you work with artists/photographers so interior designers can plan and integrate the art into their proposals and designs?

We work with a growing number of photographers from around the world (currently 38) and have an exclusive number of images from each photographer. We sell our images in two distinct formats: Fine Art Prints and our more affordable Lumiprints. We founded the company selling our A1 Lumiprints in order to give customers an affordable entry point into the Fine Art photography market. We have since launched our Fine Art Print range to also offer a more exclusive format to people who are truly passionate about photography.

Our Fine Art Prints are collectors’ pieces, and the images we sell are exclusive to Lumitrix. They are digital Giclée photographic prints, in small limited edition runs to ensure our Fine Art images hold their value and each print is sold with an official Certificate of Authenticity. The standard lead for our unframed prints is one week and for our framed prints three weeks. We also offer an express service, if there’s a tighter deadline.

Lumitrix works with and welcomes trade clients, and our team has completed a number of projects with a wide variety of businesses including interior designers, architects, show homes, hoteliers, bars and restaurants both worldwide and in the UK. We are able to cater for any project, and also have the ability to create a limited edition run or bespoke works with a chosen photographer, should this be required.

We ensure the highest level of quality by managing all areas of print production and framing in-house.

We also offer an art consultancy service for more tailored advice. We love talking to people about our images, and our art advisors are on hand to give advice – both on an aesthetical and practical level.

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FOUR TOP TIPS FOR ARTISTS & DESIGNERS

by Erica Wolfe-Murray UK’s leading business and innovation expert and founder of Lola Media

1. DON’T EVER WASTE ANYTHING Ensure you retain all your scribbles, notebooks, ideas, imaginings, everything because you will never know when they might have value. Illustrator Louise Yates kept her university drawings/story of her character, Dog, for years whilst she worked in another industry. When a publisher happened to ask her if she had anything worth publishing – she produced her notes and images, which became Dog Loves Books, the first in a children’s series and currently being animated for CBeebies.

2. GET TO GRIPS WITH UNDERSTANDING IP AND WHAT YOU OWN You need to really ensure you understand IP and how to harness it to build your future revenues. An easy fact to remember is “Copyright is an automatic right. If you have created it – you own it.” But you cannot own an idea, only an actual thing such as a sculpture or an image or some writing. If you want to know more about IP, you can find my short ebook Cake: A Creative’s Guide to IP on my website. It keeps everything simple.

3. TRY TO RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF EVERYTHING YOU CREATE – OR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE This can be hard to do – particularly for designers as their clients want to own the work you do for them. So try your hardest to retain ownership. You can licence images, designs, logos etc to a client with a range of conditions e.g. time limiting, usage, audience size, geographic, just like a photographer does. If you retain ownership, then you have the say over how it is used and can often earn further income from it.

4. MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE ARCHIVE This may seem the same as no 1 above, but it isn’t. Ensure all your finished work is properly stored, tagged and maintained with any use of it recorded. Designers Patternity and character designer Donna Wilson both have comprehensive archives. They draw on these for inspiration but also licence items from their archives to clients – for a lower fee than creating an original design. Thereby appealing to clients with varying budgets. lola-media.co.uk 82

ESTILA - the ultimate black book and resource for creatives in business ESTILA is a content design studio and a multiplatform independent British ad-free premium bookazine that encourages and teaches creatives and designers to share their inspirational business stories. Since 2015 we have been championing small independent brands and emerging artists.

GIVING BACK With us you’re doing good. Our yearly subscription costs £34 and we donate 20% / £7 to Brain Tumour Charity.

Available online at estila.co/shop Help us to reduce the human impact on the environment and recycle this edition responsibly.

Even better, why not pass it on to your friend, favourite shop, hospital, charity, hairdressers or someone in a need of inspiration. Thank you.

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“Jasmine got me interested in alternative fashion photography. Her photographic experiments are bold and attention grabbing. I want to see more fashion photo shoots like hers.”

Monika Pick - ART STORIES -

ESTILA MAGAZINE estila.co

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