Whilst Kate was in the USA she got a lovely welcome from one children’s book publisher – they put together a welcome board especially for her. Ed is very jealous, as for all the meetings he has been too he hasn’t had his name on a felt board for 20 years and Kate is straight on there! Below you can see the publishers pouring over the work, eagerly browsing the children’s book folios . It is great to see what Kate gets up to in her meetings and it just goes to show how important it is to keep your folio updated. So keep the work coming – we are constantly showing it off!
We are very excited to tell you that ‘The Poodle Problem’, a novel by Anna Wilson with cover illustrations by Kate Daubney has been selected as one of 10 books for the latest WHSmith Richard and Judy book club promotion. The promotion started today and runs until the 2nd May – they are running a multibuy offer with other titles as well, so you can get yourself a copy of this book for a great price! Kate Daubney is one of Advocate art’s top children’s illustrators so this is fantastic, if you would like to see more of her work click here to visit the Advocate art website. Read on to find out more about ‘Poodle Problem’ and click here to visit the retailer.
“Nine-year-old Pippa Peppercorn loves helping out at the only beauty salon in the quiet town of Crumbly-Under-Edge. A cosy joint run by the cuddly Mrs Semolina Ribena Fudge, customers and their pets stop by as much for the tea and sympathy as for a trim. But when rival beautician Trinity Meddler comes to town and sets up shop, Mrs Fudge is in danger of losing her customers. What’s more, Trinity has a sinister plan up her sleeve – involving oodles of poodles! Luckily Dash the talking dachshund, with a nose for sniffing out a good mystery, is on hand to save the day – with Pippa as his number-one assistant.”
Advocate art children’s illustratorDaniel Howarth sent us this video of a preschool programme about lighthouses. The programme features ‘The Lighthouse Keeper to the Rescue’, a children’s book written and illustrated by Heidi and Daniel Howarth. It is about Henry, a mouse who lives in a lighthouse, seeks help from a puffin and other animal friends to find the mother of a very hungry baby seal who was separated from her mother during a storm. As well as this the video also shows you how to make a lighthouse, a fun activity for those with kids! To see more of Dan’s work click here to visit the Advocate art website.
After relentlessly keywording all of our blog posts and adding the words ‘greeting cards’ onto everything physically possible we have made our way up the ranks, and now appear third in the list when you type in greeting card designers. As you know, when you search on Google, if you aren’t on the first page people don’t find you, so this is great – all we need now is to do the same for ‘childrens book illustration‘ and ‘illustration agency‘ and get Advocate Art number one on Google!
Spring Fair is fast approaching and Greetings Today Magazine have printed an overview of what we will be offering when we are there. You can find us at a new location in the Art section of the Spring Fair at stand 4B 109 where we will be showcasing original artwork as well as contemporary and traditional designs for greeting cards, posters and art licensing. Spring Fair is on from the 5th-9th February at the NEC in Birmingham so not long to send in new designs! Read below to find out more about what Advocate Art will be showcasing!
“With 20 years of experience Advocate Art illustration agency will be at Spring Fair for the first time in 2012. Located in the art and framing section of hall 4 they will showcase original artwork from artists and illustrators as well as prints, photography, contemporary designs and our more traditional designs for greeting cards, posters and art licensing, they are one of the largest and most bespoke agencies around. Originals include paintings from artists Chris Rigby, Nicola Evans and Carol Gillan are great for galleries; artists like Paula Doherty and photographer John Miller we will be licensing as well as selling originals and taking commissions. New this year, Advocate will be selling never before seen ranges, trend forward ideas and the best in contemporary illustration. With over 200 artists and over 300 commissions a month they have one of the most bespoke greeting card libraries around. The on-line library contains over 50,000 ready to use images including photography.”
One of Advocate Art’s new illustratorsKim Anderson has been featured on the Print and Pattern blog with her new floral designs. She makes all of her work by hand, combining colourful drawings with collage to create these intricate floral designs. Her work will make fabulous greeting card designs as well as art for other products. If you would like to see more of her work you can visit her online portfolio by clicking here.
As yesterday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year we thought it would be fitting to make a collection of illustrations by Advocateartists’ to celebrate the occasion! 2012 is the year of the mythical dragon, the legendary fire-breathing creatures from storybooks that originate from many myths and cultures.
Traditionally, Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days and is the longest and most important of all the holidays in the Chinese calendar, filled with feasting, fireworks and family reunions. Different years are represented with different animal zodiac signs and this year marks the year of the dragon, the only creature in the Chinese calendar from mythical descent. Unlike European beliefs where the dragon is believed to be evil, in China it is seen as a positive symbol: in ancient times the dragon was reserved for the Chinese Emperor and is considered to to be an extremely auspicious sign. Probably the most recognised image within Chinese culture, the dragon signifies power, strength, good luck and wealth . . . . maybe we will all become very powerful and very wealthy this year!!
Advocate artist Jane Heyes sent us this fabulous colour palette which she found on the Pantone website – full of bright, optimistic, and sophisticated colours bursting with energy and vibrance, it has thoroughly inspired us! Thank you Jane, if you want to see more on the Pantone website then click here.
We are very excited to hear that Advocate illustrator Genie Espinosa is having her first solo exhibition in Barcelona, Spain this month. Starting tomorrow it will be running until the 14th February. Genie specialises in book illustration for young children as well as greeting card design: her quirky colourful illustrations look great on the exhibition posters below. She has also filmed her work displayed in the exhibition (as it is a bit far for us to go . . ) so that we can enjoy it from a distance! Well done Genie! If you would like to take a look at her online portfolio on the Advocate website click here.
Last year Advocate artist Emmeline Pidgen created a poster called ‘Riot Clean Up’ in response to the London riots earlier in the year. She had an overwhelming response on twitter with over 20,000 views and it was featured on ITV London at the time. She also worked with a team in Manchester to create screen prints of the design with all the profits going to charity. Before christmas Emmeline did a radio interview all about it and it is now available to listen to online - just click here. If you’d like to see more of Emmeline’s work click here.
Recently you will have seen blog posts on the new Advocate Heads Up calendar and agency book which comes with a CD full of our lovely illustrators’ work. Well our featured artist on the CD cover is children’s illustrator Emmeline Pidgen and she has sent us a few words describing why she made this illustration.
“I created this illustration in honour of Roald Dahl day 2011. Roald Dahl stories were a big part of my life growing up, and when I discovered this quote from the man himself I couldn’t help but attempt to illustrate the true magic to be found within the covers of story books. ‘Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.’ – Roald Dahl”
Wording on the CD:
Contains: E-book pdf of artists’ folios – additional folio pieces as medium resolution – files suitable for presentation – images themed in categories e.g. “dinosaurs”.
Does not contain: viruses – programs that will crash your computer – works from prima-donnas or divas.
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