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Surtex 2015 Recap From a Watercolor Artist's Perspective

Hi everyone! I love reading all of your Surtex recaps, so I thought I'd share my own experience.

This was my 3rd time exhibiting. SO DIFFERENT from my first time! I remember being extremely nervous back in 2013, not knowing if anyone (much less buyers and manufacturers) would like my work for their products. I remember the first person who came to my booth in 2013 was the art director for Hallmark, my hand was shaking as I took her card.

Anyways, the show has been great for me, good enough that I can afford to keep coming back to NY from Mexico City and exhibit solo each year! I fell in love the licensing world and plan to keep my career going in this direction.

As for 2015, here are a few bullets, notes and observations I made:

You don't need patterns or vector designs to sell your work. In the beginning I was scared, I saw so many booths with so many amazing patterns!.. and I had zero. The first show I did I got a lot of questions regarding vector designs and how my watercolors would translate to that. In time I learned there are products for every kind of artist. It would be difficult to license my work to fabric or wallpaper, but single textured watercolor designs are great for notebooks, journals and greeting cards. JUST BE YOU and the right client will come.
My sister Maggie helps me each year. Maggie is in the fashion business and is always impressed by how NICE everyone is at the art licensing shows. So I guess you could say we're lucky to be able to work with so many cool and mostly friendly people. I think loving what you do has so much to do with the tone of business meetings and follow-up emails.

Which brings me to follow up: yes, it's true, the following weeks of the show are the most important! I am always polite and interested in every client that passes by my booth. When you arrive back to your studio (or home), you start looking through the famous notebook with business cards and notes and start to realize some of the companies you spoke with might not be right for you at all! On the other hand, the notebook will have a hand-full of dream clients, and visits from regular or on going clients reaffirming your business relationship.
By my 3rd show I've gained lots of confidence, and have noticed the importance of branding. This is what I mean by "not all clients are right for you". Maybe I want to keep my brand fun, a bit more exclusive and targeted towards a younger crowd. Maybe a huge super market chain isn't right for me. It's frightening to start selecting clients, you might be losing out on a big chunk of cash by filtering opportunities, but if you take care of your brand, I feel it will be worth it in the long run. (Also, you might not be right for them either, and will no longer have that one available image when the right clients comes along)
New concepts will come up at the show! I love brainstorming with clients. We exchange ideas and I always have so much to work with when I get home! They might come up with a phrase for one of my paintings that I never thought of, or a twist on a specific design that works on my etsy shop, but would be better with a certain change for licensing. These people are intelligent and know what sells! It's such a fantastic opportunity to pick their brains and exchange thoughts!

new idea that came up while talking with one of my favorite clients!

The National Stationery Show next door is incredible and very handy to take a look at your new products. The most amazing feeling is seeing your work from last year on a product this year for the very first time! The NSS is usually where companies showcase their new products to the industry, if you find your clients booth, go take a look and see what you can find! This year I went over to Studio Oh! to check out their new line and saw my brand new jornal there. I haven't even received samples yet so it's new new new! It's also great when a client you hadn't heard of stops by your booth and you get a chance to visit theirs later on to see the quality of their products in the flesh.

lining design for my Studio Oh! journal, cover is still a secret!

Seeing old friends. I've met so many great people doing the show during these 3 years. We only see each other in person once a year in May, but follow eachother on social media and consult one and other for business advice. Special shout out to Elizabeth Olwen and Dinara Mirtalipova. Also to my very friendly neighbor for the second time, Ana Davis.

My desk with new products I showcase, usually from deals that came from last year's show.

Taking old work to the show is useful. I usually prefer licensing, but this year I got a lot of clients asking me to sell outright, and to send them any older work I was willing to part with. I actually do have a lot of these kind of pieces! Illustrations that I though were great when I painted them and ended up never selling on my etsy or as licenses for some reason. Some companies will figure out a good place for them and you just made some cash off of a piece you never though would work!

In conclusion, every show is great in it's own way and is always a big learning opportunity.

What do I wonder about?

Do I keep returning to the show every year? Does anyone take breaks?

I'd love to hear insight from fellow exhibitors!

It was lovely seeing all of you :)

Ana

A Guide to Art Supplies

Any painter or crafter knows how cool buying supplies is, it's definitely one of my favorite activities! Every time I travel I make sure I hit the best arts and crafts shop in town. After years of painting you pretty much know what works best for you, but it's also really fun to try at least one new item, this is how you end up discovering your favorite supplies!

I get asked a bunch of technical questions on Instagram, like "how did you make the white lines?", "what kind of paper do you use?", how did you make your lines so fine?", etc. Some of these questions are hard to answer because each artists developed their own style and way of painting, fine lines are just easier when you practice practice practice! But I can make a personal list of my favorite painting supplies :)

Watercolor

Ok, so I've painted with acrylics and gauche in the past, but my personal favorite is definitely watercolor. It's very practical, dries beautifully and creates amazing texture. I usually mix my pan sets with concentrated watercolor. What I am using now is Sennelier, Winsor & Newton and Dr Ph Martins. Winsor & Newton (Cotman) is great for staring out because it's not as expensive as other professional brands. I've heard schmincke watercolors are amazing too, I will be ordering those soon!

Always mix your paints in porcelain dishes, or any palette you feel comfortable with.

Paper

Personaly, I always use watercolor pads. Some people buy big sheets of paper and tape the edges onto their desk or a board. Pads are what I feel most comfortable with, my personal favorite is Arches, but it is pretty pricey... if I'm experimenting or painting color boards, I will use Canson or Strathmore. They are all pretty great. If you use a lot of water in your paintings I would recomend you paper be as heavy as possible.

Just make sure your pad says "watercolor" on the cover, sketch or mixed media paper will not work, it won't be able to handle all the water we use for this technique.

Brushes

Brushes are known to be super personal for each artist. I've acquired so many throughout the years, but lately I end up using these winsor ones. I don't even think they are meant for watercolor, pretty sure it's in the acrylic paintbrush section at Blick, but these white sable brushes work great for me!

I usually work with about 3 or 4 brushes simultaneously when painting an illustration, there's always a 0 or 00 (sometimes 000!) for details. I like round brushes like these:

Ink, acrylic and masking fluid

One of my favorite techniques is mixing watercolor with thicker paints. I usually use ink over watercolor once it's dried, for details, like in this paiting:

I use a few different brands for this, but I absolutely looooove a japanese brand, used for anime, named Copic. It's thick but can be used again and again once it's dried on your palette.

I will also use masking fluid from time to time. My favorite brand in Winsor & Newton.

Where to shop

My absolute favorite place to buy supplies is BLICK. No one beats those prices and variety! This place is awesome, and it carries Dr Ph Martins, not too easy to find.

Para amigos en México: Normalmente compro todo mi material cuando viajo a Estados Unidos, los precios y variedad son inigualables! Aún así, hay muchos lugares buenos en México. Arte y Material tiene muy buena variedad de papel, no tanto en acuarela. Los precios son un poco excesivos pero te puede sacar de cualquier apuro. Lumen también tiene buena variedad, y me comentan que Casa Serra está bastante bien :)

Best of wishes to everyone looking for supplies. Remember to experiment and try out what works best for you!

-Ana