26 July 2016
At an event at Seven Stories in Newcastle, Endland last week with Chris Chatterton, I was taken out of the daily round of emails, meetings, phone calls, negotiations, trips to A&E with my 8-year-old daughter for a nail that DIDN’T go through her foot, and was reminded very simply and yet powerfully of exactly why I do what I do, and wouldn’t for a moment want to do anything else…
22 July 2016
Bright Group International has been an illustration agency for over 13 years. Beginning from a tiny bedroom in Clapham, Bright Founder and MD Vicki Willden-Lebrecht made it her mission to champion artists and illustrators, to help them become the best they could possibly be and to propel those creators of children’s books back into having ‘rock star’ recognition in a world where digital was fast becoming the thing. The ethos is that a book must be valued as a beautiful creation, unlike anything the digital world can offer. There is no doubt that there will always be a place for children’s books in physical form — there’s just something about a book isn’t there?
14 July 2016
Bright Group International has been an illustration agency for over 13 years. Beginning from a tiny bedroom in Clapham, Bright Founder and MD Vicki Willden-Lebrecht made it her mission to champion artists and illustrators, to help them become the best they could possibly be and to propel those creators of children’s books back into having ‘rock star’ recognition in a world where digital was fast becoming the thing. The ethos is that a book must be valued as a beautiful creation, unlike anything the digital world can offer. There is no doubt that there will always be a place for children’s books in physical form — there’s just something about a book isn’t there?
07 July 2016
Bright Group International has been an illustration agency for over 13 years. Beginning from a tiny bedroom in Clapham, Bright Founder and MD Vicki Willden-Lebrecht made it her mission to champion artists and illustrators, to help them become the best they could possibly be and to propel those creators of children’s books back into having ‘rock star’ recognition in a world where digital was fast becoming the thing. The ethos is that a book must be valued as a beautiful creation, unlike anything the digital world can offer. There is no doubt that there will always be a place for children’s books in physical form — there’s just something about a book isn’t there? Any lover of books will tell you that.
13 June 2016
After finishing a BA in History, and working a series of pretty un-stimulating office jobs, Stephanie Fizer Coleman found true happiness in illustration. A self-taught artist, she experimented with many mediums before finally settling on digital, where she could build little illustrated worlds full of bold colors and playful patterns. The wonderful thing about the world of illustration is that there are no rules or particular boundaries concerning what qualifications you have or where you studied – or even if you studied! Stephanie is proof that you can do anything you want if you have true passion. Here’s Stephanie’s point of view on being an illustrator…
03 May 2016
Raised on fairytales and cartoons, Joshua has a love for bright and whimsical imagery, his work combines a flair for the fantastical and an air of nostalgia. He received his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design where he was the two-term president of a social sorority. He then went on to receive his MFA in Illustration Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Currently residing in Chicago, IL, Joshua spends his time between illustrating, daylighting as a college professor and a fitness instructor, and avoiding the cold. He joined Bright earlier in 2016 and has been honing his portfolio since.
05 April 2016
Here in the US, we are celebrating the arrival of the US edition of the highly acclaimed picture book, The Bear and the Piano written and illustrated by David Litchfield. It is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Clarion Books with a new US edition cover, below left.
10 March 2016
Since publishing with Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers in June 2015, Yasmeen Ismail‘s illustrations in One Word from Sophia have garnered enormous praise. Librarians, parents, book reviewers and young readers alike have invited outspoken Sophia onto their bookshelves and into their hearts. Her popularity has helped to ignite an important conversation: Sophia is a strong, intelligent female character of color and she has too few peers in picture books.
23 February 2016
Combining mixed media illustrations with witty storylines, Jarvis’s sense of humour has now travelled much further than his studio — we catch up with Jarvis on the international success his books have gained in the last few years, and where it all started.
19 February 2016
To look at one of Maddie Frost’s illustrations is to immediately wonder, “How did she make something so texturally complex look so gorgeously simple and accessible?” Her work is a triumph of composition, of thoughtfulness, of ingenuity. It was a delight to speak with her about her process in creating what we’ve termed, “scanned textures.” (Because, after all, every texture you see in her illustrations has been scanned–and often created–by hand in her New Hampshire studio.) From socks to sweaters to watercolor to, yes, even oatmeal, Maddie has seemingly scanned it all. And aren’t we thankful for that.
19 February 2016
Bright Group International, founded in 2003 by Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, set out to be a pioneering agency that prioritised the creative needs as well as the legal and financial offerings of a standard agency. Bright has since grown into one of the most forward thinking talent management agencies with exceptional results in the last 12 years, now managing artists including Benji Davies, Sue Hendra and Yasmeen Ismail, to name a few.
28 November 2014
Merging traditional and digital mediums to develop his style, he’s established a look that perfectly defines a classic yet contemporary feel: soulful, engaging and modern. Here we take a look at his range of work from debut publication to more recent projects, and talk to Ben about how he technique and inspiration.
