A few months ago we interviewed the lovely, Santa Monica, artist Lindsay Frost.  We caught up with her again at the Santa Monica Montana Arts Festival in July to see what kind of new projects she has been working on.  We found out some very cool and exciting news….  Her baseball cap paintings were recently chosen exclusively by MLB to be displayed at dodgers stadium!  This is a great opportunity for Lindsay and a huge step that many artists are looking to achieve.  Lindsay started selling her work online at Fine Art America a few years ago which lead to more sales and also more recognition like the Major League Baseball.  Watch her second interview with us to learn more about her MLB collection and other projects.  Congrats Lindsay! 

What does it take to be a book illustrator?  We asked Fine Art America artist Eric Fan to share his knowledge and experience with creating book illustrations. 

Eric Fan is a Toronto based artist with a passion for the whimsical and unexpected, a love of vintage art, clockwork contraptions, and pop culture collisions.  He is currently working on his first children’s book with brother, Terry Fan, which is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2016.  His agent is Kirsten Hall, at the Catbird Agency. 

1.  How did you get into book illustration?  How does the whole process work? 

It’s all fairly new to me, actually, and I kind of fell into it by chance and happenstance.  My agent, Kirsten Hall, was just starting her new agency (Catbird: http://catbirdagency.com/) and was looking for new artists to fill her roster.  She happened to see my brother Terry’s work online and signed him as an artist.  She then asked him if he had any ideas for children’s books, and he proposed a few ideas that we had come up with together, and also mentioned that we often worked together collaboratively.  She presented one of our ideas to Simon & Schuster and they made an offer on it, which blew my mind because it was our first book proposal.  Since we planned to do the book together, I was also signed to Catbird in lieu of the publishing contract.  The book is due to be published in the Spring of 2016.  I’ve attached a picture of the cover art, as well as another cover we worked on recently for Ali Benjamin’s upcoming book, The Thing About Jellyfish. 

The Thing About Jellyfish

2.  What do you like about book illustration?  what type (genre) of books do you typically illustrate? 

I work almost exclusively in the children’s book field; primarily picture books for young readers.  Picture books appeal to me because I like the idea of telling a story visually.  When you do a single piece of art it can also tell a story within that single image, but there’s something nice about extending that into a fully realized story with a beginning, middle, and end.  I spent my thirties writing screenplays, so some of that love for visual storytelling has always been part of my make-up.  Depending on the project, there’s also the challenge factor of bringing either your own story to life, or bringing someone else’s words to life.  Every story has its own specific obstacles, and it can be rather terrifying, to be honest, but it’s the kind of terror that spurs creativity and invention, because you’re working against a deadline within a very specific matrix of obstacles you have to overcome.  When I was a kid, picture books had a profound affect on me, so the idea of creating something that may inspire other kids growing up is really at the heart of why I love working on children’s books so much. 

In addition to picture books, we’ve also worked on a few projects aimed at slightly older readers.  The cover art for Ali Benjamin’s book,Â The Thing About Jellyfish (Little Brown, Fall 2015)Â was an exciting project because I really loved the story and it’s getting some very positive pre-release buzz. Â It’s aimed at young readers, but also adults, since the themes are quite mature, so it was something a little different for us.  We also did the chapter decorations for a book called,Â The Book That Proves Time Travel Happens, by Henry Clark.  It’s a terrifically fun book about time travel and overcoming prejudice. 

3.  What is the newest book project you are working on? 

We just finished The Night Gardener, and have been putting together a proposal for a new book.  We were also signed as artists for two other authored children’s books.  They haven’t been announced publicly yet so I need to keep the details under wraps, but they’re both very exciting projects. 

The Night Gardener

4.  What in your opinion makes a good book cover? 

I got my start in art doing t-shirt design, and I think it’s almost the same thing.  A t-shirt is a moving piece of art and so it needs to ‘read’ very quickly, and be visually striking with a degree of simplicity, either in the message or the visual.  In the case of a book cover, the art is stationary on the shelf, but the customer is moving, and so the same criteria applies.  The image needs to be eye-catching and striking, and communicate something about the book very quickly. 

5.  Does Fine Art America or having your work online help in anyway with book illustration? 

Like I said, both my brother and I were discovered by our work being seen online, so there’s a huge upside in licensing your art and selling it on print on demand sites because many agents and editors peruse these sites looking for new talent.  It’s really revolutionized the playing field for artists in terms of getting their work seen and making important contacts.  My career definitely wouldn’t be what it is today if I hadn’t started selling my work online. 

This month, our spotlight artist is painter Scott Listfield.  Scott’s paintings usually include his iconic astronaut character, some dinosaurs and popular culture icons.  His work captures both the idea of the future and world that we all live in today.  Watch our video interview to get an inside look into Scott’s work and how he got started on Fine Art America. 

Scott Listfield (b. 1976, Boston, MA) is known for his paintings featuring a lone exploratory astronaut lost in a landscape cluttered with pop culture icons, corporate logos, and tongue-in-cheek science fiction references.  Scott studied art at Dartmouth College.  After college and spending some time abroad, Scott moved back to america and began painting his astronaut series. 

Scott has been featured in many magazines including Wired Magazine, the Boston Globe, and on WBZ-TV Boston.  His work has also appeared in New American Paintings and Surface Magazine.  In 2010 he was named a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant finalist, and was the official artist of 2011 Boston First Night.  He has exhibited his work in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and many other places. 

Scott currently has a solo show “Astronaut” until July 12th at Chicago’s Rotofugi Gallery.  We definatly recommend to stop by and see it! 

Art K has been a photographer on Fine Art America since 2012 and is best known for his wide-range of iconic landmarks and nightlife photography.  Although photography is not his full time job, Art K finds himself photographing as much as possible, even staying up late to capture the perfect shot.  We sat down with Art K to learn more about his work and why he is so passionate about it.  For photographers just starting out, Art K explains the camera he uses most, lenses and useful tips for shooting photography. 

This month we are diving into ocean photography by interviewing a company that knows all about the ocean.  Once Ocean One Breath is an Australian based free diving company started by husband and wife duo, Eusebio and Christina Saenz de Santamaria.  They are both professional free divers and record-holders, adventure free diving photographers, and filmmakers.  Traveling around the world, One ocean One breath captures breathtaking diving photography while also teaching others about their passion of the ocean.  Because of popular demand One ocean One breath is now selling their work through Fine Art America.  We asked the company a few questions about their own underwater experiences and breathtaking ocean photography:

“Follow The Fish” by One ocean One breath

Tell us about your free diving business and your experiences with taking photos underwater? 

Eusebio and I are professional freedivers, photographers and film-makers as well as husband and wife.  We are based on the small tropical island of Koh Tao, Thailand for 6 months of the year where we train and coach at the freediving school, Apnea Total, which is a freediving education organization co-founded by Eusebio and his business partner, Monica Ganame over 10 years ago.  This freediving school has certified over 7,000 students to date and the organization continues to expand worldwide with Apnea Total centres in the Caribbean, throughout South-East Asia and the Mediterranean. 

For Eusebio and I, freediving is our passion and our way of life.  When not on Koh Tao we are traveling and exploring the world and her ocean’s on one breath alone; and we document our adventures through photography and film for our personal business called ‘One ocean One breath’.  We often seek unusual and unique areas of the world such as the magical cenotes of the Yucatan in Mexico, through to exhilarating encounters with tiger sharks in the Bahamas or the Spinner dolphins in Hawaii.  All our underwater photography is made on breath-hold using only the natural light available.  Freediving is the sport that we love, however it is also advantageous to shoot underwater on breath-hold as we don’t have any noisy or cumbersome scuba equipment which means that marine animals are far more curious of us and will approach us very closely.  Freediving enables us to have a more intimate experience with the ocean and her marine creatures. 

While traveling and not shooting we also compete in freediving competitions and aim for new personal records and depths.  Eusebio and I recently achieved a world’s first and world record dive together to a depth of 100 metres in the Caribbean this past September. 

How did you discover Fine Art America and how does it work for your business? 

Over the last year we have received many inquiries for photographic art prints of our freediving photography, so after much research and searching online I discovered and chose Fine Art America.  We chose FAA for the ability to have control over the pricing of our photography, the many different choices of materials and framing as well as the ability to send the prints worldwide. 

What kind of underwater camera and equipment do you use? 

Canon 5DM3 and Subal Underwater Housing

What has been the most challenging part of ocean photography? 

All our underwater photography is made while freediving.  This means that we don’t use any artificial breathing apparatus like scuba, we simply take one breath and descend beneath the oceans surface to shoot.  There are many challenges to freediving photography!  You must firstly be physically able to freedive safely, carry the photographic equipment underwater, think about the shot, the light, the model and work with all the ocean’s variables such as currents, waves, lower lights levels, changing visibility and unpredictable marine creatures.  Eusebio and I are well trained in freediving and can hold our breath for extended periods underwater, however we still must surface for air.  One such challenge is running out of breath when you have the perfect shot lined up and another significant challenge is working with natural light as we do not use any strobes or artificial lighting. 

We recently sat down with Fine Art America artist and actress Lindsay Frost at her wonderful home and studio in Santa Monica.  Lindsay shared with us how she balances being a baseball mom, her acting career, and recent re-discovery of painting.  She also discusses her newest series MLB baseball caps, which was inspired by her family’s love for baseball.  For Lindsay, returning to painting has taken passion, courage, and some work but she really enjoys it.  Watch her full Fine Art America interview!