Artist Spotlight - Beth Grove

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?
I did go to art school, but I’d have to say my biggest teacher has been experience and PRACTICE - a lot of PRACTICE. I learned a lot about design from my first job doing page layout for a crop-dusting magazine. My second job using my skills as an artist was working in the art department of a greeting card company called Carol Wilson Fine Arts, Inc., where I put in a lot of hours painting watercolors. For the last four years I’ve been painting in my home studio, and licensing to home decor and gift markets.

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
I mostly work in watercolors, but to keep up with the constantly changing trends in licensing, I’ve started creating watercolors in a new style. My newest work is a loose watercolor over a pen and ink drawing, or sometimes watercolor over graphite.

What inspires you. Where do you get inspiration from?
I love to create Pinterest boards. They are the ultimate in what used to be called mood boards. For every new collection I create, I start a Pinterest board with a color story and style concept. I refer back to it throughout the project to make sure I keep on track with what the collection needs to look like.

How did you start licensing your art?
While I was working at the greeting card company, I felt I needed to look into how an artist might make a living if they didn’t have a full-time position within a company. As the job market was changing, I saw a trend of artist becoming self employed, finding contract work and doing freelance jobs. That’s when I discovered licensing. To be honest, I don’t remember exactly where I first learned about it, but I quickly got to work looking for an agent, and have been working with Wild Apple Graphics for the past four years.

What are you working on now?
SURTEX!! I’m trying to create as much art as possible to send to the show with my agent.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
I’m very excited about a new contract for my Lilac Dream Collection. It will be used to produce boxes, wine tubes, journals, diaries, sketchbooks, and photo albums. Here’s a picture of the journal. 

Any great advice for our readers?
It works well for manufacturers when the art is in layers so they can move things around, and build the art in different formats to fit all types of products. I scan my watercolors as separate pieces and work in Photoshop to complete the art.

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
Early riser. I’m a lot sharper in the morning, and it’s a quiet time of day when I can get a lot of work done without interruptions.

You can find Beth:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistBethGrove/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Agent’s Website: www.wildapple.com
My Website: http://bethgrove.com
Email: bgrovework@aol.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/colorcollector/

Do you want to be spotlighted? Send an email: info@AnnGraphics.com

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