Artist Spotlight - Irina Trzaskos

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?  
Annie, thank you for the opportunity of being featured on your wonderful blog.
I have a degree in Interior design and I have painted and drawn since I can remember. During my school years I would go to after school art programs to paint because I was enjoying it so much. I always knew that my career would be somehow connected with art. 

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
I mostly work in watercolor. It is my favorite medium since I was little. I was always exploring different mediums, and I am familiar with some software which makes life easier for me and my agent when I have to prepare my art for licensing.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?
My main sources of inspiration are architecture, textiles, ceramics, theater, art history and crafts of different cultures. Beautiful color schemes are also very inspiring.

How did you start licensing your art?
When I moved to the US in 2012, I had to decide what direction my career should take; that is when I found out about art licensing. It took me several years to gain confidence, build a portfolio and as a result to look for and find an agent.

What are you working on now?
We just got back from a trip, and I have several projects going on: I am filming my next Skillshare class, developing new collection to submit to my art licensing portfolio and also I started to illustrate a book, my husband wrote.

Any great advice for our readers?
In art licensing, besides being creative it is very important to stay organized, have goals and constantly keep growing your portfolio, even if there are no specific assignments. I found my agent surprisingly easy – after I took watercolor classes I built a portfolio of 25+ art pieces , I picked my 5 favorite of them and started sending letters to licensing agencies I thought could be a good fit to represent my work. In a few days I got a letter from Art Licensing International.

Anything else you would like to share with us?
Besides creating art for licensing and teaching I love illustrating books. My husband writes fairytales and I illustrate them. It is our personal project we enjoy very much. Our books series is called Tales From a Magical Forest.

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
I always considered myself a night owl, but several years ago I noticed that I don’t like to work at night anymore and I really enjoy having breakfast with my husband instead of sleeping in ).

What is your favorite food?
It depends on season, I love seasonal fruits paired with different kind of cheeses. Also, I love fresh bakery items, a croissant and a cup of latte can make me instantly happy.

You can find Irina:

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/irinatrzaskosstudio
INSTAGRAM  @irinatrzaskos

OUR BOOKS: https://www.facebook.com/TalesfromaMagicalForest/
            
https://www.amazon.com/author/talesfromamagicalforest   

For licensing my work please contact Art Licensing International :
http://artlicensing.com/content/irina-trzaskos-studio

SKILLSHARE CHANNEL: https://www.skillshare.com/r/irinatrzaskos

Want to be spotlighted? email me info@AnnGraphics.com. I am looking forward to your comments and thanks for sharing this great information on social media.

 

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