Holly Houk always viewed illustration art as a hobby and thought that most people who wanted to earn a living from their art were fated to be “struggling artists.” Her perception changed when she began working at an advertising agency as an art buyer. Through her job duties and contacts, she began to see that many people made a viable living from illustration art. It was when her employer had a hard time finding the right fit to some accounts in need of illustration art that Holly felt the courage to submit her own artwork. Her employer was impressed and began to ask her for more illustrations.
One day while searching Craig’s List she found an ad by KMC looking for illustration art for an upcoming project. After calling in books from New York agencies, KMC still hadn’t found the right artist and posted the job. The art would be used for their nail polish company Artessa. Here in the US, Artessa’s sister company is Dashing Diva, which I recognized immediately as I have some of their polish myself. Holly was selected over 30 other illustrators being reviewed for the project and was awarded the account. The client was so thrilled with the results they blew up the images 5 feet tall and featured them at one of the world’s largest beauty tradeshows, held in Italy.
Her previous work also includes Airwalk footwear and the Boston Greater Real Estate Board. You can also see Holly’s art on our Beauty Pro blog, and this month she launched her new website, HollyIllustration.com
Holly told me that she gets her inspiration from film, fashion magazines and photography books and keeps a digital camera with her at all times. She even has a folder in her car to hold the random inspiration she picks up along the way – scraps of paper, spreads from magazines and “pretty little brochures.” This year Holly’s goals are to continue to build up fashion and beauty accounts so that five years from now she is working exclusively with high profile long-term clients.
Please be sure to check out Holly’s website, I assure you that you will be just as impressed as I was with her gorgeous artwork.
Posted by Shannon Nelson on March 23, 2007 10:29 AM
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Comments (1)
Dear Shannon,
Thanks so much for sharing this story about Holly. It is sort of 'fairy tale' and encouraging, I'm sure, to other artists who haven't been discovered yet.
For me, it's uplifting too, because it reinforces my belief that if you have talent someone will eventually give you an opportunity. You just have to be ready when it comes. Or in some cases, you have to take a leap of faith and just do what you want to do. Either way... it's a matter of believing in your abilities.
That's what I always tell my daughter, Anna. She's a fashion designer, making very stylish plus-size clothing. Her line is called Jahqoi and she's making progress little by little. It's hard trying to get noticed, especially when the fashion industry treats plus-size women like a stepchild. But... I keep reminding Anna that sooner or later, her turn will come... just like Jennifer Hudson and others who have a dream and worked hard to make it happen.
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Dorez |
March 25, 2007 12:11 AM
Posted on March 25, 2007 00:11