In Conversation with Harry Lyon-Smith

Director of Illustration Ltd Harry Lyon-Smith gives an interview to the SAA Hub News providing an insight into one of the most successful illustration agencies...


Please give a short summary of your company history and provide a bit of information about yourself and how you got into the business?

The agency was started in 1929 by a lady by the name of Katherine Boland, and it was called the Katherine Boland Studio. She ran it with her sister until 1970 when John Havergal bought it on their retirement. He changed the name to The Garden Studio, reflecting its location in Covent Garden, London. 15 years later after various experiments into publishing and greetings cards, John found that it was the agency part that was most enjoyable and rewarding.

It’s in 1985 that I found myself delivering portfolios to him as a motorcycle courier aged 20. I was paying off some college debts, and found myself quite regularly at John’s door. An acquaintance evolved, which developed into a friendship and a job offer to join him as a trainee agent. (Train me he did, his professionalism and duty to our artists being very much alive in the agency 30 years on.) A decade or so later he invited me to be a junior partner, and a few years after that he retired and we made arrangements for the business to carry on.


inside the office on Albert Embankment

How would you describe your day-to-day role as an illustrators’ agent? (i.e. finding work, finding new clients, serving regular clients, managing accounts, scheduling artists time)

The agency has evolved into a more plural operation than the 1 man band it once was and it is what we do as a team that answers this question. On the coal face, so to speak, there are 10 agents dotted around the globe who manage enquiries and jobs. Three are involved in the financial side of the operation, four handle marketing and promotion, and a further three vitally work with our artists and the agent team, keeping the portfolios looking great, managing new artists submissions and talent scouting.

The Team!

What are the commercial advantages for artists represented by your agency? 
Immediately anyone joins us, and their work is live on our site, they have a large international audience of commissioners. We have an expanding number of agents in new developing territories, and work comes in from all corners of the world. Our website has been around from very early days in the history of the web, and it has enabled us to keep principle positions on the google rankings.

We are a large agency by most measures and with that comes advantages. Such as the scale and range of the illustrators that we represent for the clients seeking top flight creative geniuses…it is rare that we can’t offer an option that is either bang on, or pretty damn close, or perhaps an exciting alternative that takes their creative to new places. This rewards the agency with loyal and regular customers enjoying very friendly, consistent and professional service from our artists and the agent team.

We have developed a payment system that gets everyone paid either all or a portion of the fees quite soon after invoice. 


Artists represented by Illustration Ltd

What other benefits can an artist gain from being represented by you? (i.e. Negotiating contracts, rights and usage licenses, support, time to work)

Our management systems ensures that as soon as a job is confirmed, the paper work is done and emailed to the artist and the client, with all the licences, fees, terms, deadlines etc clearly set out. The jobs are monitored and managed on a unique and efficient software, that we have been evolving for 2 decades. It connects to all the agents and gives us extraordinary flexibility to keep on top of jobs and help deliver clients top jobs, whilst alleviating pressure from the artists.

Furthermore, all the billing is automatically done when the job is finished, and a strict payment collection process is instigated….we hardly have artists chasing us for monies nowadays. If they do need the fee before it has been paid, we have an option that pays immediately if they wish.



What are the benefits of networking within the wider artistic community? (i.e. SAA Members, AOI & ProAction, events )

There are many good agents looking after the best interests of artists that they represent, and we admire them for their qualities…often with professional jealousies, that sharpens us up. However there are other agents that one hears who do not adhere to the standards that we have always held. The great thing about the SAA is that we know that the other members behave as per the constitution, and that is professional and fair. There are other agents who do as well, and we would like them to join the SAA to help develop our industry into a more influential and recognised barer of professional influence and practice.




Scrapbook Live event 
Exhibition by 21 Illustrators from Illustration Ltd 
London’s Griffin Gallery

How do you help your artists develop their portfolio and market?

Every Wednesday morning the team gathers and we review about a dozen or so of our artists portfolios, the jobs they have done, the marketing and promotion that we are doing, along with future plans. After this we have a good discussion with the artists, going through all the points raised, and sending a written report of it all. This we do 4 times a year with every artist on a formal setting, and of course a great deal more less formally in the throws of day to day business. Additionally we have regular meet ups, that we call ‘Face to faces”, that can either be in the office, by video conference or with a glass in hand…depending on location etc. It is all about enjoying spooling the artist’s and teams’ experiences that spark ideas and approaches that have client doors flying open. 

Illustration TV

What do you consider is the main role and responsibilities of the illustrators you represent to help you to build their career? (i.e. Flexibility, punctual with deadlines, importance of personal work to help develop an artist’s visual language etc)

A static portfolio will sooner or latter begin to fail any artist. We have seen this countless times and is probably without exception. So a continuously evolving portfolio has to be part of the essence of any illustrator’s career. Otherwise it is all about being a professional, delivering beyond expectation and utterly charming to work with. If you need any help with the last point (and we all do) read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie. Cheesey in title, but there is a reason it has been the top selling self help book for over 100 years. Everyone joining us in the office has to read it…it is law in our shop.

This interview can also be read on the SAA HUB News site.

Anne Wilson in Mac User

Anne's feature in Mac User

a selection of Anne's art used in the article

January's edition of Mac User Magazine features an article on the wonderful Anne Wilson. Experiencing the industry in times before our digital world, Anne talks of the changes, her illustration education and inspirations with some sound advice; " just do what you do".

The article:
I have been practicing as an illustrator for the past 15 years or so...the time seems to have flown past so fast at an unbelievable rate. During this time the technology I've experienced has evolved tremendously. One of my very first commissions for example was completed through to the finals stage using a fax machine! Email now is second nature, and the format now in which discussions on projects tend to take place in the main, to the point where now I cannot remember the first time I began using email! It has always been a highly competitive industry and unless, for the most part, illustrators keep an eye on the technology available to them and embrace it in their working practice, those around will most likely have the upper hand.
I love the global feel of the industry, now more apparent than ever. Often I get work via the USA and recently I have completed a few jobs for various clients in Korea. The days of hiking around London with my portfolio focusing in the main on UK based clients, has passed and evolved into an exciting mix of cultures, opportunities and inspiration on a world wide basis.
On the one hand there seems to be a constant barrage of fightingly good illustrators graduating and entering the industry today, bright eyed, fast paced and full of imagination, which is both wonderful and overwhelming for me. But on the other hand it provides a pool of fantastic inspiration which serves to keep me well on my toes year after year. As this career tends to be a rather solitary one, the reality of the competition for commissions is important, a good reason I feel to take the time and energy to enter industry led competitions when ever possible. They serve as a good tool to sharpen your creative processes and a bench mark for where you are at within the illustration world.
New creatives are certainly one source of inspiration. More and more creative collectives are appearing such as the illustrator led groups of Ohh Deer and No Brow, but global culture in the main endlessly fascinates me, from intricate details, patterns, textures, colours and beliefs people possess and live their lives by.
What would I be lost without? Well the traditional side of me would undoubtedly opt for my Swan Morton scalpel, with blade 10a, and the current side of me would say my Wacom drawing tablet and pen (teamed up with my Mac and Photoshop.) I think it is important to embrace both sides, to pick up a pencil, or my dip pen and ink and commit to a drawing, or make marks with mono prints and any other mixed media I might care to throw at a surface in the moment. Neither are seen as a separate entity and when the two working methods are brought together, exciting things evolve from their meeting. I enjoy the physical process of colour mixing and mark making according to what might be suitable for the project I am working on. These results then get scanned and imported into Photoshop to create a final image. Increasingly it is my Wacom pen and eraser tool which becomes my scalpel.
I certainly don't even pretend to be remotely wise, but if I had a little wisdom to share, I would say keep it all positive, be 'can do' in your communications with clients and get plenty of fresh air!
I have always felt compelled to draw and create something on paper or whatever comes to hand. I loved picture books as a child and as my reading progressed I would still look for the pictures! I think since school I had in my mind that creating pictures to tell a story or describe something was what I wanted to aim for, just to see if maybe I could give it a go, and maybe I might be able to keep doing it, and just maybe, if that happened I could make it my job! The funny thing is, that I still don't feel I have a 'job', so in an obscure sort of way that makes me a very lucky person!
So I progressed as follows; school, (start drawing) A levels, (keep drawing) Art Foundation course, (more drawing) Degree - BA Honours at Bath, (definitely some drawing here) and then I went to do an MA in Communication Design at St Martins College of Art in London a few years ago, where I was lucky enough to get a Distinction, (masses of drawing stuff went on here!) There was no other obvious career paths for me, in my mind it was simple, I love drawing and creating images, so all I have to do it keep creating and I felt that one day I would become a professional creative of some sort - illustration fitted the bill nicely.
Some of my favourite projects have been children's picture books, I have completed several for Barefoot Books, but other recent clients include The London Transport Museum, The Independent On Sunday, The BBC, Mojo Magazine, Francis Lincon, Feast Creative, Beam, Crocodile Creek and Save the Children.
So that's me in brief! I would add though that one thing I have learnt through time, frustration, joy and the general madness my creative world involves, is that you can over think things to the point where you just can't see...my answer, is to take a deep breath...and just do what you do.

Pratique Des Arts

John Walsom is very pleased to have been featured in the French art magazine "Pratique Des Arts". Focussing on his oil and acrylic landscapes, the magazine has given John eight pages of coverage aswell as using his painting of Barcelona on the cover.

Milk X

Lucia Emanuela Curzi appears in Milk X Magazine.
A monthly print magazine, published in Hong Kong and Taiwan and 'dedicated to providing the most up to date news on international Fashion, Lifestyle, Design and Art', Lucia was interviewed about her work and included in the 'Everyone has a Kid Hiding Inside' feature. The issue is out now....

Illustrator's Notebook

Christopher Corr is featured in the Summer 2013 edition of Illustration Magazine talking of the importance of his sketchbooks.  As an artist whose work is so influenced by all around him, the sketchbook remains an integral part of his illustration process.

Christopher says in the article "I’ve been using sketchbooks since I was an art student. I keep some for working out ideas for projects and I use others purely for making location drawings and paintings and observations. I don’t mix them up.
A sketchbook is so personal: I write down conversations I overhear, graffiti I see and like, headlines from newspapers I notice as I’m drawing, in fact anything that strikes me as important or noteworthy when I’m out and about. On location I’m selective about what I include in my picture making. I am not a camera and so I draw the things I like or dislike, anything I can use later on to recreate that scene.
I work in books of all sizes, some very tiny and others huge. On a trip to China I bought some concertina-type sketchbooks and I used these to paint long panoramic scenes. I bought some beautiful books in India that I’ve used as sketchbooks, red and quilted-cloth covered, tied up with a string. They are made for debt and rent collectors so they can raise eyebrows when you take one from your bag.
You can do whatever you like in a sketchbook. You have total freedom. You make the rules. You can experiment and try out new ideas and work with new and different materials.
I always carry at least one sketchbook in my bag or pocket. They are so useful when you have time on your hands or when you see something remarkable. Artists have been using them for hundreds of years and I like that sense of continuity. It’s an unconscious record  of your thoughts and feelings.
I moved recently into the City of London and I have been drawing my new neighbourhood in a big black book. I want big paper to note down the new skyline and tall structures around me. Skyscrapers need space to be seen."

The Best Fashion Illustrators

Last weekend's edition of Smoda featured an interview with top fashion illustrator Montana Forbes.
She was asked to contribute to an article on 'The Best Fashion Illustrators' by Leticia García; a journalist for Smoda (a popular fashion magazine from the Spanish newspaper El País).
Talking of a subject she knows much about, Montana's interview was illustrated with three artworks, including this one - originally done for an upcoming accessories brand called SANTAL36.

Danny Allison's Day

Click to play

A two mile walk to Danny Allison's 'old spinning mill' studio in Huddersfield sets him up for the day. This is a great insight into the world of Mr Allison's creativity; his inspirations and goals...and a cameo role from his pet dog too. Watch the interview.

Council Walks With Dinosaurs

Expert on all things prehistoric, Andy Council's interview with BBC's 'Walking with Dinosaurs' is now published on their website. Talking about his art and obsession with dinosaurs, Andy also takes us back to his childhood and first fossil (concrete) find! Have a read here.

Rosie in Country Life

A recent edition of Country Life Magazine saw a full page photo of Rosie Sanders at work on one of her enormous paintings. The feature, which talked of other botanical painters alongside Rosie, gave a short interview with our talented nature artist.

How Hutchinson Illustrated Yorkshire Tea

Have a look at Andrew Hutchinson working on his recent Yorkshire Tea packaging commission, and talk about his painting. Filmed by the client, the interview appears on the Yorkshire Tea website too, proving Andrew is a real Yorkshireman illustrating a subject he knows better than most others! Watch it now.