Styling a flatlay is just like concepting an illustration.
I first ask myself, what is the story I’m trying to tell?
Then, it’s about assembling items that tell little stories.
You may ask, “Lilla why did you include cookies? Isn’t this an art retreat?”
I added them because they represent luxury, snacking on delicacies. I imagine we’re snacking on them while we make art, like we did on my France retreat.
Plus of course they’re really pretty and they inject a number of round shapes into an otherwise boxy flatlay.
The tropical flowers give a sense of place–Portugal. I like to include them around the edges, especially when they are long-stemmed like these.
Then I feature the activity–a specific example of what we will be doing, which in this case is painting the colors from the cards.
Art materials like brushes and colored pencils are great to accessorize the photo, plus they fill in the odd little spaces.
Maybe my favorite part is doing the brush lettering. Normally my line leading is more spread out, but with this one I squished the words closer together and I’m happy with it. I did debate if I should write ‘with Lilla’ because that sounds a bit narcissistic, but I’m a fan of writing that crisp capital L, all uptight and formal, then the giant dot on the ‘i’ followed by all the curlicues (those double L’s!), so aesthetics won. Plus I figure for marketing, if my name has any pull why not throw it in?
So that’s a little inside peek on how I style a photo.
I hope you’ll join me in Portugal! We’re going to make lots of beautiful art plus I’ll help you in any way I can with your art and your career. Plus field trips and gourmet food!
“This retreat exceeded my expectations! Lilla was just wonderful! She is so knowledgeable and so nurturing to her students. She’s an excellent teacher and so much fun to be around. 10/10”
Read more testimonials here.
I know you’ll love this trip, learn a great deal, improve your art, gain career insight, and make new friends!
Read more about the side trips, the setting, and view gorgeous photos here.
Spots are very limited, so I encourage you to sign up now.
Questions about the retreat? Contact the friendly folks at Uptrek,
here: https://uptrek.com/contact
xo
Want to know more about color? Got a question for an art agent of 30 years?
Join me for a FREE Color Demo Webinar on Wednesday, September 25th at 11 am ET, 4 pm BST!
Great color palettes in your work is one of the most important things that agents and art directors look for, which is why I’ve picked it as my focus for our retreat in Portugal.
I’ll be demonstrating some different media and sharing my paint sets, brushes and paper, and I’ll be recoloring my teapot line drawing in a few different palettes so you can get a little sneak peek of what we’ll be up to on the retreat. (I have plenty more tricks up my sleeve for the retreat, and if you come along I’ll also review your work and advise you on how to get an agent or anything else you want to know for success in your creative career!)
Come along and ask me anything – whether it’s about color, the retreat, or anything else! Set an alarm on your phone now and click here to join. I look forward to seeing you!
