After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the North America Team were, once again, able to regroup and spend time with our retail partners and meet new retailers from the Craft industry since the merger between NAMTA and AFCI.
Being our first trade show in several years, we had many messages to share. We needed to select the most pertinent to ensure we live the 'Less is More' mantra of 2022. All whilst ensuring we have an impactful stand that enables our commercial teams to tell our story.
And, what is our story? To go beyond just talking about products and tubes and take the opportunity to spotlight what makes us stand out from our competitors. That's our beautiful assets bringing our brands to life. Very importantly for 2022, it's also how we collaborate with our artists' community to ensure we remain connected as brands. It was terrific that we reaped some of the hard work and planning benefits by winning Namta's Best Large Booth award.
Winsor&Newton Cotman Metallic Colour Display
Image: Star Dust Installation by Christine Romanell
A quote from the artist Christine Romanell www.christineromanell.com
"This art installation is inspired by the life of stars. Stars are born in gas and dust, live out their lives, and the cycle repeats. By using watercolor paper cut into layered geometric star-like shapes (and sparkled with metallic Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours), the emphasis on the rotational symmetry in the forms are an example of non-repeating patterns common in Romanell’s work. Through her process of layering, the star forms take shape over time. Each layer - whether stretched out individually or stacked together to create a more detailed starburst - primarily focuses on a different Winsor & Newton Cotman Metallic colour. Like a star living out its own lifecycle, deep bronzes and golds expand and stand out like red giants, while softer silver slivers take on the cool quietness of a white dwarf. Suspended from a shadow casting black spiral, these paper stars hover within the liminal space of both dark matter, but also cascade strategically from a black hole void dictating the forms own movements, and ultimate inevitability in this lifecycle. While you don’t typically associate something cooling like water with a heat generating star, the metallic watercolors bridge that gap between the earthly organic associations and the celestial glow. Maximized by Christine and her use of the pigments, they show that stars don’t just burn of dry gas and dust, but can flow with color".
Supported by our Live Painting wall with previous Liquitex resident Artist Omar Lawson who is painting a mural utilizing many of the new Liquitex colors.
Image: artist Omar Lawson painting live mural.
Meet Omar. painter, conversationalist, and explorer of perception. During his Heavy Body Acrylic residency, Omar experimented with new colors and techniques while creating a series of portraits dealing with the concept of sonder:
“It means that each passerby has a life just as vivid and detailed as your own. And for me, that is so present in my work because I am trying to capture this person in their entirety just in an image and remind people that these people are people outside of these paintings".
By drawing reference from people in his life, those he finds on Instagram, and random passerbys, Omar digs beneath common perceptions of people based on appearance and creates work that elicits a dialogue about stereotypes vs. individuality. “I’m interested in people having a conversation about perception, perception of others. How there are stereotypes that are made, but we always have to say ‘Oh, not everyone is like that’.”
“It’s really what my work is all about. Saying that we are individuals and I think there is value in us being who we are for one, but more so as seeing us as that and not putting us into these boxes before you get to acknowledge these labels that we put on ourselves.”
Liquitex Initiatives Highlighted
In The Studio
A bi-weekly Instagram story featuring tips & techniques from artist studios including product techniques, general art and design advice, studio tips, and studio tours. Topics are derived from frequently asked questions from the brand’s community.
Liquitex Live is an Instagram Live series with focus on product, artist partnerships, or supporting education. The program launched in 2020 focusing on product tutorials, with an expansion in 2022 to include artist interviews, studio tours, round table discussions, and mentorship sessions.
Artist Spotlight Program to highlight the lives, work, and practice of acrylic artists all over the world. The program includes artist interviews, artist created video content, Spotify playlists of music listened to in the studio, polaroid images, and high-resolution images of the artists’ work. Featured artists Mr D,
Just Imagine Residencies
We are proud to offer an International Residency Program, hosting artist residency opportunities in studios around the world. Our latest Just Imagine residency series is offered at the Liquitex Studio in Manufacturer’s Village, East Orange, NJ. Artists have the chance to further their practice, experience a variety of mentorship and coaching classes, host an open studio and experiment with new materials including the full Liquitex range.
Artists Featured: Omar Lawson, Mekia Machine, Cynthia Pareja Dubin
Uncapped
Recently launched “Liquitex Uncapped” content initiative designed to share quality and innovation stories, through social and longform web content activations, this program is intended to appeal to professional and emerging artists through education and a behind-the-scenes look at how Liquitex materials come to life from lab to tube - emotionally engaging with artists who share a passion for Liquitex materials.
The Squeeze
A color stories series providing artists with the origins and histories of artist pigments while featuring ultra-satisfying imagery of paint being squeezed from the tube and onto the palette.
To kick off “The Squeeze,” Liquitex leveraged the popularity of the Pantone Color of the Year, Very Peri, to join in on the conversation, discussing the rationale behind the new color and demonstrating how artists can achieve “Very Peri” in their practice by mixing Liquitex materials.
W&N Initiatives Highlighted
Partnerships
Collaborations with established and globally renowned institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art whom we collaborated with on a conservation project of a series of oil paintings, the Drawing Factory.
Featured Artists
We discover the inspiration behind the work of fine artists, illustrators, mural painters and graphic designers as well as the materials and techniques they use and the tips they have for artists starting out.
Artists featured in the film are Eudes Correia, Camille Chastang, Kelly Anna, Graeme Black.
The moment when
Every artist’s journey with watercolours is made up of challenging moments, inspiring moments, and breakthrough moments. Through a series of intimate films, we connected with watercolour artists to hear how different moments influence and impact their unique journeys.
Masterclass
Learning tools for artists with over 150 video tutorials across all our product ranges. From painting acrylic murals to exploring metallic oil paint, discover new techniques and how to get the most out of your art materials.