From fur and pets to Surtex, WellerWishes charts a bold, unique path to a career in art licensing

May 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Cambridge, MA - May 14, 2011



Licensed artist Kathy Weller of Wellerwishes Illustration & Design will be making her Surtex 

debut May 15-17 at the Javits Center with her bold, bright and modern character pet art

 collections. But don’t be surprised to learn that this tenacious former pet portrait artist has 

been doggedly planning her debut for five years.




In 2006, Kathy Weller was juggling four custom pet portraits in the space of seven days. All in a week’s work, except that a regular week for Weller also included a full-time day job as a marketing and advertising designer and illustrator, plus 

additional work in freelance children’s illustration. “I sort of ‘collected’ careers for a little while. 

As an independent artist, I'm an entrepreneur. I liked trying different things. I loved having my 

hands in all of these different concentrations. Each one required a very different skill set. So 

much of what I learned independently in each creative profession, I use collectively in art 

licensing. It’s really amazing, because art licensing seems to effortlessly encompass the ‘perfect 

world’ combination of everything I love.”


It’s almost as if she had a long term plan. “I actually kind of did, though it was never on paper. 

When I learned that art licensing was an actual field, I knew that was it for me. From then on, no 

matter what else I was doing, I always had one eye on my future art licensing career.” In 2006, 

Weller attended both Surtex and Licensing International and took full seminar programs at both. 

“That was one way to learn a lot in a short time... if you can take it!”, Weller laughs.



Eventually, she chose to focus solely on art licensing and eliminate everything else... except 

for the day job. “I’ve been lucky to be able to cut my day job hours. In art licensing, it takes years to develop a 

steady earning cycle. I took this into consideration from the get-go, and I have planned for it.”  But seven years of being a high-performing, multi-tasking entrepreneur have 

served her well. “Since 2004, I’ve basically been in self-imposed creative business boot camp. So 

functioning at a high level on a regular basis is now completely my norm. These days I can handle anything, and with all the experience I have under my belt in other areas, I'm so excited and enthusiastic about what my career in art licensing will bring!”





WellerWishes Illustration & Design will be exhibiting at Surtex NYC in Booth #455, May 15-17, 2011, 

debuting several new art collections including JiveCats™ and Monkey 

Shangri-LA™. 
    
 

WellerWishes Illustration & Design specializes in art collections and character brands for art 
licensing markets, with special emphasis on themes including pets and animal characters. 
Owner/artist Kathy Weller is an established and prolific illustrator and graphic designer. 
Well-known for her unique style of pet art, she has been profiled in numerous publications, 
web sites and blogs. wellerwishes.com

Media Contact: Kathy Weller • Phone: 617-938-9289 • Email: kathy@wellerwishes.com
                                                                        


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WellerWishes Illustration & Design specializes in art collections & brands for art 
licensing, with special emphasis on pets & animals. 
Owner/artist Kathy Weller is well-known for her pet art & has been profiled in numerous publications & web sites.