Scanner Portrait of Erica Velis by Frank Luna

“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape…”  -Picasso

I guess you could say I was destined to be drawn to glamour and some kind of artistic expression—but perhaps ending up in the commercial arena. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit I was named after the fiery half of one of TV’s greatest “super couples,” Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci on All My Children. My last name, which is actually my middle name, might ring a bell of familiarity if you stare at it long enough. If you haven’t guessed it, I’ll give you a hint: I narrowly escaped being named “Lisa Marie.” My father, a die-hard Elvis fan, scrambled the letters of his honky-tonk idol’s name, and came up with a feminized version, pronounced: va-lees. And so, with sky-high hopes and expectations, my life began.

My mother, an educator, instilled in me a love of literature, art, history and culture, as well as a deep respect for science. My father, an executive chef at an upscale restaurant who also owned a country saloon, introduced me to fine food and the visceral thrills of live music and blaring pop records. Growing up intellectually curious and artistically unrestrained, it’s no surprise that I became interested in the humanities, developing intense passions for art, music, literature, psychology, philosophy and all things which could be tasted and enjoyed. As a student, I received high praise and small accolades for my writing, cultivated my artistic sensibilities as an art major, and studied privately for several years with a Julliard trained vocal coach who helped me harness the raw power of my voice and develop stylistic nuance as a singer.

Caught in a stormy love triangle of competing artistic interests, I spent my young life exploring and experimenting in the small Pennsylvania town in which I was born. After trying my hand at everything from songwriting and spoken word performance to collage art and floral design, I settled on the one discipline I kept coming back to: writing. In a stroke of destiny for which I will always be grateful, my decision to pursue writing full-time fortuitously coincided with meeting the man of my dreams—who happened to live in New York City. The first person to suggest that I pursue copywriting, thinking I might eventually find outlets for a number of my talents in the world of advertising, Faisal became my second pair of eyes, my most inspiring collaborator, my “brain outside my brain” and still is, five years later, my unforgiving, but ever insightful editor.

Getting my start in a small publishing company that produced highly visual textbooks for aspiring beauty industry professionals, I honed my writing skills, sharpened my eye for editing, and gained valuable experience in advertising, public relations, and promotion. Leaving Pennsylvania for New York in 2005, I naturally gravitated toward working with people who had an artistic nature and a refined sense of craftsmanship, whatever their field. With a unique ability to interpret and articulate art and design concepts, I found a niche helping highly visual, “hands on” types find the language they needed to define themselves as professionals, describe and promote their projects, and pitch ideas to prospective clients.

With over ten years of writing experience, and a more narrowly focused five years of experience working as a copywriter and branding/communication consultant, I have built a diverse portfolio and attracted clients who appreciate my “unexpected word choices and thought-provoking ideas,” as one client put it. Opening a path to the niche I now inhabit, I worked for a Chelsea art gallery writing numerous press releases promoting both new and established artists, and authored articles for the gallery’s bi-annual magazine for collectors called ArtisSpectrum. Impressed by the promotional work I had done for the gallery and my demonstrable fluency in “art gallery vernacular,” the acclaimed motion graphics house, EyeballNYC, brought me on board to help them strengthen their communication, gain greater visibility and re-position themselves as a full-service, multi-disciplinary design company. Interfacing daily with producers, designers, art directors, public relations personnel and ad agency people from the likes of Grey and Ogilvy & Mather, I gathered information, clarified what was convoluted, developed what was weak or vague and wove disparate ideas from multiple sources into persuasive pitches, effective communication strategies and targeted press materials promoting Eyeball’s latest projects. Commercial projects during my stint at Eyeball featured global brands like Cover Girl, Southern Comfort, Motorola, Applebee’s, Playtex, Time Warner and Microsoft.

In addition to art and design oriented work, I have written interactive copy and developed identities for a number of independent boutiques and professionals in retail fashion, film, fine dining and construction. Among my more prominent clients past and present are Rue 57, the popular West 57th Street Parisian brasserie and sushi bar; Newport Painting and Restoration, a high-end decorative painting firm; top Manhattan construction firm, Eurotech; Classic Media, an entertainment rights company that owns some of the world’s most recognizable family properties; pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer; internationally notable ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Urban Zen, a charitable organization founded by fashion luminary, Donna Karan. I have also contributed content to several independent films and hope to continue expanding into broader and more diverse creative territory in the years to come.