Stylist Magazine // The Summer of Craft Beers (1 of 2)

Last week's issue of Stylist Magazine featured the article "The Summer of Craft Beers" - and if you saw it then you might have noticed that the illustrations were all done by yours truly! I was asked to provide my own take on some of the season's trendiest independently-brewed beers, as well as a full opening page design with a very feminine and ornate beer bottle.

The timeframe was very tight on this one - I had just 3 days to complete 10 illustrations from start to finish which was very challenging. On the plus side, having to work as fast as possible certainly required that I be more confident with my freehand work, and accept it for what it is, mistakes and all (absolutely no chance of starting over with this project!)

The opening title page was very fun to design and paint. The brief required it to be feminine and decorative - so of course I let loose on a very pretty, girly beer label!

All artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016. Please do not use without seeking prior permission. 

To see more of my work visit www.amyholliday.co.uk

POWER SAUCE by Essentis Berlin // Packaging Illustration for Organic Chilli Sauce

This week I had the pleasure of working with lovely people behind "Essentis" - a new brand created by chef Nicolas Petrucci. The brand "Essentis" shares its name with the popular biohotel in Berlin where Nicolas is head chef. Their first product is a pro-biotic and organic chilli-based sauce named "Power Sauce" and I was asked to create some vibrant chilli and mango-inspired 

artwork to adorn the product labels.

The initial inspiration came from my own chilli pepper painting, which I used as a base to add more colourful watercolour splashes to make it that little bit more exciting(!) and painted new mango slices to match. As you can probably tell, this was a lot of fun to paint - 

bold colour and abstract splashes? Right up my street.    

The first concept labels: 

I love how the typography works with the artwork. Here are the simplified labels on the first wave of packaging, ready to go: 

And finally, a wonderfully designed Power Sauce poster using my artwork:

Essentis Biohotel - http://essentisbiohotel.de/en/

 Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016

Photography (C) Essentis by Nicolas Petrucci 2016

Book Cover Illustration // "Cook Healthy & Quick" by DK Publishing

This week I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from the lovely team at DK publishing. Back in August I was asked to illustrate a pair of fitting ingredients for the cover of their new book "Cook Healthy & Quick". The only request was that the paintings were soft so that they wouldn't overpower the photography. I actually finished four pea pods in varying ways so that they could choose their favourite. This was my first time working for Dorling Kindersley and they were lovely to work with. 

Seeing my work on the finished book cover is fantastic, and I'm incredibly pleased with the results!

My lemon illustration was also used in its entirety on the reverse side of the jacket.

  The book is a new release this month (January 2016) and is packed full of excellent healthy recipes.

Images and artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016

To see more of my work visit www.amyholliday.co.uk

Avocado Studies // Watercolour + Graphite VS Watercolour + Ink

A little experiment with a simple subject matter, the humble but super healthy avocado fruit. A lot of people believe the majority of my work is made with watercolour and ink, yet this is not the case as I usually don't use any ink. So! I thought I would give ink a go - here is a comparison showing the two techniques on different illustrations of the same subject. 

Here is my regular go-to technique, simply graphite and watercolour:

More avocado studies, this time using watercolour and ink:

I really enjoyed using the ink with my watercolour - surprisingly it is also a little quicker to complete than my usual graphite and watercolour technique. It does seem to create a different overall look to the illustration, perhaps a more fun, sketchy vibe than the traditional, more polished feel the graphite exudes. I will definitely continue to experiment with the watercolour + ink more.

Do you have a favourite out of the two styles? Let me know your preference in the comments! :)

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015. Please do not use without permission. 

Food Illustration // Organic Chestnut Mushrooms

A little "still-life" chestnut mushroom study. 

(C) Amy Holliday 2015 please do not use without permission.

Super Vegetables // Broccoli and Sugar Snap Peas

I've been so busy lately working on quite a few projects, but unfortunately I'm not able to share any of the work just yet - but that's no excuse to neglect my blog. As always I'm still working on few personal projects when I have time to spare. One of them being new vegetable studies. Here is broccoli and sugar snap peas. Both absolutely delicious and superheroes when it comes to nutrition. Let me know what you think!

 

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015. Do not use without permission.

Happy Holidays! // Mince Pie

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you all enjoy your festivities and have a very happy start to the new year. Thank you for all your support this year, it means a lot to me. See you all in 2015!

Sneaky Peek #4: Romantic Candlelit Bistro

(C) Amy Holliday 2014, please do not use without permission.

Twinings Infusions Packaging // My Watercolours!

These little mock-ups are a personal experiment I did earlier this year but silly me forgot to post them! I wanted to see how my style would look gracing the front of the lovely Twinings tea packaging. These fruits and herbs are from my November 2013 project: (here) and I added my own watercolour wash for the backgrounds.

I think the Twinings range kind of suits my watercolours...what do you think?
 

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2014. Please do not use without permission.

Mediterranean & Arabic Sweets: Baklava and Turkish Delight

Some little baklava and turkish delight. I did these alongside a project as they were sketches that didn't make the final cut but I decided to finish them anyway! :)

I enjoyed lots of baklava desserts and turkish delight sweets during travels to Greece, Turkey and Tunisia - have you tried them? Baklava are layers of filo pastry, syrup and ground nuts; the coconut and pistachio flavours are very popular. Authentic Turkish delight really is a "delight" that melts in the mouth, so good!

 

 Let me know what you think! :)

  All artwork is (C) Amy Holliday 2014. Please do not use without permission.

Sneak Peek // Red Wine

I've been much quieter than usual lately, very busy with work, family and trying to stay healthy! (i.e. life?)

I am now in the final stages of completing a large project that's been with me (on and off) since June. With no animals, flowers or fruit in sight it was daunting to say the least! Its been hard work but, I'm so pleased I've done it.

I'll share some sneak peeks before I have the go-ahead to release the full versions :)

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2014. Please do not use without permission.

Study // Plump Purple Aubergine (Eggplant)

Another veggie produce study. This time plump, purple Aubergines. These were very experimental, it was quite a challenge in itself to decide which colour hues I was going to use.  

Images (C) Amy Holliday 2014. Please do not use without permission.

Study // The Finest Red Ramiro Sweet Pointed Peppers

More fresh fruit/veg/food/produce studies :) Another self-initiated lesson in painting with red. Heavily inspired by the sweetest red peppers I have ever tasted, the organic kind are the best of course. Ahem, other supermarket brands are available!

Artwork is (C) Amy Holliday 2014. Please do not use without permission. 

Study // Red Royal Gala and Green Granny Smith Apples

Yummy Royal Gala and Granny Smith apples study. I tackled these with a slightly more botanical/scientific approach...

I loved painting these! Can you tell? 

Study // Fruit: Juicy, Tropical Pineapples!

Pineapple study! Pineapples are a symbol for all things tropical and exotic so I hope I have captured this in some way. 

 

It feels good to finally have a few recent personal workings scanned and finished - there has been a number of illos around my desk that I've been meditating on before I've been ready to call them truly finished. 

More coming very soon...

All content and images (C) Amy Holliday 2014 - please do not use without permission.