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

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.

To see more from this project visit the "work" section.

California Fruit Wine Co. // Pumpkin & Cranberry Fall Wines

Shortly after I created some fruity illustrations for California Fruit Wine Co.'s labels, a second batch was needed. This time it was "Pumpkin Spice" and Cranberry, whose flavours have just been released for the Fall/Autumn season. Yum!

California Fruit Wine Co. website: www.californiafruitwine.com

California Fruit Wine Co. on Instagram: https://instagram.com/cfwco/

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015

Photos (C) California Fruit Wine Co. 2015

Avocado Studies // Watercolour and graphite vs watercolour and 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:

And below are 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 more watercolour + ink illustrations.

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. 

Super Vegetables // Broccoli & 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.