A second batch of UK wild animal watercolour studies - this time its the squirrel.
The introduced US Grey Squirrel vs the resident British Red Squirrel. The grey has become the most widespread out of the two and is now the dominant species. (Luckily for me I live in the North where reds still survive, but I love both kinds!).
I also took a little time to try a softer style...
Images and artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016
For more wildlife illustrations visit the Play section
I was glad to finish some paintings from one of my own personal projects this week - the first in a UK wildlife series, the red fox. I am aiming for a slightly more traditional, non-fiction approach with these but that still has my own contemporary style. What do you think?
A collection of some of the initial loose sketches:
And then some of the more refined sketches, exploring various positions
and face styles:
Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2016
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.
Radio Times magazine recently asked me to create another spot illustration for their radio listings. This time it was for BBC Radio 4's "Natural Histories Live: The Big Story".
"Lions, sharks, whales and apes are four well-known A-list groups of animals that have got under our skin, enthralled us with their wildness and inspired literature, film, myth and legend. But so have cockroaches and fleas and the much lesser-known burbot and mandrakes. Radio 4’s Natural Histories series has brought 25 groups of animals and plants together across 25 episodes to tell the stories of nature’s influences on human culture from across the globe. The Big Story, a special live event presented by satirical comedian Rory Bremner and Natural Histories presenter Brett Westwood tells a story of the earth from dinosaurs to people. With comedy, music, readings and discussion all recorded live in the spectacular Hinze Hall of the Natural History Museum, this programme tells a uniquely Big Story of 100 million years’ worth of natural history."
Being a huge lover of nature and natural history in general, as well as being a big fan of the Natural History Museum in London, I was obviously very pleased to work on this one. I was full of ideas but also had the challenge of fitting it all into small, narrow dimensions, (and a tight deadline)! After narrowing the ideas down, here is the finished piece.
The following are some of my rough sketches where I was working out the composition!
The Radio Times Christmas Issue is now on sale around the UK.
"Natural Histories Live: The Big Story" will air on December 23rd, 8.00 pm on Radio 4.
You can also listen to all 25 episodes of the "Natural Histories" radio show on the BBC iPlayer Radio website.
Artwork and Photography (C) Amy Holliday 2015
A simple logo design for a new small business in Denton, Texas, called "Sassenach's Honey". Made using my existing honey bee illustration with a delicious honey-effect font.
I was very surprised and excited to hear that Angus, the Lord Snizzort of Trotternish himself has his first fan-creation! This incredible costume was created by Olivia Laking of Madoli Design. The details are spot-on!
Angus is the main character in a book I illustrated last year for children's author Kelly McGill.
Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015
Angus Lord Snizzort of Trotternish (C) Kelly McGill 2015
Angus stage costume by Olivia Laking. For more info visit www.madolidesign.co.uk
A quick painting of a seasonal critter... hope everyone has a great Halloween!
Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015
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
Way back at the start of the year, I was asked to create some fruity label illustrations for the fabulous California Fruit Wine Co. The San Diego winery is the pioneer producer of all natural wines handcrafted from fruits other than grapes.
I illustrated each fruit separately and then placed pairs together where needed, working within the format of the labels. The style of the series is based on my own pineapple illustration (you might recognise!) from last year.
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
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.
A little "still-life" chestnut mushroom study.
I was very excited to be asked by Radio Times magazine to illustrate "the first night of the Proms" which was due to air on BBC Radio 3 on Friday. I came up with a number of various designs, compositions and colour schemes before a favourite was selected. I drew inspiration from the page's purple colour scheme and incorporated this into the illustration. Drawing the Royal Albert Hall and classical instruments provided an interesting change to the norm. :) This work was commissioned via my agent, Lemonade, who very kindly sent me a copy of the issue featuring my work.
My work is featured in this month's "Cancer Fighters Thrive" magazine! A quarterly magazine distributed by Cancer Treatment Centres of America. The magazine is designed to inform and empower cancer patients, their friends and families.
I was asked to illustrate the article "A Place to Call Home" which discusses ways in which patients make their stay at the centres more homely. After reading the article I submitted lots of idea sketches. The favourites were then selected and painted for the final illustrations. This was a very lovely and enjoyable commission.
See all of my illustrations added to the work section and read the article online here.
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.
A little tree frog inspired by Rainforest Alliance's mascot #followthefrog
I finally finished a sketch from 2013!
Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2015 do not use without permission.
Two very sheepish pieces I had an urge to finish last week. The first being quite realistic in its colour palatte, with the second being more experimental - possibly influenced just a smidge by old Chinese art. Either way, I had fun with both!
A brief little Q&A I answered this morning in reference to my fruit illustrations.
1. What inspired you?
Lots of things seem to come together to influence and inspire me to create artwork for different reasons. One such thing is the stunning intricacy of botanical art and how the artists can capture the beauty (and sometimes weirdness) of nature. With my fruit illustrations, botanical art has influenced me but I find that I am inspired by the fruits themselves - so colourful, juicy and delicious! I try to capture this in my artwork.
2. What materials do you use?
To make my drawings, I use a mixture of pencils. I change between a broader, softer lead weight for softer or fluffier textures and a very fine lead for the detail. To add colour, I love to use watercolour paints. I mainly use brushes but sometimes if something needs a certain texture I will try painting with different tools to obtain it, eg, sponge, tissue, leaves, feathers.
3. How long have you been doing art?
I've been drawing, painting and crafting since I can remember! I think I showed a keen interest and my parents have always really encouraged it by teaching me new things and suggesting new ideas to try.
4. How do you get the best images (do you use a pen to outline)?
To get the most out of my illustrations, I do like to highlight special details with small amounts of mixed media such as darker pencils, acrylic paint, fine-liner pens and ink.
5. What do you most enjoy doing in art?
I enjoy drawing animals the most! They have so much character and each animal has a different personality. Like people, but more interesting (haha) :)
Hello everyone, welcome to my brand new website and blog. I hope you agree its an improvement on my previous site! Hopefully now it will be much easier for you all to navigate and have a gander at all of my up-to-date doodles. I hope you enjoy the new layout - please let me know what you think.
I'll still update at my Blogger blog too (I'm greedy like that) so anyone who follows me there won't miss out.
From a very wet and windy Cumbria... off to make new art!