Over the years I have worked at many events for Aspinal of London, illustrating in their London/UK stores for customers. I was tasked with capturing customers with their Aspinal purchases or in store favourite pieces, so that they had a moment to take home. This was especially popular in the run up to Christmas. All the illustrations shown were created with pencil, ink and then watercolour. I mainly drew 3/4 images in order to make the handbags the main focus of the illustrations and be able to have space for the detailing of the leather. It was great to work for such a high end brand, and their stores were just gorgeous!
MAC Cosmetics x Selfridges
MAC live illustration event
// SELFRIDGES // LONDON //
I really love drawing portraits that focus on the face and hair, as I get to concentrate on adding detail and make-up with my watercolours. I always work quite fast paced when doing live illustration, each portrait takes between 5-10 minutes to complete, so working on the face only allows me to get in some nice details, with just a hint of the clothing from the shoulders down. On my third day in Selfridges Oxford street, which was a Saturday, I was pretty much working flat out to try and fit everybody in who wanted a portrait. It was an amazing three days, and I got to meet some fantastic people; the MAC artists and the customers were all truly fantastic! As a Londoner, I often avoid busy tourist spots on the weekend, but being in Selfridges reminded me of why I decided to move here in the first place, it’s crazy, it’s magical, it’s a feast for the senses and it sparks inspiration! I had many more events in the pipeline, but my next stop was to be MAC again, but this time Selfridges, Manchester!
Back in February 2019 I was so excited to be invited to MAC cosmetics in Selfridges Oxford Street, to illustrate during the launch of their brand new make-up range BOOM BOOM BLOOM! I was in store for three days, illustrating customers who purchased anything from the new line as a complimentary gift. On the morning of the first day, I arrived to the counter to find a gorgeous floral display for customers to take selfies and show off their freshly applied make up (and sure enough had matched my outfit to the floral theme!). I myself got to try some of the new lip colours, and since MAC lipstick has bee a favourite of mine for as long as I’ve been buying make-up, this truly was a dream job! I started the day by drawing portraits of some well known influencers in the instagram cosmetics world, and then got to drawing the many customers that popped in. As you probably know, Selfridges can be CRAZY busy, and oh my…it was!
Top Santé: The Beauty of Bathing
For the January 2019 issue of women’s health and lifestyle magazine, Top Santé, I was asked to create some illustrations for a feature on the beauty of bathing. A subject I can definitely get behind as I love nothing more than a nice relaxing bath, especially during winter! The article featured products and remedies from various countries, such as Japan, France and Turkey. I represented each of these within certain elements of the main image. The tiles are inspired by those seen inside Turkish bath houses, the bamboo is a nod to Japan, and of course I have drawn a beautiful french style, roll top bath. With gold taps and ornate legs, this is pretty much my ideal bath! Overall I have tried to create a sense of luxuriousness, femininity, calm and beauty within the illustrations.
Christmas and the last of 2018
So it’s that time of year again, one of my favourites! Out come the opulent dresses and heels as it’s time to celebrate! 2018 has been a pretty great year for me (although not without it’s downs!) and I’ve see a huge increase in the amount of live illustration bookings coming in. That means that next year my calendar is already filling up and 2019 is set to be a busy one! Although I definitely plan to take more holidays than I have in the past, a girl needs her rest, so here's looking forward to 2019, cheers everybody!