New Cocktail Illustrations In Watercolour
This week Ive been working on my favourite side step projects for my clients, The Grounds Of Alexandria. This time we take 7 new journeys into the utterly delicious. creating this new series of tiny, exquisite drink illustrations for their menus. You know I love these!
After weeks spent teaching, editing my Patreon Painting Lessons and tutorials for you all, programming my up coming workshops and all manner of things on the plate currently, it was JUST the remedy for me, a time to unplug, reconnect and spend time with nothing but the stillness and calm of my brushes. On the tail end of the flu as well, it was a welcome comfort amongst the mix of busy.
Every creation from the Grounds is a little unique, creative journey and sensation and this brief has a touch of everything in its subjects. Sophistication, fun, elegance… a delicious sensation for the senses exploring colour, form, texture, translucency, and intricacy in each tiny study. Pink, blue, greens and the most wonderful orange palettes were a treat to fall into as an artist. Some say theres no room for romance of creativity in commercial illustration, but thats not true at all. There is as much of me in these illustrations as any painting I create. Watching their individual emergence is simply wonderful and the thrill of seeing them enjoyed by so many in their final destination, a treat.
As Ive said before, the Grounds and I make a really ideal partnership because of our dedication and attention to detail. We are on the same page, and working together is a blast. This time we have seven exquisite new cocktail illustration studies complete, so lets take a look at each. The first is a relatively simple painting or subject, but no, its not easy even still! A steady hand is required, capturing the subtle beauty, colours and elegant form of this drink painting. I absolutely love the dried orange wheels that compliment this series… of course, the romance for me is always in the botanicals and this is such a great visual feature, both for food and illustration.
The second shifts to a delicately coloured cocktail, peeking through its cut crystal glass in all kinds of challenging ways to paint. Truly, painting crystal glasses is really challenging, but ive had many years of practice now with the grounds, so in I jumped, slowly developing this study up in layers of detail and enticing colour. The botanical elements to each is always fun with The Grounds, and if of course, how I came to do the work for this client way back when too. Im all about the botanicals! This is such a lovely twist on my standard specialty and it really has given me an opportunity to grasp a whole new set of textures that are specific to cocktail illustration.
The third is also a cut crystal challenge but with a significant shift of palette, story and mood. How colour plays with us! Now we have super subtle earthy greens and ochres to capture, and as beautiful as this is, capturing this palette and combination on drinks can definitely be risky. Expertise helps avoid all the potential issues here, to create a really inviting visual that truly reflects the delight of this drink.
Pink! Oh i adore this colour so much, you just get lost in the depths of this colour, drifting in and out of the ice features and frosted glass in colour, tone and texture. Its a most delicate and romantic story, and what a beautiful drink to illustrate. With the first two crystal glass challenges complete, this tiny painting was a beautiful change of pace. Its soft, smooth, and just so beautiful. Aside from this, the indulgent botanical elements for me, always make the story so complete.
The fifth cocktail illustration is just divine, I think. I mean I havent tasted it but Id sure like to! The colours in this drink painting are just a delight in itself. Its a sophisticated drink this one, full of indulgence and luxury, and the vibrant colours draw you in to it completely. Its a beautiful story, again, with the challenge of cut crystal in the micro once more. It might just be that I used every colour I have in this tiny watercolour illustration! If I could fit more in… perhaps I would have. In any case, I loved this one. Its simplicity and complexity all at once. Its a fabulous painting subject and Im sure, just as good a drink.
Sixth comes a truly unique cocktail and definitely a tough one to paint… especially so tiny, but its just the challenge for me of course. This one is literally served, on fire! Yep, its a painting of colour, texture, light. Unsure wether to paint this one on fire or on the dramatic cooling off end of the show, I was provided options to work from. In the end I combined the two stages with a little lean towards the in flame state. It was a very textural and complex, almost abstract cocktail to illustrate, but another wonderful subject and challenge. Again, its all brought back to focus with the beautiful botanical features adorning the top of this remarkable creation.
And so we come to the seventh and final illustration, enjoying a completely new colour focus of blue. Its an intricate cocktail illustration measuring just 8 or 9 centimetres in size, as they all are, that includes a plate, cocktail, and of course, a scattering of wonderful botanical elements to complete the picture. A unique story and illustration, this painting comes of course, with its own delicate balance and challenges, but it was a beautiful colour play of blues indeed… and a beautiful final addition to this series too.
And so we come to the end of this brief, or at least the end of my part of the project, which is of course just the beginning of the next stage. Its time for these illustrations to take new flight and form over at The Grounds, who only ever have grand plans and I cant wait to see what comes next! Ive shared short time laps clips on my social media pages if youd like to see more, longer versions on my YouTube Channel and if you want to see more in depth coverage of these paintings again, Ill share exclusive clips of these on my Patreon Channel too.