The "Fermented Pine" illustration is a personal watercolor painting project. It evolved from my fascination with visual reportage and foraged foods. Something I'm currently exploring with the on-going project: the “Wild Dining Illustrated” collection.
This artwork represents a timeless and memorable way for foodies, home cooks and folks who love to eat - like myself - to celebrate cooking and wild foods. It helps memorialize favorite family recipes.
However, although the art stands on its own, it actually looks even better next to other watercolor illustrations I've painted so far about cooking, food and recipes.
Creative Brief
Create a watercolor food illustration about pickled foods, in a glass jar. The finished original painting is a fine art piece for a private collection. It also must remain versatile enough to be printed as an open edition, watercolor, wall art print for the bohemian home decor market. Bonus points if it can illuminate a book, enhance a blog post, or be easily converted into an svg or png vector file.
CLIENT: Personal Project
TYPE OF PROJECT: Private art collection original watercolor painting | Open edition kitchen art print
DESIGNER’S NOTES
Unlike “Fermented Radish,” the final drawing for this piece went through a more methodical approach to drawing and painting. 90% of the time my creative process is that process. I go from brainstorming lots of crazy ideas to concepts worth developing. Then comes concept feasibility research through reference photos collage into a mood board. Next, I moved on to the thumbnail stage to work out, if not a final composition, then at least some sort of direction.
Once that’s done, depending on the equipment I have, I blow up the thumbnail sketch with projector, create a grid into the final size on sketch paper, or completely freehand it directly at scale.
This is where magic compounds! Thumbnail turns into a rough sketch. Rough sketch moves through several layers of tracing paper all the way to the final drawing. This slow and steady approach becomes the key to unlocking the new painting.
With "Fermented Radish" I already had an idea of how to paint a clear, glass jar. This time around though, I decided to paint a blue-colored glass jar.
DESIGN PROCESS
Moodboard
A collection of reference photographs of foraged foods, philosophies, lettering details and composition ideas to keep top of mind. Served as a clarifying tool throughout the stages of the design process: brainstorming, conceptualizing, sketching, drawing and painting.
Larger Context
An infographic of the watercolor recipe illustrations about wild foraged foods already completed in the "Wild Dining Illustrated" (WDI) collection of watercolor paintings. Mostly used as additional reference to situate this piece within overall WDI collection.
From left to right: Cattail Pasta, Weeds & Blooms Salad, Oregon Grapes Breakfast Parfait, Deep Fried Chicken-of-the-wood Mushrooms and Wild Garlic Leek Potato Soup.
Pencil Sketch Final Drawing
Hand-lettering “Happy Samhaim," at the bottom is a study in how I could potentially share the bright, quirky vibes of this piece, with those who celebrate a specific holiday. In this case: Samhain or Halloween.
First Color Washes Sneak Peek
A quick phone camera progress shot to document the first few stages of color blocking after ocher underpainting had dried.
Final Art With Painted Hand-lettering : Original Version
In this adaptation below, "Fermented Pine" proved that, yes indeed, it can work with type and be combined with creative, custom hand-lettering elements, to celebrate a number of whimsical holidays - including specialty ones such as Samhaim.
Even the upbeat, blue tinge of the glass and the uncommon pine needles peeking through the broth, seem to reinforces the mind-expanding and playful aspects of the painting.
Final Art WITHOUT Lettering
Digitally removed hand-lettering. Cleaned up background.
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Before & After
PUBLISHED ART
Popular Wall Art Home Decor Shop
This beautiful watercolor illustration will uplift a variety of kitchen decor. The very first print of this beautiful watercolor illustration sold recently at an out-of-state art fair! So, "Fermented Pines," having now found its foodie fans, is currently available in the shop, as an open edition print. There's a small number of signed archival prints on watercolor paper that ship out directly from the studio.
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Other Related News, collections or designs
"Fermented Pine" becomes the perfect companion wall art print to "Fermented Radish" in the “Everyday Life Collection.” I posted about this stunning watercolor food illustration here.
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RESOURCES
- Want to see more watercolor food illustrations? Explore them here.
- To see what original art and art prints have been released and are available for sale visit the art shop at United Wanderlust.
- If this atmospheric watercolor travel illustration seems like something you’d want to create or license for your own projects (marketing, book, editorial, stationery etc.), simply submit a request in my contact form with what you have in mind and we can go from there.
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Patricia Jacques works as a freelance food & travel illustrator working with individuals and commercial clients with a passion for slow food, slow life and slow travel.