June Studio Blog: Magazine Cover Mermaid

This month I landed a big commission because of the power of networking and word of mouth!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with my little island off the southern coast of England, Mermaid Gin is a pretty big deal. Apart from being super delicious, the particular design and branding of the bottles has garnered a huge cult following. So much so that there is now a market just for empty bottles! The bottle is designed to look like the scaly tail of a beautiful mermaid and it has won awards internationally for just how cool it is. Us Isle of Wight-ers (or Caulkheads) are very fond of this home grown brand and we always get excited when we see it being sold in unexpected places like Gatwick Airport.

So let me tell you, I fell off my seat when local magazine Style of Wight called me and asked if I would consider illustrating a full cover wrap as an advert for the Isle of Wight Distillery’s newest addition to the mermaid family - Mermaid Rum. I jumped at the chance and said YES. OF COURSE I WILL.

They told me that they had been chatting to Georgia, a woman who runs our local creatives network, about artists and Georgia suggested they look at my portfolio. They loved my work and felt it was a good fit for their vision for the magazine. Earlier this year I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and attend networking sessions, and I am so glad I did. If I hadn’t have forced myself to talk to strangers, Georgia might have not thought to recommend me. I’ve put together my top tips for making the most of networking sessions in a previous post here. Check it out!

This commission was a great fit for my personal style. Portraiture is my wheelhouse, I love drawing people (especially women). I find the small details of expressions, eye contact and body language to be powerful tools for story telling even in a singular image. I wanted to anthropomorphise Mermaid Spiced Rum into an actual mermaid. She has long locks of deep brown hair waved and bleached by the salt and sun. Her pink silk dress is a nod to one of the Isle of Wight Distillery’s most popular drinks; Mermaid Pink Gin. There is a small blue bottle in the bottom right corner to represent their first and original Mermaid Gin.

The edges are framed by the botanicals used in the rum: rock samphire, apricot, white cherry, vanilla, cassia, holy grass and honey. Although I work digitally I like my work to have the look and feel watercolour, gouache, pen and pencil. For this piece I was able to play around with watercolour brushes and scanned paper textures. As this was for a bottle of rum, hints of old world sea adventures and pirates just made sense, especially given the Isle of Wight’s smuggling history. So in the background you can see a worn nautical map complete with sea monsters, boats and compasses.

Word of mouth is definitely your friend. In my experience, it will seem slow at first but as time goes on the momentum will begin to pick up! So keep at it and get yourself out there.

If you’re a new artist just starting on your creative career then consider subscribing to my podcast Art of the Side Gig where my twin sister and I chat about turning our creative hobbies into creative careers!