Happy April little spuds!
I’m thrilled Spring is here - the birds have been singing and frantically hopping around the waking garden. The snowdrops have pushed their way through the dead leaves, delicate and sturdy all at once.
(Wouldn’t that be the best epitaph? Delicate and sturdy all at once.)
The months are flying and this post makes the years feel like they’ve flown as well. Back in Spring 2018, I was asked by the design team at Ford Fry to design a wallpaper for their Spirits & Sea Creatures Lounge, Le Loup - located upstairs at The Optimist in Germantown, Nashville. (do yourself a favor and click that link on a desktop - the bar video is a DREAM!) Fast forward to today - Le Loup has finally opened, and it was worth the wait.
You know I love process - so please accept two process posts in a row! (Last month we dove into picture books, and this month we’re digging in to see what it’s like designing a wallpaper.)
Shall we dive in then? Get it? Because we’re going underwater? 🙃
THE BRIEF
The art director and I met in Nashville and she shared stunning moodboards of the proposed interior with lush green velvet and striking burgundies. She also shared some of my work that she felt would be a good fit and direction - and since it was all personal work that I liked, I felt very confident moving forward. After we met, I went back to my studio and put this moodboard together. I envisioned something classic and muted and they approved!
I’ve only designed one other wallpaper and that was a large illustration blown up to fill a wall. Le Loup would prove to be much more difficult as it had be designed with the specific space in mind. I suggested three design options for them. The first was to create individual vignettes, which would all be unique. The second was to do an entire running narrative illustration which would be immersive and close to human scale. The third was to do a repeating pattern.
Using the architectural layouts they gave me, I photoshopped existing artwork on there and also added inspirations from wallpapers I’d found.
THE RESEARCH
The client chose the second option - to illustrate an image spanning the room in one continuous sweep. Next it was time for researching, digging through inspiration, and pulling the threads on what felt interesting. This is a part of the process I love - before I have to do compositional sketches, I can be free and indulge in all the shapes and details and potential. It also usually means a field trip - a reason to take myself on a date! This time, I went to the aquarium.
Below were inspirations and sketches I sent to the team - mostly composites pieced together my favorite parts of the studies. These were done in ink, graphite, acrylic gouache, water soluble crayons and digital.
THE WORK
Once the playful tests were approved, it was time to get to it. Notice I call this WORK and not simply ‘drawing.’ I usually do small scale stuff - picture books - and I work to size. But this was a whole new beast which challenged every fiber of my math-hating muscles. I basically took the ratio of 1’ of wall to 1” of drawing. Taking the layouts they gave me, I sketched out how the illustration would flow on the wall. (Four years later I now look back at this and pat myself on the back - look at all those numbers!)
I did the illustrations on 18x24” arches paper with acrylic gouache and colored pencil and had them scanned in professionally so the interior design company (Reunion) could work with the wallpaper printer. (I also edited a good amount digitally.) Here are some of my favorite parts of the illustrations.
It starts in the entrance of the lounge - with a girl in a boat, floating near the marina. A pelican flies overhead, fishing houses sit in the hills beyond. Next we dive underwater which is brimming with coral reef, fish, a diving bell, and overhead we see a ship in the distance - The Ghost! From The Sea Wolf. Around it are flying fish. Further down the wall, we’re completely underwater, with a swirling school of fish, waving dolphins, sea horses - a treasure chest, and more. There are mermaids glittering, before we get deeper and the rocks drop off into to the deep ocean. A dumbo octopus and deep sea vents give way to total darkness, where we only see the lights of the angler fish and its electric cronies. More was added onto the wall after this initial sketch which allowed us to go all the way back up to the water’s surface - the sun shines through and we come up to a whale, more fish, and again, brightly colored coral. There are so many little hidden details - and while it’s definitely more fun to find them in person, I’ll share my favorite tiny moments for those of you who can’t visit Nashville.
Below are the placement files the company sent me as they were setting up to print (I was probably such a headache to work with - I had a hard time wrapping my head around a lot of the measurement stuff!) But you get an idea of how it all lays out on the wall.
AND NOW, Can we get a drumroll for this freaking gorgeous interior and final!!?? The space is so dreamy, elegant, playful, and sophisticated. If you’re in Nashville, you have to stop in and have a cocktail. They were generous enough to let me share photos - isn’t this place a gem?
Before the bar opened, I was lucky enough to get a peek inside while visiting my friend Meera last year. We had drinks and apps downstairs at The Optimist (there was a vegan chef that night and they were kind enough to whip us up a dish!) and we got to see Le Loup before it all came together. To see the wallpaper in person was so cool - and I got to sign it right by the entrance. The manager and team were so welcoming - truly a dream job that I’m thrilled I could be part of. If you’re in Nashville, make sure to stop by and see it!
And take a pic with your favorite fish!
Find more at
Le Loup
Reunion
The Optimist
OTHER NEWS & UPDATES
Super excited to be joining Orange Beak Studio April 7th - I’ll be talking about my work’s progression, changing industries and agents, my inspirations, and things I’ve learned in my career. The LIVE event will be recorded and available 72 hours afterwards, in case you’re in a different time zone or can’t make it at that time. After the talk, we’ll be doing a Q+A (bring your burning questions!) and a creative exercise focused on play.
THE BRAW AMAZING BOOKSHELF
So honored that Kafka and the Doll was chosen among 100 Books (out of 2200, from 62 countries!) ) to be on display for the BRAW Amazing Bookshelf, a special exhibition at the recent Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Do yourself a favor and flip through these gems! Congrats to Larissa, Opal, Tamar, and the team at Viking!
LIFE THINGS
I’m revamping my blog & website and one of the directions I’m leaning into is sharing more of who I am as a person. I’ve been less active on social media which has been good for me - I’m able to be more in my own world, focusing on my interactions, thoughts, and relationships. And baking! And being outside! If you get my newsletter, you know I like to share things I’m loving, like new recipes, music, or books - and while this won’t replace that, I’ll also start sharing little life things here again, like I did way back in the blogging days of old.
This last month, warm weather burst through, bringing snowdrops and dog smiles. I made lots of baked goods and we visited our good friend’s farm (where we got married). They make maple syrup and it was so nice to be there, see the process, and of course, see them! I’m also hard at work on a new picture book series - and am sharing little peeks on my Patreon if you want to see more!
Thanks for reading!
Means so much to connect and share every month.
If you want to be notified every time a new post comes out, be sure to sign up for my newsletter (at the bottom of my site). As always, thanks for being here and supporting my work.
Have a fresh and warm and easy April, friends.
xo,
Becca
PS - I dove into some little fish drawings and a sea turtle study this month on The Dessert Club Patreon! I show you how I mix neocolor crayons and colored pencil, as well as a couple ink drawings. You can also see one of the originals of the wallpaper ❤️