Illustration by Sarah Darby
One of the new concepts I’ve been loving recently is the ideas of gifting a sketch of the beautiful bride in her beautiful gown post wedding. Wedding gowns nowadays are almost works of art and a visual reminder that has a more fashion base than a photograph, is something special the wearer can keep in her home as memento of that amazing piece she wore.
With so many amazing artists around nowadays creating such pieces, I wanted to showcase a few of my favourites – all very different and all very talented!
Sarah Darby has always loved drawing and art, but put her passion on hold for a more traditional life of university and her career as a publicist in London. Upon the birth of her second child, Sarah started to draw again and now creates beautiful sketches.
Sarah works one on one for commissions – loving bridal work more than most. Her work can even extend to bridesmaid portraits (another great gift) and will draw inspiration from your photographs or inspiration boards.
Based in NYC, I can vouch for the beautiful work of illustrator Brooke Hagel. Years and years ago I fell in love with one of Brooke’s bridal drawings and purchased it for my office. She was soon creating the head shots for all the patterned people and I continued to love her beautiful fashion illustrations.
Brooke takes commissions for one of bridal portraits, using ink and pencil to capture the detail and shapes of the gown to show off it’s beauty via drawing.
Australian illustrator Alexandra Neale has been popping up everywhere with her fun, whimsical illustrations. Her forms take on rosy cheeks, the bouquets full of colour and depth, her gowns full of detail using coloured pencils, graphite and copic markers on watercolour paper.
Alexandra has a series of bridal collections already on her site – from the bride and her bridesmaids, to the newlyweds and the bride alone. Having studied fashion design, Alexandria’s custom commissions have a special focus on the fashion elements of the pieces she recreates.
Erin Petson is far more conceptual than the other illustrators I have featured today. She began art school at age 16 and having been commissioned by everyone from Dior to Vogue, her work speaks of high fashion and the beauty that lies within its lines.
Her custom bridal portraits have only been available for a year and already she is creating very personal pieces – working one on one with the bride to get a sense of her own personal style, injecting this inspiration into the piece itself.
From glittery fabrics, to lace detailing even down to the subject’s eyelashes, illustrator Karen Orr prides herself on attention to detail using acrylic paint to create her pieces.
Based in Pennsylvania, Karen studied fashion illustration as well as fine art before an illustrious career. She has recently began drawing again, creating one off custom portraits for brides, bridesmaids and couture designers around the world.
Such a beautiful idea!