Wedding Guestbook Illustration for Kader and Marlina — 2016
Kader approached me to do a custom calligraphy and illustration piece as his father had decided on a quote as a gift to the newly-weds, and Kader wanted to incorporate this quote into the inner cover of his guest book. His brief to me was refreshingly open: a floral-themed calligraphy piece with a more vintage illustrative style and a classic grey look.
A really fine and flexible crowquill nib was used to create line shades on all of the floral and foliage detail.
One of the challenges was definitely balancing the large amount of detail with the larger graphic elements, and I alternated the line colours for the petal veins as well as various other details to create a sense of movement throughout the piece.
I don't have a full shot of this work (it's actually quite a tall piece), but the overall combination of colours and graphic floral elements set against a moving scroll makes this piece particularly dear to me. I also had free reign over the choice of flowers to feature, so these are the ones I chose as my tribute to this couple: Tulips for a love that lasts, peonies for prosperity, Jasmine for the ones that adorned her hair at the wedding, Roses for romantic love, and Orchids for elegance (and because it's our national flower in Singapore).
