Vector illustration for Art Raw

I was asked by Paulina Nienartowicz to create a Vector illustration for Art Raw.

Paulina is an incredible vegan chef and raw food artist, moreover food photographer and stylist. When I saw her work for the first time, I was absolutely blown away. I couldn’t believe how one person can have so much creativity in herself when it comes to desserts, not to mention the breathtaking photographs she takes of these creations.

As I scrolled through her instagram, every image looked like a snapshot of a festive feast of fairytale royalties. Incredible foods, colours, ingredients, decorations, camera angles,  just…mindblowing.

And for all the reasons mentioned above, it was really hard for me to design for Paulina. I made it hard on myself because I really wanted to measure up to her incredible art and I put a lot of pressure on myself. My mind was overwhelmed by ideas of all sorts but non of them seemed good enough when I thought of Art Raw.

I wanted this illustration to be full of different elements, fine little details and surprises in order to have the same effect on those who look at it as Paulina’s images have on me. I had this idea of creating an art work that is full of life and that acts differently depending on the distance of the viewer.

I experimented quite a bit before I was able to achieve the desired effect: if you look at the illustration from far away, the impression is of a circle with some sort of texture inside and clear wording in the middle. As you go closer though, you discover that the texture is a very complex organism of fruits, flowers and veggies that live in a really tight symbiosis with the letters. In fact, the pattern itself is the letters and it is the circle too. It’s like a perfect little world that wouldn’t be complete if any of the elements were missing. Nor could I add anything more without ruining the composition. Perfect balance – just like Paulina’s creations in my eye.