Earlier this year I was thrilled to receive an email from the team at Waitrose supermarket. They were looking for an illustrator to create some Halloween illustrations for their store. After seeing some of my work on Pinterest, they found my contact details and got in touch. 

I was so excited to work on this project, especially knowing that my illustrations would be seen in Waitrose stores across the UK. The theme for this year was ghosts and bats. They provided me with a brief and a colour pallet to work from, and I got started. 

Knowing that this was a job for a really big brand (and my favourite UK supermarket ) I initially found that I got really tight with the first drawings. In my head, I was thinking ‘This has got to be good, it’s got to be amazing.’ And along with this came drawings that were stilted and lifeless, which I knew, and I got feedback that echoed this too. 

So I pulled myself together, gave myself a good talking to, and instead of drawing straight onto my iPad, I bought some large black paper and chalks. I have always loved using traditional materials, the feel of the different media, and the texture of the paper as I draw, so I knew this was the key to loosening up, and getting some much better results.

I was right, as soon as I got to work with the chalks, the flowing, ghostly shapes came so much easier, and I knew straight away that the illustrations were so much better. When I sent them back to the team I was working with at Waitrose , they agreed, and after some back and forth editing , they ended up being the illustrations that are now on show in Waitrose.  

If you’re in Waitrose over the next Few weeks, and see the Halloween displays, I’d love to see any pictures, you could tag me on social media (at) sarahlovellart . 

I hope you enjoy the illustrations and have a happy , spooky Halloween !