Each season, we choose a different artist to illustrate the items from our new menu that we’re most excited about. Beyond the posters and A boards, they help set the tone of the months to come and inspire ideas of our own, from still lifes drawn live to illustrated tablecloths. Through our artist in residence series, we hope to share some of that process with you.
This autumn, we wanted to go a bit bolder and brighter than the season’s usual palette. Alice Oehr’s designs bring colour and a sense of fun to ingredients and everyday objects, with her triple-stacked, cherry-topped cakes, tactile fruits and patterned vases. We love how she creates texture – something so important when you’re illustrating food – by layering pastel details over graphic shapes. We couldn't wait to see what she'd bring to our pumpkin lattes, lemon cakes and kimchi croissants. If you haven’t spotted her work in our bakeries already, do look out for it next time you drop by.
We caught up with Alice to find out how she captured the crunch of a crust, how living in Melbourne shapes her work, and what happens when she hosts a pizza party.
How did you approach our brief for autumn?
I wanted the work to feel really warm and graphically strong – like that bright autumn light you only see at that time of year. A feeling of golden, earthy tones and an autumnal colour palette – rich oranges, yellows and browns contrasting with icy blue sky.
What unique challenges did it bring?
It is quite hard to convey the feeling of crunch and freshness, that delicious texture of bread, in an illustration. I had to use a lot of layering of materials to get it right – a toasted crust, seeds, flour, soft bubbles inside. Drawing the kimchi for the croissant was also a challenge. There’s the way you think kimchi looks, and the way it actually looks, and finding that balance. We got there – lots of gochugaru!
Which product was the most fun bringing to life?
I love to draw a giant pumpkin, playing with the patterns on the skin, so the Pumpkin Spiced Latte was really fun. But I also loved playing with the little lemon cake’s scale against the lemon in a surreal kind of stack, taking advantage of the things you can do with illustration that you can’t do in real life.
What came first: your love for food or illustration?
I’d have to say illustration, because I was a pretty fussy eater as a kid. I’d say they were equal now though and really feed off each other, no pun intended. Food and produce, as well as their stories, provides a constant source of inspiration for my artwork. I cook to unwind, watch cooking shows, and read cookbooks for fun. I usually like to get inspiration from outside the art and design world. It’s a feeling, and beautiful food always inspires that feeling.
Tell us a bit about your career, how you started?
I did an arts degree in art history, cinema and French, travelled for a while, then went back and studied graphic design. This immediately gave me the practical skills to develop my visual language properly – trying new tools and materials, using software, learning principles, creating patterns etc. I’ve been very happily freelancing ever since, taking all kinds of opportunities that came my way. Food illustration has been a strong personal interest and I’m often commissioned to work in this space, which I love. Now I work full time as an artist/illustrator and teach a bit on the side. It’s a bit of a crazy life but it really suits me.
How would you describe your creative process?
Messy! I am constantly in a dance between digital and analogue processes and am only happy when I can create a balance between the two. I make a lot of things from paper, then scan them into the computer and play with them on there. I love digital tools too – vector shapes, patterns – and the way you can design on the computer so easily to mock something up. I also love to print when it’s the right project, taking it back to a tactile form. It feels ridiculous sometimes, all the back and forth of this workflow, but I have stopped questioning it.
How does living in Melbourne impact your work?
Living in Australia is really unique as we are physically very far from the rest of the world. Even our closest big city is eight hours away in the car. I have come to really love this, though. I prioritise travel overseas at least once a year to Europe or Japan. I get inspired, then come back and make my work in this great city. I have a great life here, very close to nature with all the culture that Melbourne has to offer. There is an amazingly supportive creative scene and I have a great community who are my friends as well as peers.
Do you have any daily rituals that help your creative flow?
Yeah, I have a lot of rituals and routines that I cling to, especially when busy. They help me so much. I have learned I really need constraints around my creative practice, to allow me to think clearly and not become overwhelmed by all the possibilities for every project. I go to the gym every morning and try to keep a pretty tight 9-5, Monday-Friday work schedule. I don’tdo much beyond if I can help it. I ride my bike, walk or run around the river trails and see friends for coffee and lunch to break up what can be quite a solitary practice freelancing.
Cooking at the end of a workday really helps me unwind. I much prefer that to going out on weeknights when I am busy. I often laugh at the irony of a freelancer having total freedom with work hours and schedule, and yet here I am, strictly sticking to the 9–5 lifestyle. Knowing I have the freedom for the odd excursion does help though.
And finally, what do you make when friends come over?
I have a pizza oven so I like to prep the dough, make a few salads, then get everyone over to bring an ingredient or two to go on top. We all make the pizzas together – I got over my fear of people burning themselves. It’s fun!
Portaits Elena King
Photography & Illustration Alice Oehr
Words Kate Hollowood