Julien's

The idea of mashing up my passions for both Gypsy Jazz and illustration could have been obvious but only popup in my mind a couple of weeks ago. It didn’t take me long to let myself inspired by Mr Django Reinhardt for a sketch I started last Sunday.

I then realised that Le Quecumbar – UK temple of Django’s music – was about to celebrate it’s 7th birthday on Wednesday and this ongoing piece will problably fit very well there. So, for the first time I decided to illustrate for an external purpose. I really love Le Quecumbar since I moved to London three years ago and the idea of adding my two cents to this magic place excited and motivated me as never before. The deadline was a bit tight tight – two days (well… nights) – to finish the drawing and colorize it.

It’s been exhausting but very rewarding and helped me out to evaluate how long I need to do something like this. Moreover Sylvia Rushbrooke – Le Quecumbar owner – and her super friendly staff gave me a very warm feedback on this. Thanks a lot to all of you; not to say that the night and the music (and the wine) was thrilling as usual :).

Following my previous illustration resolutions I’ve been very careful at using a limited desaturated colour palette. In my opinion it helps to highlight the line and fits the vintage theme pretty well.

Following are some of the key steps I followed, from scribbling to framing: