Amy Leonard - Portraits & Urban Landscape Illustrator, London

Soft colours, sensitive portraiture, gentle brushstrokes – Amy Leonard is an illustrator who captures quiet moments and small details, giving them depth, meaning and a hint of beauty. She makes heroes of ordinary people, never losing their humanity, and turns normal landscapes into lovely destinations, without papering over the cracks.

Based in London, Amy is constantly inspired by the world around her – observing people and places, sketching the details of daily life. She loves collaborating closely with her clients and finding the right way to bring their ideas to life. Amy draws on a wide range of influences, from her hometown of Felixstowe through to paintings by Hockney and Hopper, and on to photographers like Don McCullin and Arch McLeish. Fauvism and impressionism are her favourite art movements. Amy has a BA in Illustration from Arts University Bournemouth.

Approach

Light and colour figure heavily in Amy’s approach. From her sketches, she blocks out colour and shading to build the composition with a gentle palette favouring muted blues and peaches. Working mainly in Procreate, she paints digitally mimicking oils and acrylics for a handmade feel.

Style

Amy works in a painterly style and the originality of her hand is intact in every image. While her work can feel like Golden Age americana, there’s always an English quality to it and by using digital tools she gives her illustrations contemporary appeal.