Private Landscape Commission for Burgh Island
2025
Project Details
Client: Private Commission
Location: Burgh Island, Devon, England
Role: Bespoke landscape artwork
Medium: Hand-drawn digital artwork
Final Size: A1, prepared for fine art printing
Client Brief
My client found my work online while looking for coastal artwork and contacted me about creating a piece based on Burgh Island, one of her and her partner's favourite places in the world. Her partner is English, so the island also carried a sense of home and personal connection for them.
They were drawn to my coastal work and wanted something that sat somewhere between the feel of a few of my retro beach and headland collections, but with a more realistic treatment and no repeating floral motifs. The artwork was also going to hang near an existing lemon print, so the colour relationship between the two pieces mattered.
The Artwork
Because the original reference image was a licensed photograph, I did not copy its composition. Instead, I used it as a starting point for understanding what Alana loved about the island, then built an original composition in my own hand-drawn style using a whole series of reference images to capture the key elements of the island with a bit of creative license. I even used Google Earth to explore the 3D modelling of the island.
I lowered the viewpoint to give the headland and cliffs more drama, while allowing the tidal shallows and causeway to become a major part of the composition. I wanted the water to feel expansive and patterned with exaggerated ripples helping to capture one of the island's most distinctive features.
My first draft leaned dreamy and pastel, with aquas, lilacs, apricots and deeper blues. Alana and her partner loved the atmosphere, but after seeing the piece mocked up beside their existing lemon artwork, they wanted a bolder palette that would sit more comfortably in the room.
I adjusted the colours using the neighbouring artwork as a reference point, strengthening the yellow and blue relationships while refining the sandbank and ocean. A final adjustment to the horizon and sea helped the island read more clearly and completed the composition.
Project Development and Feedback
The finished artwork was approved without further changes after the final horizon adjustment, and Alana later wrote to say that the framed piece was “beyond beautiful.”
THE FINISHED COMMISSION, FRAMED IN THE CLIENT'S HOME
Credits
Artwork: Isa June
Printing and framing: Arranged by the client
Can I Commission Artwork of a Place That Is Special to Me?
Yes. I create bespoke landscape artwork inspired by places that hold personal meaning, from coastlines and islands to gardens, towns and travel locations.
You do not need to have the perfect photograph. I can work from a selection of references, maps and visual details to build an original composition that captures the character of the place rather than simply reproducing a single image.
If the artwork is intended for a particular room, I can also consider neighbouring colours, scale and the surrounding interior so the finished piece feels connected to its setting.
To discuss a commission, please email me with a little about the place, why it matters to you, and any photographs or visual references you would like me to consider.
