Preparing for my next Transatlantic Royal Caribbean Cruise!

Happy Friday!

I am so excited to continue my partnership with Royal Caribbean and hop on another cruise to teach watercolor courses on for 2025! This cruise will be taking us across the Atlantic ocean, starting at Cape Liberty (a cruise port across from the statue of Liberty) as we sail onward to the Azores of Portugal, Spain and ending in Italy!

Back in 2023 I had the opportunity to go on my first cruise ever, with Royal, and taught painting classes on a trip to Spain, Portugal and The Canary Islands. Since then I have been fortunate enough to travel to far off places from Argentina, Antarctica, Denmark, and the Fjords of Norway. And I’ve even been able to meet many of my Instagram friends in these countries for tours of their native country. It has been truly a gift I will cherish the rest of my life.

Make sure to follow along our journey on my IG: @jessillustrator starting April 27th!

This cruise I will focus on teaching how to paint Marine life like my ever favorite Jellyfish! As well as some Octopus’, Starfish, Seahorse’s and more. For me the lead up to the cruise gets me very inspired. And just yesterday I painted an Octopus for the first time, and I would not have done that unless I was preparing for this cruise. I have found that before and after trips abroad my artworks are impacted so positively in ways they would not have been had I stayed home in my comfort zone.

The other benefit is I’m also able to teach smaller class sizes, to keep things feeling intimate and special. Its allowed me to feel I have inspired many guests & even employees to try their hand at watercolors. And they get to create a few keepsakes from the cruise that feel quite meaningful.

I love being able to teach watercolor workshops at sea. It has been such an unexpected experience I have been afforded these last couple of years. I meet people I would not have otherwise meet, and get to do what I love in a completely different capacity.

So until next time, keep on creating!

Jess

Illustrating with a dream team of artists at Indianapolis Pacer's Stadium

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of live fashion illustrating with 3 other artist’s I personally know for a corporate event held at the Pacer’s basketball stadium in Indianapolis. We called ourselves the “dream team” as we were so excited to be able to work a massively busy and super fun event together and feel the support from one another. Artist’s can often feel at times, a bit alone, in their career. And I am loving being able to have events booked with other artist’s. We feed off of each other’s good vibes, and it really translates into a successful event.

Before the event started, taking in the stadium views with Ivy McConnel, Schin Loong, and Tina Dillingham.

The event was a corporate conference for employees of Simon Brand Malls. It was so fun to treat them to sports themed illustrations of themselves. The lines got long, and the crowd was excited…and having 4 artist’s live sketching made all the difference.

Each of us traveled from different part’s of the country, and it was so lovely being able to spend time together before and after the event with one another.

Ivy got a good scare in from the Mascot!

Thank you to Simon Malls for having us come out to your party and live fashion sketch for your employees. It was an experience we appreciated so much :)

Chelsea in Bloom, coming soon!

I am thrilled to announce that I have created a custom artwork license for London’s popular Chelsea in Bloom! The incredible flower show will take place in London from May 19-25th of 2025. You can see the teaser on this site: https://www.chelseainbloom.co.uk/coming-soon-2025/

I feel honored to have my art be apart of this fabulous event. It is a world class floral art show and this year their theme is Flowers in Fashion. Which only feels natural that my work can be apart of this theme. As many of you know how much of my work is based on my love of fashion design and flowers. I can’t wait to share more once the event is up. And if you’re in the London area and spot my design, please send me pics! I love when my art is spotted in the wild.

So stay tuned for more updates!

Jess

Live Fashion Sketching at a Black Tie Wedding at the Chicago History Museum

I had the great pleasure of traveling to Chicago this last weekend to live fashion illustrate at a beautiful wedding for Becca & Adam at the Chicago History Museum. Not only was the venue exceptionally stunning, but the guests came out in a gorgeous black tie dress code. This was a first for me! I have never before now, illustrated at a black tie event. And I hope it will not be the last. Because as you’ll see in the photos captured, the live sketching really aligned itself perfectly for this type of affair. I had so much fun asking guests about who/what they were wearing, like I was on the red carpet interviewing!

I was able to sketch starting at the cocktail hour and for the entirety of the reception. This made it possible for me to get 62 guests illustrated, a new record for me. I am so thankful for the wedding planner & bride for being a breeze to work with. All the planning made for an extra successful event. We even had custom paper for me to sketch on that had the Bride & Groom’s initials and wedding date branded onto it. I also created an illustration of Becca & Adam as well as Becca in her wedding gown as an extra special touch.

If you’re interested in hiring live fashion illustration for your wedding or special event, please email jessillustration@gmail.com

I also work with a network of other talented artist’s if you feel you may need more than one artist on site to live sketch do let me know. One couple illustrated takes approx. 10 minutes, or 5 minutes per person to give you an idea on timing. It varies of course, but that is my goal for every event.

Enjoy these glam guests photos with their sketches!

Jess

Festive Live Fashion Illustrations with the HIGH Art Museum at Colony Square

Thank you to the HIGH Atlanta Art Museum and Colony Square for having me out to live illustrate for the Tree Lighting festival last night! It was a lovely crowd, and I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie set for a night of creating live fashion illustration sketches. See below some photos I snapped of the happy guests :)

I illustrated in the VIP suite, where there was cute beanies, and branded scarves for guests as well as snacks, drinks and even hand warmers.

I got to illustrate so many ages…from babies to Grandparents!

Atlanta Magazine shout out!

It is rare that live events that I work are covered by the press, so I was excited to see that I was given a shout out in Atlanta Magazine’s article Hermès Moves to Phipps Plaza covering an afterparty event I created artwork at. Thank you to Lauren Finney Harden for the write up, excerpt below:

To complete the boutique’s opening, a cocktail party was held at the new location. Then, an afterparty transformed Pullman Yards into the Hermès Stable Club. A grand exterior set the tone, with party guests lining up to take photos with the sculpture and signage. Inside, a lush and vaguely tropical theme included several lounges, cafe tables, art installations, and a very long line to have artist Jessica Durrant draw each person in horse caricature. Notable attendees included actors Lakeith Stanfield and David Harbour, as well as columnist Chris Black. A performance by hip hop artist Tierra Whack was the cherry on top.

To read the full article on my live event illustration with Hermès in Atlanta Magazine click link below:

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/arts-events/hermes-moves-to-phipps-plaza/

Recap: Live Fashion Illustration for Amazon Influencers Summit in Las Vegas

Last week I had the pleasure of flying to my hometown of Las Vegas, and I got to work a 2 day live event illustrating for an Amazon Influencers Summit at the beautiful Resorts World. I worked with a beautiful, and super organized event production company based out of LA, Another A Story. They put on an amazing event for Amazon Influencer’s and had guests like Tan France and Khloe Kardashian there. It was pretty surreal to see Tan France walk by my art station on a Monday morning.

I was able to work with another illustrator at this event, Schin Loong, and she was remarkable and a joy to have as a partner for such a busy event. Live events are getting more and more popular, and often having more than one illustrator is a must. It helps take the pressure off of one artist feeling they have do it all. So I’m thankful for that.

I’m also thankful with how kind everyone was. Every person who got illustrated seemed to really appreciate the bespoke, personalized touch it brought to the conference. It was also fun, because not one person wore the same look. There was so much variety in the looks we created in 5-7 minute increments. See below some of my favorites looks.

For more information on Live Event Fashion Illustration, see my tab on the front page of my website or email me at jessillustration@gmail.com Thank you!

Jess

Creating bright patterns, always is one of my favorite looks to execute at events.

So fun to see friends get illustrated together, Schin's work on the left, and mine on the right!

I am so thankful I got to work this event with Schin. We made a dream team :)

Live Fashion Illustration on board Royal Caribbean Cruise from Copenhagen to Amsterdam!

These last 2 years, I have had the incredible opportunity to partner with Royal Caribbean and work on board some amazing cruises! I was asked to join on another segment from the Ultimate World Cruise and I was so elated.

We got on board in Copenhagen, had some scenic cruising through the Fjords of Norway and ended in Amsterdam. This cruise was my first that instead of teaching painting classes on, we tried out live fashion illustration as an experience for guests every evening. This was a cruise with only 1 sea day, so teaching would not have been the right fit (as sea days were when I would normally teach classes), and it worked out fantastic in the end. I loved that I was able to reconnect with many of the world cruisers I taught classes to back in January for the Argentina to Antarctica segment. And it felt like a nice gesture we could give guests…a one-of-a-kind sketch of them as a souvenir they can’t buy anywhere, to take home with them.

These sisters were so adorable and signed up to get sketched & brought their Mom along. The sweet girl on the right came dressed up in a skirt with a unicorn on it, so I made sure to get that in there ;)

This cruise really was joy to work on! When I am working the cruise, I get to enjoy the days at port-just like the guests. Which honestly is something I feel so grateful I get to experience. This trip started in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. And I was so excited to visit because not only have I wanted to see more of Scandinavia, I have a long time social media friend & Paint Club student who lives there, Nina. We met up with her at her favorite bakery (which was right next to our hotel, go figure) and spent the day exploring her city. Nina was such a gracious host, and even gave us a gift bag full of Danish delights! That was just so sweet.

Andersen Bakery, Copenhagen was nothing short of amazing. I got a traditional Danish summery strawberry tart.

It was perfect weather for a day of exploring such a beautiful city like Copenhagen.

Gorgeous Sunset our first night in Copenhagen

Our cruise went on to stop in Aarhaus, Denmark and then onward to a lot of Norwegian ports: Oslo, Kristiansand, Haugesund, Olden, and Alesund. As with many cruises you will visit places you might not know as much about and you can often be pleasantly surprised. I actually was most underwhelmed by Oslo. It lacked a bit of charm & architectural beauty that some of these other ports had. It’s hard to not compare each place to the next when you’re on a cruise, which can often be a disservice to a city or town. As I know that only spending a day in each port is only giving you a tiny glimpse into the bigger picture. So you take everything you see and do on a cruise with a grain of salt.

The real gem of this trip of course was our ship cruising through the Fjords that lead us to Olden. Olden was out of this world. The approach into Olden takes you through some narrow passageways and you cruise in at a very slow approach-making it even more calming to take in. To see the storybook like looking Nordic houses climbing up steep hills, and waterfalls streaming down the side of epic mountains was so surreal. We did probably one of the most beautiful hikes of my life, to the Briksdal Glacier.

The calming approach down the Fjord to Olden, Norway.

It is hard not to get overstimulated by all the amazing sites! What was really fun about this cruise was each evening it was a pleasure to draw guests, and talk to them about what they had ventured out to do each day at port. You get to share your excitement and passion about travel with a huge group of people when you are on a cruise.

The fashion illustrations lended themselves nicely to guests who dress formal for the shows, and dinners, like this beautiful lady.

Each night I felt like I got to interview many of the World Cruisers about their thoughts on their 9 month adventure. It is a memory I will have with me for a lifetime, I can imagine.

Many of the guests we used photos from other outfits they wanted to be illustrated in. It was really fun for me to capture memories for guests.

Our last stop brought us to Amsterdam and I could not have been more excited! I have been dying to this city, as I have painted it many times. We had a gorgeous canal tour and did a lot of the touristy things-with no shame! Brandon and I stayed an extra day/night before flying back as I knew we wanted to have just a little extra time to explore and stay in a nice hotel before saying goodbye to Europe.

I can't thank Royal Caribbean enough for giving me such an amazing opportunity to illustrate live on their Ultimate World Cruise. I got to see so much more of the world then I could have ever even fathomed. From Argentina to Antarctica and the South Pole to a trip close to the North Pole! Wow. My heart is full. And I have got some painting to do.
xo
Jess

Royal Cruise, Flash Sale 2024 and all the latest News!

Hello hello!

I just wanted to quickly share a few bits of news with you!

I am leaving to work on my 3rd cruise with Royal Caribbean next week, as I go to live sketch guests on board The Ultimate World Cruise from August 8th-20th! If you remember, I was on this same cruise in January where we traveled from Argentina to Antarctica. I am thrilled to continue my partnership with Royal Caribbean. Our first cruise took us to the Canary Islands and Madeira, Portugal pictured above. Follow along with me on Instagram @jessillustrator as our journey starts in Copenhagen, Denmark and we visit the scenic Fjords of Norway and end our trip in Amsterdam.

Also we are only 25 days away from Flash Sale 2024! It is happening Tuesday, August 27th and starts (as always) at Midnight EST!!!

For those not familiar with this sale, it is my one-day-only, once-a-year only, 50% off EVERYTHING in my shop sale! This will include a new body of original artwork, some of best selling prints, educational content, mentoring packages and more! And there will be door prizes for the first 25 customers who shop the sale!

I have added most of the new original paintings to my shop already and some brand new prints. I will add more selections before the sale as well. You can see the newness in my shop here and photos below:

https://jessicadurrant.com/new-shop

Thank you again for all your support. It is not lost on me, how lucky I am to do this for a living and share it all with such a wonderful audience.

Jess

Harry Styles is Life Illustrated Book Project coming October 8th 2024!

I am thrilled to share with you my latest illustrated book project full of 30 illustrations of Harry Styles for the book titled, Harry Styles is Life by Kathleen Perricone with Quarto Publishing. This book is now up for pre-order on Amazon, to be published on October 8th, 2024, see link below:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0760393192?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

This project happened quite quickly-we had about 6 weeks to create 30 illustrated looks of one of the world’s most famous singers. And at first I was a bit apprehensive about it because I haven’t really delved much into men’s fashion illustration. Let alone depicting a real life person! But once I got started…I began to feel quite certain that this project was perfect for me.

Illustrating Harry came naturally to me once I wrapped my head around the fact that I had all the tools & experience I needed to succeed. And of course, I focused on having a positive mindset during this process. Illustrating a book with a high volume of illustrations is always a challenge. For most illustrator’s it is much like completing a marathon. And lucky for me the art director at the publishing house was so trusting and gave me a lot of freedom to be myself. This is something I grow more and more grateful for over time, as I can see how much that type of atmosphere when I create can allow me to make my best work. Enjoy these sneak preview images, found alongside the pre-order Amazon link. And make sure to reserve your copy. I am so proud of the art I created. It is so energizing, happy and joyful…just like Harry Styles himself ;)