I finished this cover a few weeks ago. The book is a memoir of an English woman who marries an Iraqi and moves to Baghdad.  It’s not available for purchase yet but will be launched on the 1st of June with a book launch in Cardiff on the 7th.

Done in acrylic on 14lb NOT HP watercolour paper.

Below are some of the idea sketches for the cover. At the start there were lots of elements wanted on the cover but we slowly stripped it back to a simpler and more striking cover.

Idea 1

Idea 2

Idea 3

Painting in progress
I used a warm yellow gouache for the initial lay-in. It flows well and once dry I can pull back some of the colour if I need to make any changes. Skin tones are glazed in layer by layer to add depth and transparency. This glazing helps me to add subtle variations in light such as under the glasses and jaw. When nearly complete I gave the background a wash of yellow acrylic to fix the gouache.