THE FINE ART OF THE WINE LABEL

My latest commission is both the biggest and the smallest I’ve ever undertaken!

After my artwork for Yapp Brothers in nearby Mere was short-listed for the wine list of the year award in 2013, Director, Jason Yapp, approached me to design a label for Yapp’s new own-label red and white wines. I had to fit everything into a three and a half by four and half inch rectangle, so it really was the smallest thing I’ve ever done. At the same time, I knew that the end result would be put onto an initial shipment of six thousand bottles of French wine and then delivered all over the UK! Yapp’s previous collaborators have included Willie Rushton, Glen Baxter and Quentin Blake, so I’m highly gratified to be included in such an illustrious lineage.

The brief Jason gave me brief was fairly broad, but Yapps were keen to have an image that was readily recognisable, unmistakably Gallic and evocative of their own joie de vivre. The much-loved Citroen H-van, which sits in the courtyard of their premises in Mere, seemed like a good starting point.

Yapp’s is like a little piece of France tucked away in an idiosyncratic corner of Somerset and on July 11th, I’m tutoring at an outdoor sketching day there. Anyone who likes to draw is welcome!

You can find out more by visiting http://www.yapp.co.uk
click here

or by ‘phoning 01747 860423.

And you can try the new wine at Yapp’s shop and receive two bottles for free if you purchase one of their cases.