Sweet! It’s definitely the best way to describe Enya Todd’s illustrations, not only because she loves to depict delightful desserts, but because the quality of the images is cordon bleu. Her fluid painting style and soft palette perfectly capture the light-hearted finery of each delicious treat, and yet striking elements of detail mean you can almost taste what’s in the picture.
Based in Bath in the west of England, Enya is originally from Macau, though she has spent much of her career in London. With a background in packaging design, her love of illustration drove her towards painting food products – particularly the sweet kind. She takes inspiration from the expert chefs and patisserie artists who make treats she paints, as well as artistic innovators like David Downton and Damien Hirst.
Her studio assistant is a miniature Schnauzer, and Enya enjoys listening to 90s electronica or taking a trip to Bristol Harbour on a sunny day. She loves travel, with Italy and Paris favourite destinations, and California, India and Australia are all on her list.
Training
Following her BA in Graphic Design, Enya earned a masters in Design Management from the London College of Communication in 2011.Approach
Enya works primarily in watercolour and ink – two flexible media with an expressive, emotive feel to them. Her palette is contemporary, and surface pattern is something she pays a lot of attention to. She generally works with high quality textured papers, adding to the handmade aesthetic of her art.Style
With a fluid and expressive style, there’s a touch of Impressionism about Enya’s work, as she deftly encourages her colours to bleed into the paper just the right amount. Meanwhile, strong focus on key details brings a touch of realism to each piece, which is essential when depicting such complex foods.