After trying a few food-based ideas, we decided to go for a historical approach (I love a good pastiche). I was inspired by The Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, which is packed full of symbolism. After researching the original painting, I tweaked a few things to better fit the theme of the article and make the piece my own:

- The ruff and cuffs are drawn with plates, cutlery, and salt & pepper pots

- The gown is embellished with fruit and veg mentioned in the article, including tomatoes, chili peppers, avocado, and potatoes

- In the original painting, the curtains are open to show England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada. I closed the curtains, representing Brexit shutting off the UK from the rest of the world.

- The globe which the queen rests her hand on in the original painting, indicating England's “command of the seas” and “dreams of establishing colonies”, is covered by classic British cuisine such as a Chicken Tikka, a pint, and a cup of English Breakfast tea (in a Union Jack mug of course). It took a lot of self control to not illustrate this as a Sports Direct mug.

- The queen has crumbs on her face to show she’s been scoffing.

- She is also holding a big portion of fish and chips.

I pulled from the colours of the Union Jack to give the piece an instant “British” identity. Using the same shades of red and blue, I mixed the colours and added depth using varied opacities and multiply layers. Finally, I added little details like the ruff and pearls to pull the piece together.

Tools: Adobe Fresco, Kyle T. Webster brushes, iPad Pro, Apple Pencil