Italian Restaurant Wall Art Illustration: Illustrated Maps, Illustrated Recipes Commissioned by UK-Based La Mia Mamma

| Illustrated Italy Maps and Illustrated Recipes as part of a branding project for UK-Based La Mia Mamma, Italian Restaurant Wall Art Illustration, by Illustrator and Artist Yaansoon |

On 15 June 2018, my Italian restaurant wall art illustration artworks were on full display at London’s newest eatery, La Mia Mamma. On opening day, there, inside this beautiful UK-based location, the walls featured a total of five wall illustrations I had created late 2017 and early 2018: Three illustrated Italy maps, as well as two illustrated recipes commissioned late last year by the restaurant’s management.

The main reason for restaurant management to approach me was in large part thanks to artwork posted on my blog under Illustrated Travel Stories, namely the illustrated maps, which are part of the Italy Culinary Tour blog series.

Italian Restaurant Wall Art Illustration: Illustrated Maps & Illustrated Recipes Commissioned by UK-Based La Mia Mamma | By Yaansoon Illustration + Art | Food illustration, travel illustration, Italy, Capri, Sicily, Rome, Regional Italian Food

UK-Based Italian Restaurant Wall Art Illustration: The Deliverables

When La Mia Mamma contacted me late 2017, their vision was to commission me to create a full-fledged branding solution for their brand. Therefore, the wall art is only one part of a larger illustration project.

With regards to the wall art deliverables, they are as follows:

Three Illustrated Italy maps – wall art

The following high-resolution illustrations were printed-out professionally and transformed onto three different walls on the first level of the restaurant.

An illustrated map featuring a hero map of Italy: This map is of all of Italy and features its 20 regions. The map is surrounded with spot illustrations featuring famous and authentic food ingredients and dishes from each of the regions. The illustrations also include historic and archaeological sites such as the “Colosseum” in Rome, and the “Crotone” in the south.
A map of the Southern Italy region: Italy’s southern region is rich with foods and dishes that are famous the world over, such as the “Pizza Napoletana.” However, the south has much more to offer than pizza and pasta. “Pane di Altamura” is a delicious artisanal bread from the beautiful region of Puglia (Apulia in English), forming the very “heel” of Italy. These two Italian staples, and much more, are celebrated in this map.
A third map of the Northwest Italy region: Northwest Italy is home to four Italian regions: Piemonte (Piedmont in English), Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), and Valle d’Aosta. These regions offer their own traditional dishes and agri-food ingredients. In this illustrated map you can see the famous Christmas dessert, the “Panettone,” in addition to the delicious blue cheese, the “Gorgonzola.” Did you know for instance that the “Grissini,” Italy’s famous breadsticks, are originally from the region of Piemonte? The spot illustrations surrounding the map also include archaeological sites and castles from across the northwest.

Two Illustrated recipes – wall art

The second set of deliverables included two illustrated recipes of authentic Italian dishes from two different regions. The recipes were printed-out and professionally applied to two separate walls on the second floor of the restaurant. The recipes are:

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
Trofie al pesto.

Please check this post to see the full list of branding deliverables for this exciting La Mia Mamma project. As mentioned above, the wall art is part of a larger branding project that involved other deliverables, including social media illustrations and kitchen apron prints, among others.

Writer Tony Turnbull from The Times newspaper at London-based La Mia Mamma restaurant. In the background you can see an illustrated Italy map by Yaansoon Illustration | Photo by Katie Wilson for The Times.

Writer Tony Turnbull with two of La Mia Mamma’s regional Italian cuisine chefs. In the background, one of Yaansoon’s illustrated maps can be seen on the wall. Photo by Katie Wilson for The Times

In the Press

A few weeks into the opening, The Times newspaper featured La Mia Mamma in its July 5 issue. The writer, Tony Turnbull, was photographed next to two of the restaurant’s “Mammas” with one of my illustrated Italy maps in the background. The one you see in the picture (left) is actually the largest and most detailed map created for this project. It’s more or less the hero map.

According to Eater London the concept of the restaurant is centred around food that is created by real Italian “Mammas.” The website goes on to say these ladies will be “flying to London over the coming three months to cook a selection of regional specialities, which will then stay on the restaurant’s menu.” The article also says the first month features Sicilian favourites created by “Mamma Lidia” during her residency.

The food is displayed on scrumptious food displays and presented in a mixture of rustic-looking pottery as well as minimalist plates and cutlery to reflect the homemade feel of La Mia Mamma’s food, within a stylish modern atmosphere.

Client: La Mia Mamma restaurant – 257 King’s Road, Chelsea, London SW3 5EL.

Restaurant opening: 15 June 2018.

Illustration Commission Years: 2017 – 2018.

Illustration Technique: Italian restaurant wall art illustration artworks were created using several digital and analogue drawing and illustration tools: Some of the artwork started out as pen and ink on paper (which was then scanned), while the majority of these food and travel illustrations was created digitally using Adobe Photoshop, a Wacom pen tablet, as well as professional drawing apps on Samsung Galaxy Tab S3.

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