Brooklyn-based Leesh Adamerovich’s nostalgic drawings of fruit, faces and places

Brooklyn-based illustrator Leesh Adamerovich first started out as a designer, believing that making money just from illustration as “kinda impossible”. For years she worked on her drawings in her spare time and then a few months ago Leesh took the plunge and became a full-time artist and illustrator. “I think it’s something I had to do to keep myself from going mad,” she says.

Leesh describes her style as “fruity and nostalgic”, with a lot of it inspired by her childhood, vintage objects and tacky things. “I like to tell stories with objects because what a person chooses to keep in their home tells so much about them, like age, taste, relationships,” explains the illustrator.

Her portfolio is scattered with drawings of people, places and in particular a plethora of fruit. This delicious obsession started when Leesh visited a museum as part of a field trip at school. “I thought that adult art was boring because everyone just painted baskets of fruit – I was very young. I think that stuck with me for some reason,” she says. “A lot of times I like to add fruit into some of pieces because it adds a provocative yet humorous feeling, kinda like sexy slapstick.”

Keeping colour palettes fairly minimal and using brightly coloured paper to add intrigue, it’s all about the detail in Leesh’s work. Her traditional, detailed studies take a modern approach through the content and what she chooses to depict. Her illustrations feel almost nostalgic, distantly reminiscent of Raymond Briggs with their loose haziness. “Making art is therapeutic for me and I can’t really go too long without making something,” Leesh explains. “I’m just trying to convey a peaceful easy feeling.”