Say cheese: Billie Justice Thomson on her latest creation
What do a martini, honeycomb and blue cheese have in common? They are the latest ingredients in the artwork created by Adelaide’s go-to illustrator Billie Justice Thomson.
Smiley fritz, Twisties, San Pellegrino, and the Adelaide Fringe Galah are among Billie’s earlier designs already adorning fridges, bus stops and posters throughout Adelaide.
Now, the talented artist is adding CheeseFest offerings to her portfolio, having drawn honeycomb, a martini and cheese varietals for the tasty festival’s rebranded look to mark its 21st birthday this October.
CheeseFest was founded by Woodside Cheese Wrights head cheesemaker and CEO Kris Lloyd AM, modelled on Europe’s cheese festivals to celebrate food and wine in Adelaide’s Rymill Park.
Billie tells CityMag it’s still “such a trip” to see her work on a large scale.
“Especially because I often work alone here in this quiet, rudimentary way,” she says, all the while drawing eyes on a pad of paper in her Hindmarsh Square studio.
“I usually use ink, so it’s still quite analogue and not in a lonely way; it’s quite a solo process, and then for it to go out there and become a part of some things that are much bigger, it’s still a trip.”
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Her son, who’s nine years old, also “doesn’t realise it’s a special thing” to have his Mum’s art plastered around the city.
“He’s like, that’s just normal, Mum’s art is all over the city, it’s all over his house, and it’s all over his bedroom — he’s so used to it he doesn’t know anything else,” she laughs.
“I never even intended to be an illustrator, but the work that I have always made is so illustrative and so food-based and domestic and familiar. It happened very naturally, and it’s been a really nice transition into getting to have work shared in this beautiful public way.”
Billie says her inspiration comes from places like the Central Market, where she worked at Lucia’s Fine Foods when she moved back to Adelaide from Melbourne about a decade ago.
“Seeing what’s fresh and what’s being brought down from the markets and knowing it’s grown here lovingly by a farmer, it definitely infiltrated my work,” she says.
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For her latest cheesy designs, Billie worked closely with Kris Lloyd and Lloyd’s “encyclopaedic knowledge of cheese” to draw a number of concepts, before selecting a few key cheeses to represent the visual identity of the festival, including a classic cheese toastie.
“We wanted to think about not just the raw product, we wanted to think about what happens with it and what kind of world the cheese lives in, and that would be the most common way most people would eat cheese right, in a cheese toastie,” Billie explains.
Also in the collection of food items is a martini. Asked if she likes a dry or dirty martini, Billie says “as they should be, somewhere in the middle, I don’t want to muck around with it too much”.
She says drawing for brands like CheeseFest gives her “little drawing challenges, things I wouldn’t normally choose to draw myself, and I have to do quite a bit of research about how I’m going to make it work”, like drawing honeycomb.
Asked if there was a particular cheese that she didn’t like drawing, Billie was quick to shut down the question: “There’s no hate when it comes to drawing; it’s always a pleasure, even in the challenge”.
Billie’s illustrations were used by a graphic designer to create the new CheeseFest logo for 2026 ahead of the festival on October 17 and 18.
“Billie’s work is vibrant, joyful and instantly recognisable,” CheeseFest founder Kris Lloyd says.
“She has created something that captures the personality and spirit of CheeseFest, and we believe the artwork will become synonymous with the CheeseFest brand for many years to come.”
This year’s festival includes popular Australian chef Miguel Maestre, host of the 2024 revival of Ready Steady Cook, and Adelaide’s Masterchef winner Laura Sharrad, who also owns acclaimed city restaurant, Fugazzi.
The festival is expected to draw about 18,000 people across the two-day event.
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