"Inspired by Nature" A look into my process.
(Wallpaper above "Soothing Pastel Plaid" also available in fabric and for licensing. Here is the link
When I wrote my bio for my website a few years ago, I wrote that I was inspired by nature among other things. But, what does that mean? "Inspired by nature." What does that look like for an illustrator and pattern designer like me? It's such a common thing for artists to say; "I'm inspired by nature". Most of us are, artist or not. It kind of nagged at me, not in an irritating way, just in the back of my mind wondering how to really explain what I mean by that to someone. Here's an example of my creative process that explains what I mean when I say; "I'm inspired by nature". And, I think this has finally snuffed out that slight back of the mind cliché issue I have about that common phrase as an artist. It's all about how we artists interpret and create from what inspires us. That's why we as people, myself included enjoy the "behind the scenes" and "process" videos we watch from our favorite artists.
To understand what I am talking about you need to be in my head. My husband always says my mind is a very wild spaghetti-wired place to be. I think he's just jealous because he doesn't dream in color and see patterns and forms in his dreams like I do. This is why I keep my ipad next to my bed. Every time I close my eyes when I'm going to bed, I literally see shapes and patterns in color. I see still life compositions and landscapes. Some are ok, while others are fantastic! When they're really good, I wake up, grab my ipad make sketches and color palettes before I forget them. I've heard singer-song writers do this kind of thing with their craft as well.
Today I was asked to make a simple "loose" hand drawn criss-cross pattern for a nursery. The client wanted wallpaper and bedding fabric for a nursery. Something soft and light. So, I thought about it as I made my coffee. I went outside to walk around my gardens to see what's blooming. These flowers from my garden, pictured above, popped out at me almost saying; "pick me!" In my spaghetti-wired mind, I instantly saw the colors in the soft stripes, I saw the whole nursery setup in my mind - the wallpaper, the bedding and toy baskets with this fabric as liners. So, I snapped the photos, uploaded them and got to work. I'm now in the process of turning this one pattern into a collection using these three flowers again for "inspiration" because I think in collections.
Most brands look for cohesive intuitive collections they can use across a family of products. For this next collection, I will spend time sketching and painting, scanning in my work and making at least four hero designs. Then I'll pull motifs from those four main designs and create patterns with them. The stripe pictured above with a couple other coordinates and blenders combined with the main hero designs will be license-ready editable files for tote bags, plates, napkins, mugs, gift bags, cards and stationery, fabric and wallpaper, etc. I will then paint the flowers on canvas scan them into my computer so I can make several different sized art prints and still be able to sell the originals. I truly love what I do.