Inspiration - Around me

I have taken some photos of patterns occurring naturally around me.

 

 

Inspiration - Lucienne Day

Lucienne Day with Three Daughters of Mexico at the RCA
Photo: © twentytwenty

Big Circle carpet 1963

 

Black Leaf tea towel 1959

 

Dandelion Clocks furnishing fabric 1953

 

I really find myself gravitating towards Lucienne Days patterns. I really like the patterns with the plant icons, where they look somewhat geometric and structural. 

I also really love the abstract patterns that have a slight tribal feel. I especially love that vibrant pink against the mustard and browns in the 'Three Daughters of Mexico'.

 

 

Riga

 

This is quite a simple design but made to look much more detailed with the addition of textures between the stripes. 

 

 

 

Kyle McQueen

The other day I saw this illustration by Kyle McQueen pop up on my Pinterest.

I love it. I love how massive the whale looks compared to the tiny boat. What a great use of scale and layout.

I went to his website and have a good ol' nosey and really love his work. I like his textured backgrounds and is use of light is very thoughtful. 

I like that he sometimes includes his work in progress on his website along side the final piece. I find it really interesting to see how people work and get from an initial thought to a final illustration compared to my own process of working.

Inspiration: Andrea D'Aquino.

I have just stumbled upon the work of Andrea D'Aquino. I feel like I should have known about her work before now?

Anyway, I love how she works. Her process is similar to mine, in the fact that she uses lots of found paper and different textures and then cuts it up and arranges it into a layout. Her work is brilliant though, and this is because she pushed a lot further than I do. 

My work is always better when I take risks and push things a bit further than I find comfortable. Of course, a lot of the time this creates something which is quickly rearranged or forgotten about completely, but sometimes it ends up as something I'm proud of. 

I think coming across Andreas work has inspired me to push myself further and take more risks within my work.

I also love her use of colour. I love the muted browns and creams with the deep reds and greens, and occasional bright highlight. 

Paper paper paper

I really love how versatile paper can be. I am jealous of people who can manipulate it to create amazing sculptures and illustrations. I tend to make more of a mess than a masterpiece. I love working with found papers and patterns and textures though to create my pictures. 


These paper cuts by Peter Callesen are pretty immense.

 They look beautifully simple, but they are so delicate and tiny, so I can only imagine they were not simple to make.




I have just received a package of papers from 1973 who have decided to collaborate with some different paper sculpture and collage artists to experiment and create something with their new range of paper. It is a completely open brief and the papers are beeeeaautiful so I am excited to get going with it. At the moment they are pinned on my wall so I can look at them and have a think what I am going to do with them. I have a few little ideas.