A beautiful Glasgow morning....

The rain has finally stopped, the clouds have parted and the early rays of crisp Scottish light are beginning to peep through.  A beautiful Saturday to go and finally explore the Botanic Gardens at Glasgow.  Due to lack of camera (unless I can temporarily loan the brother's) I'm relying on sketches this morning but I'm looking forward to a peaceful stroll around the gardens armed with sketchpad and pen.

Despite the weather, the buzzy atmosphere of Glasgow's west end has really got the creative juices going lately, and the soggy grey days have inspired a more subdued palette of greys and blues.  My time so far at Timorous Beasties has also demonstrated to me the strength and beauty of monochrome, and some of my most recent work is attempting to explore these qualities.

So after much titivating and fiddling in Photoshop and Illustrator a few new designs are beginning to emerge.  Still a lot of work to do in some cases but the following are just a few examples of what I've been up to.

Beginnings

The start of a couple of new designs.... inspired by my lovely neighbour Barbara's silver birch trees.  The childhood-familiarity of silver birch and their instantly recognisable scruffy peely nature bring a sense of cosy comfort to the initial drawings I've done - outlines traced from photographs in Illustrator then exported to Photoshop.  I've played around with colour-blocking some of the detail, such as the leaves, and I'm interested to see how this idea develops as a wallpaper design.  

Continuing ideas from the Orchid series I did recently, I've outlined the motifs in a solid line, which gives almost a cartoon-like feel.  This combined with some heavily saturated and  some very desaturated elements create interest, which might help the motifs to escape the confines of a repeat.  

Ultimately I'm aiming for these drawings to form a series that comprises quiet monotone or softly coloured designs as well as some bolder designs that rely more heavily on block colour and motifs that are perhaps more layered or structured.

The end of an era..... and the start of a new one

The sad death of my beloved Macbook has temporarily (and rather incoveniently) halted my digital designing, but I am currently working on some drawings which ultimately will become a beautiful new floral collection, inspired by Autumnal tones and warm, cosy evenings in. 
Keep watching this space for a first look of the preliminary drawings.

ORCHID UPDATE

Colourways: In ochre, white, teal, midnight, navy, and coral

ORCHIDS

Completed orchid design, as previously featured in Work in Progress, now pictured in situ. Further colourways to follow. 

Preparatory Sketches

ORCHIDS
Today I received some very special flowers, which are more than worthy of immortalisation in one of my designs! This drawing combines some of the sketches I have begun in Illustrator and will eventually become a new wallpaper design.

Latest Designs

BUDDLEIA I and BUDDLEIA II

A new design in a series of colourways, inspired by the last few sprigs of summer's blooms. Bud I for wallpaper features a delicately hand drawn repeating sprig. Bud II uses a silhouetted version of the image for a complementary fabric with added impact.

WINDMILL

Back to slightly surreal roots with this design for wallpaper. A play on the notion of rotating windmill sails. Extra interest provided with the random positioning of birds.

Exquisite Corpse

A new collection for interiors designed around the traditional game, Consequences.
Primarily, this is an investigation into the various applications of wallpaper, and the opportunities for visual games this particular media offers.