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A Hawaiian vacation print for Seed. The scenes were all painted separately in watercolour on textured A4 paper. I used colours which were not correct but as contrasting to one another as possible. The pictures were then scanned into Photoshop, and each colour was 'picked out' (made easier as they were contrasting), placed in a different layer and re-coloured until it looked right within that month's range. My favourite image above, and the finished repeat fabric artwork below. The resulting shorts will be posted onto this page in the last week of October.
Above: I came across a lovely blog this week which reminded me of these little 'diary entries' that I did a few years ago as part of a class exercise at Latrobe College. It's surprising (a) how few of those clothing items I am still wearing three years later even though I am trying to be green and not changing my wardrobe as crazily a fashion industry employee might (b) what a negative frame of mind I was in!
I
love Indian miniatures, for their unexpectedly pleasing colour and pattern combinations, incredible detail and compositions which challenge western eyes long accustomed to perspective. I have owned and loved a copy of Indian Painting by Douglas Barrett and Basil Gray (Skira, Geneva 1978) for over fifteen years but (sshhh!) I have never read a word of it. So unfortunately I know nothing about their iconography or social context. I have bravely reproduced some of my favourite pictures here anyway. The captions are as they appear in the book too, except that I have changed the measurements from inches to centremetres. Above: Madhu-Malati: The Resourceful Lover. Bilaspur Style, Kulu Valley, dated 1799 (15.5 x 12 cm), p. 192. What bold contrasts of colour and pattern! One could easily design an entire range of very 'now' textiles based on the beautiful patterns in this work. Hmmm...
Above: Lady Listening to Music. Guler Style, Jammu, about 175o. (25.5 x 21.5 cm), p. 181. 
Above: The Approaching Storm. Guler Style, about 1750 - 1760. (15 x 23 cm) British Museum, London, p. 175. 
Above: After the Bath. Bundi School, about 1775. (15 x 22 cm) Allahabad Museum, p. 148. Does this look familiar to anyone who has used the facilities at my house? A little framed photocopy of this lives in the bathroom.
Above: Lalita Ragini (from a Ragamala), painted by Sahibdin. Mewar School, Udaipur 1628. (15 x 21.5 cm) Khajanchi Collection, Bikaner, p. 135. The composition! The bold contrasting colours! That dark red against the yellow! The horse, a rather strange breed with a pretty horizontal pattern! I could stare at it forever. Even better, I could visit Bikaner and see the real thing.
A selection of mirrors from my newly opened Etsy shop! They measure 18 cm across and are all hand painted using acrylic, then varnished. I really enjoyed painting these little mirrors, especially choosing images from books like Auguste Racinet's Complete Costume History and Bernhard Roetzel's oddly named Gentleman: A Timeless Guide to Fashion and various ephemera from both my collection and brilliant sites like this one.
A Hawaiian vacation print for Seed. The scenes were all painted separately in watercolour on textured A4 paper. I used colours which were not correct but as contrasting to one another as possible. The pictures were then scanned into Photoshop, and each colour was 'picked out' (made easier as they were contrasting), placed in a different layer and re-coloured until it looked right within that month's range. My favourite image above, and the finished repeat fabric artwork below. The resulting shorts will be posted onto this page in the last week of October. 
These images are from my favourite patchwork book (more a magazine, really) All About Patchwork: A Golden Hands Special, published by Marshall Cavendish, London, 1973. The above image is one of my favourite photos ever. I also wish that I owned that bicycle.
Above: this boy is a dead ringer for my brother when he was little. Almost as cool, too. ;)
Above: this patchwork dog is so much better than the soft toys everyone is making now! Easier too!
Above: who could resist a patchwork robot?!
Above: the back cover.
Above: I came across a lovely blog this week which reminded me of these little 'diary entries' that I did a few years ago as part of a class exercise at Latrobe College. It's surprising (a) how few of those clothing items I am still wearing three years later even though I am trying to be green and not changing my wardrobe as crazily a fashion industry employee might (b) what a negative frame of mind I was in!
I love Indian miniatures, for their unexpectedly pleasing colour and pattern combinations, incredible detail and compositions which challenge western eyes long accustomed to perspective. I have owned and loved a copy of Indian Painting by Douglas Barrett and Basil Gray (Skira, Geneva 1978) for over fifteen years but (sshhh!) I have never read a word of it. So unfortunately I know nothing about their iconography or social context. 
Above: Lady Listening to Music. Guler Style, Jammu, about 175o. (25.5 x 21.5 cm), p. 181. 
Above: The Approaching Storm. Guler Style, about 1750 - 1760. (15 x 23 cm) British Museum, London, p. 175. 
Above: After the Bath. Bundi School, about 1775. (15 x 22 cm) Allahabad Museum, p. 148. Does this look familiar to anyone who has used the facilities at my house? A little framed photocopy of this lives in the bathroom.
Above: Lalita Ragini (from a Ragamala), painted by Sahibdin. Mewar School, Udaipur 1628. (15 x 21.5 cm) Khajanchi Collection, Bikaner, p. 135. The composition! The bold contrasting colours! That dark red against the yellow! The horse, a rather strange breed with a pretty horizontal pattern! I could stare at it forever. Even better, I could visit Bikaner and see the real thing.
