A client recently asked me to design a soothing criss-cross pattern for a nursery she was going to be decorating. Something pastel, pleasant to the eye that gives off a light and airy feeling. So, I immediately got to work. I looked through my floral collection for inspiration and jotted a few notes down with design ideas and went to bed. Side note, doesn’t your brain work well when you get in bed? Mine does. I have my tablet next to the bed so I can make notes of colors, shapes and ideas before they vanish. Also, there’s decades of design ideas in my mind. I enjoy letting my mind wander about all the products this next collection will end up covering.
The next morning I made my coffee and headed out to my garden. These three flowers jumped out at me as if to say; “pick me!” The first one is the favorite Johnny Jump Ups, the second is the Asiatic Day flower - which many consider a weed, but I beg to differ! It’s beautiful, cleans spoiled copper mines and is used in traditional Chinese medicine and has been used as a dye in Japanese woodcuts. And, the last flower of course is our beloved Peony. These three were quite pleased that I chose them for my next collection. I photographed them from every angle, told them how special they were and how privileged I felt to have them grace my gardens. Then I got to work.
Johnny Jump-ups, Asiatic Day Flower and Peony from Elizabeth’s Gardens in New England.
I’ll be painting these flowers in watercolor, then probably pastel or oil, turning them into coordinating motifs, art prints, note cards, and originals for spring. (If you’re curious which supplies I use, click here — affiliate links.)
I will be composing two or three more floral patterns and some coordinates. Here is one above.
The criss-cross you see above, along with the rest of the collection will be license-ready for multiple industries. If you are interested in licensing this or any of my collections, feel free to contact me here.
I love what I do — and I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for reading. (Back to my website HERE)
