The Bowery

I still need to go here, it's only up the road and it sounds like a fantastic local place to get familiar with.
Absolutely love this piece of work on their website... I think I need to give some inks and larger illustrations a go.  (No artist info on the website, but link below to the artworks page).

http://www.thebowery.org/gifts_artwork.html#1

Botanical Shaddows

Thanks to Hannah for linking me this ...

Lovely video...

 (Also available here.)

And more info here.

Inks

Sorry for the naff photos, but a few of the best experiments with inks from yesterday. So easy to get carried away with these! Definitely gaining some ideas about means of mark making and building up a layered pattern ... potentially to be scanned in and printed digitally, at least for research purposes.

Stamps!

Made these on the laser cutter today, all patterns have come from my original sketches or photos from Temple Newsam - trying to play with the natural/handmade to digital/industry standards. Feels like I'm cheating, but I'm interested for the results. Also have my wood & chisels to make some more (potentially awful) handmade stamps... photos to come soon :)

Abbott Miller Wallpaper

Paul showed me this, which I fell in love with instantly...

Such an amazing yet simple concept to create repeat patterns for walls and interiors, in a really effective and straightforward way. I love the transition of handmade to digital - without losing the handmade and tactile sense of the original effect of the inks.
Full blog post available here.

Illustration

Some recent work to keep my drawing up to scratch - I'd really love to incorporate this essence of my work somehow into my patterns and prints.

Style - Illustration

I'm consciously thinking of my style, the way I want to work into my fabrics. I definitely have a flare of illustration I want to put across, I'd really like to incorporate a level of hand drawn sketches or motifs. I'm keen to work with the idea of layers, minimal colour combinations (specifics won't be decided till I've done some trials on designs) and a combination of screen print/dye to ensure each piece is a limited, unique edition.

Images sourced: Print & Pattern

On the other hand, there's a few things that I've seen that I like but I'm keen to stay away from:
Images that look too computer generated, simplified or too heavily floral (all very very popular in textiles and surface pattern at the moment)

Images sourced: Print & Pattern

Patterns & Prints

William Morris
A lot of my contextual research sits around Morris and his dedication to the Arts and Crafts Movement. His designs varied but always incorporated a traditional, handmade feel to them - much like the attitude I'm wanting to embrace.

Arthur Sanderson
Also linked to Morris, very traditional, floral designs are lovely to observe.

Lucienne Day
British textile designer, famous for her abstract pattern, incorporating organic shapes, bright colours and often compared to artist Wassily Kandinsky.  

River Island 

In the new arrivals on River Island, these prints caught my eye - I love the use of layers in soft colours within the background, they blend in so well to the general design, but without the faint white/orange pattern behind the main motifs, this would look much plainer. The layers add so much depth and life to the pattern. I really love the hand illustrated feel to the pattern as well.... something to keep in mind when designing.

Illustration/Pattern

The Seventy Tree

 

 

Nadia Taylor

Love some of the designs from Nadia Taylor... I like the use of shapes, especially the light detail of texture used within the background. I can see my work using more of this effect, with a more handmade feel than blocks of colour.

 

Points of Inspiration

Illustrator Aurore de La Morinerie is closely linked to the Fashion & Design world. Her work is delicate and simple, yet she still achieves an incredible finish that's just absolutely beautiful to look at.
http://www.auroredelamorinerie.com/

Watercolour illustrations and prints & pattern designs by Caroline, it looks good to me. 
Looks Good To Me » Designs.                            Looks Good To Me » Store.

Source: etsy.com via Joy on Pinterest

Kereena Zerefos

Sifting through old sketch books from Foundation Course I came across this work again by Kereena Zerefos, absolutely beautiful hand drawn illustrations with hints of colour and pattern.
I'm really keen on this style of drawing, it's delicate and soft but so striking and full of character. Absolutely lovely work.

Close up:

Jo Cheung

Illustration, design, badges, clothing, cards, notes, books, gift tags, wrapping paper, prints, stickers, mugs, bags, prints... lots of cute and pretty things by Jo Cheung (as featured in previous pattern/illustration post) Some really interesting ideas on how to utilise patterns and illustrations across various media.