Colour Inspiration: Muted Pink & Teal

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In The Studio: Painting Apron

A few weeks ago we moved house and I now have the space for a small studio at home. During all the packing, rearranging, and organising of odds and ends, I have been enjoying seeing my art materials in a new light. My painting apron came from Muji a few years ago (it is similar to this one) and over time the absent minded wiping of paintbrushes and occasional spillages have built up layers of abstract colour and texture. It is a visual record of the projects I have worked on and I do love noticing the interesting marks and unusual colour combinations accidentally occurring as I paint.

As well as moving I also started a new job last month and have been busy redesigning this blog - I would love to know what you think! As you might have noticed there are some new sections still under construction, including a shop which I hope to have open by the end of July, but I will update you on that again very soon...

Colour Inspiration: Indigo

Blue is one those colours which I am instinctively drawn to. My wardrobe is full of shades of pale, greyed off blue, very British shades of an overcast sky or a cold sea. But lately I've been finding myself drawn to a different shade of blue, indigo. Deep, dark and moody, indigo is a strong colour that makes an impact and creates a luxurious atmosphere for an interior scheme. I know that if I owned my own home I would be very tempted to paint one wall a dark indigo or grey to use as the perfect backdrop for photographs and still life's or for displaying art work.

Beautiful dark walls
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Indigo Inspiration
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Indigo Inspiration
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Further Reading:
Colour Inspiration: Yellow
Check out my colour board on Pinterest
An inspiring colour blog

Colour Inspiration: Yellow

Colour is really important to me, I love finding and composing palettes of complimentary tones and using these to inspire my painting and design work. Often this colour inspiration comes from the natural world around me and recently I've been finding myself drawn to a particular palette, inspired by wild flower meadows and new growth. Fresh bright yellows and spring greens pop out of a backdrop of cool dove grey, teal and slate to create a subtly optimistic mood for Spring and early Summer.

Top Left, Bottom Left, Right.

Top Left, Bottom Left, Right.

Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right.

Top Left, Bottom Left, Right.

I have pulled together these images to represent the palette from Pinterest, which is an amazing tool for gathering inspiration and creating mood boards. I hope to have some new paintings to share with you soon and I am sure you will be seeing these colours filtering through, in the meantime I would love to hear what colours are inspiring you at the moment?

FMP: Heather & Moss

Colour has been very important within my project, with the palette being drawn directly from the landscape of Cannock Chase. One of the colour ways which I have been exploring is a soft muted palette of heather greys and moss greens with flashes of fresher spring greens and yellows. The inspiration for this has come from open expanses of windswept heather, lichen growing on ancient trees and the new buds of Spring.

With this inspiration in mind I have recently been working on some handpainted wallpaper designs, 0.75 x 2m, below you can see two full designs as well as some close-ups of the detail and texture. I've really enjoyed working on this large scale and seeing my ideas form into a bespoke product for the interiors market.

As the end of the project gets closer I'm giving more thought to how my final outcomes will look as products in the home. Today I've been visualising some of my wallpaper designs in interiors settings, such as the one below. The original image for this visualisation came from the John Lewis Croft Collection, which reflects the relaxed, comfortable mood that I aim to evoke through my work.

On Monday I will be back to my usual routine of tutorials in university after a three week break. I'm looking forward to getting some feedback on my designs as well as seeing how my friends projects have progressed, it's always exciting to rifle through someone else's sketchbook and hear their new ideas!

(All images are my own unless otherwise stated.)