From paper to pattern ~ a creative process

Late night doodling. This kind of doodling makes me happy. Pen in hand with absolutely nothing to do, but patiently wait for the clock to strike midnight.

The joys of parenthood and late nights, waiting to pick up my daughter and friends from a party.Trying to think happy thoughts instead of fretting about the next 3 years ~ late night pick ups, boyfriends, and general lack of sleep. I may be a bit envious too- I want to got to parties!

Sorry,off topic – mindless doodling. I think what I love best about these drawings is their imperfection. They are downright crooked!I also love the childlike feel to them.I feel like getting the crayons out and coloring.

Scanning my black and white drawings into Illustrator and back to the computer.Deconstructing my work on paper and reconstructing into lots of different motifs on the computer.

I am slowly learning to love  playing with my drawings on the computer.I haven’t spent as much time drawing directly on my tablet/computer as I should, still preferring the feel of paper under my pens. I know it just requires some practice, but, for me, drawing is also my opportunity to be away from the computer.Time to sit in the garden or in a sunny spot by the window.

Playing with colors and forming ideas ~ putting together the pieces of the story. I can imagine these  flower motifs on a wide variety of products.

Wouldnt you love to be sporting that colorful umbrella on a gray,rainy west coast  kind of day?

Pattern making time.

There you have the start of Butterscotch Berry– a new collection , coming to you soon!

I would love to see your creative process and feature you here on my blog.It doesn’t have to be about surface pattern ~ mixed media, black and white sketching, photography~ it’s all good! I want to show what inspires and motivates you to create. If you would like to share please email me at jules@bollah.com.

A happy week to all!

Advertisement

From inspiration to pattern making

Finding inspiration on morning runs on the Big Island of Hawaii.  So many unusual shapes and textures native to the Island all begging to be picked up. I almost tripped a few times on my own feet.

Sharing my inspiration ~ journal page

Playing with shapes, colors and different textures found and finding inspiration for pattern making.

Playing with ideas and having some fun. I am not sure how the paint chip pattern came into play, but why not! I try not to think too much, but just have fun putting together the pieces of the puzzle. These patterns are all a work in progress, left to sit and be tweaked upon later.

For me , finding inspiration is all about starting and  getting the creative juices flowing. Some patterns I will love, others, not so much. It is all part of the pattern making process.Sometimes they just need a few days to sit and wait to have fresh eyes upon them.

All patterns contributed to #365 patterns on Instagram. Come on over and join in.

I am always in need of more visual inspiration so click here to follow me on Instagram~ I will be sure to follow you back!

A pattern a day – #365 patterns

I am one month in to #365patterns and the creative ideas are still flowing freely! I have been building up my hand drawn motif collection and daily patterns are coming together as collections. My goal to be creative everyday has been accomplished.

#365 patterns is a fun project developed by Melanie Burk of Fifth & Hazel and Alma Loveland of Ollibird over on the Caravan blog.

The rules are easy – create a pattern everyday and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #365patterns. No one is keeping track! (you can create as often as you wish). I have taken my participation quite seriously mind you ,so prepare to see me there everyday. It is just how I like to roll. I am also really enjoying the Instagram community over there.

I thought I would share some of the work I have been creating. I am happy to say I have been learning lots from this practice.

My use of scale and repeat have all improved.I am trying to work with all forms of pattern making – block, half drop and random.I am working with florals,geometrics, abstracts and trying my hand at conversational prints too.It’s the perfect place to  experiment and see what flies.

I have been trying to push myself out of my color comfort zone. It’s always easy to gravitate to color combinations that you love and find easy. My goal has been to try more and different color combinations together. I can tell you that there have been days I have created a fine mess! I am still at the stage where I work best with 2-3 colors and their tints. I would love to be more daring, but still need  a bit more practice combining it all.

My daily pattern making has motivated me to approach my surroundings with eyes wide open – always on the lookout for new inspiration, textures, and motifs that can be applied.It has encouraged me to combine different motifs into collections.

What I have found most rewarding (and very interesting) about #365patterns is that it has helped me to discover my true style. When I stay true to my style, this pattern making process comes very easy to me.I feel happy and content with my designs. When I try to work with other styles that are not “me”, I feel uncomfortable, frustrated and always thinking…this is just not me. It has been an interesting discovery. Does this make sense?

Think you might be interested in joining us? You can start anytime!
Please come and friend me over on Instagram. I love a little bit of visual stimulation and would love to see your pics!

Inspired by…pattern making tutorials

My paper, paint, pen and pattern addiction continues.I am feeling very satisfied with my progress of combining all medium into the world of pattern. As I like to say~ pattern making is a bit like putting together all the pieces of a puzzle. Slightly addictive and very satisfying.

I am already looking forward to spring and its just barely winter.

I made the above piece into a brick repeat pattern, but I am thinking it may be better as a simple placement print. I think I will make a collection of patterns around it using the motifs involved in it.
.

I am slowly trying to build up a portfolio of work and this piece will be for children.

Did anyone else out there get a little carried away with Cyber Monday shopping? I didn’t know online shopping could be so stressful.There were so many fantastic discounts.

I felt very lucky to get a sweet deal on a series of Laura Coyles Illustrator and pattern making classes. If you are interested in online, digital classes, you must have a look at reneepearson.com ~ digital training for artists. They have a large selection of self- paced and instructor led online classes.

Jessica Sprague is another online digital training site dedicated to artists, photographers and scrapbookers. I have taken a number of her Photoshop and tablet and have always been very happy. The beauty of these online courses is that you have access forever. Anytime you get a little stuck, all the info you need is right at your fingertips, saved in your classroom.

If you are looking for a smorgasboard of free online tutorials for Illustrator and Photoshop dedicated to artists then you will be very interested in my Pinterest board dedicated to just that. I am quite pleased with all of the links I have collected so far. Have a look at my Print & Pattern Tutorial board here.

Feel free to follow me if interested as I will continue adding to this. Looove Pinterest.

It’s Art Everyday month ~ Hop on over to Leah’s blog for more info on Art Everyday.

I have had a very fun and productive month participating in Art Everyday month. I will be sad to see it end.