WILDFLOWERS began as a pen drawing at an Art Gallery of NSW workshop. I scanned the drawing into Illustrator and cut the motifs to separate them, then used a diagonal line to build the repeating pattern. Diagonals provide dynamism in a design and allow complex patterns to have structure.
SCATTERED WATTLE was created as a single digital illustration using a vector brush. I experimented with tapering the brush at the beginning or end of the stroke, and moving from the outside in or vice versa. Once I was happy with the wattle flower, I brought it into Illustrator and created a custom brush to vary the scatter and rotation.
CICADA SUMMER I wanted the cicadas to shimmer, as their iridescent wings do in the summer light. I achieved this with a clipping mask over a painted background so colour touches the lines of the motif in soft waves.
BIRD WATCHING is a love letter to all the cheeky, noisy, intelligent and endlessly fascinating Australian birds. I painted or drew different elements of this pattern and brought them together in a way which I hope gives a sense of the movement and colour birds bring to our lives.
GENUS STRIPE is a playful interpretation of a traditional stripe using hand-lettered names for common Australian trees. I used the lead-in and trailing elements of the letters to pull the stripe together without becoming too crowded.
PROTEAS began as the line drawing for a watercolour painting commission. A "happy accident" while I was digitising the drawing resulted in a graphic look to the linework, which I leaned into by making the motif one flat colour. With limited colours and a simple repeat, this intricate motif is allowed to take centre stage without becoming overly busy.
GUM FLOWERS uses some of the motifs found in GUM FLOWERS AND LEAVES to create a coordinating design.
GUM FLOWERS AND LEAVES features hand-drawn motifs using a brush pen. I wanted a complex hero pattern with multiple levels of detail and colour variation to keep interest.
FLANNEL FLOWERS are an under-rated Australian native, in my opinion! I love their simple forms with wonderful texture, both delicate and hardy. The pattern is a variation on a stripe and a trailing floral which could look effective at either a large or small scale.
