Inspirational Artists

A lot of my inspiration for my textile designs come from surprising sources, which aren’t necessarily always directly related to textiles.  I tend to gather mostly visual inspiration, ranging from colour and pattern to textures that I find appealing; often looking through a range of inspirations in nature, interiors, and more.  One of my favourite places to look is through collections created by visual artists; whether it be in books or in galleries, or simply online while creating mood boards. I love to focus on the visual aspects of my designs, placing a lot of meaning on the surfaces of my final pieces and how each piece that I create will relate visually to the next.  

Through my research and subsequent sampling and testing of techniques, I have come to develop my visual style and to also find inspiration in a few important artists whose work really helps to make me feel creative and motivated; especially when working towards my final capstone project.  Through looking at these three artist’s work, I have been able to think critically about my own work, analyzing what I like about each individual's style and what makes me feel excitement when I look at it.

The first artist I would like to talk about is Francis Bacon.  Though my work is much more abstract than his, I really appreciate the colours, textures and techniques he uses to create an extremely specific and intentional mood in his paintings.  His work forms a world for the viewer, causing the viewer to feel emotions that appear to be very important in the creation of the piece. In triptych. August, from 1972, a portion has been pictured below which depicts what appears to be intentionally chosen colours, textures and proportions to give the viewer a feeling of unease.  It is the concentration of texture and colour on the figure and the way that the rest of the canvas has been left more sparse that gives the image the most intrigue to me. This kind of intriguing image becomes very beautiful when you look closer at it, revealing complexities that can be very inspiring.

The second artist I am very inspired by is Harold Town.  In Mary Hopkin, painted in 1969, he allows colour to be the focal point of the piece.  In this painting he has sparsely sketched in the figure with paint in a very sporadic way, not paying close attention to what is seen in reality.   Instead, he chooses to depict the way he wants the viewer to perceive the figure. In this way, the image becomes more than a portrait, but a work that can stand on its own and be a separate beautiful image.

The third artist is Antoni Tapies. Tapies’ work is often very much about the materials he uses, and the muted tones which create interesting, focal textural moments in his works. The way that he creates atmosphere by using just brushstrokes and letting the materials speak for themselves is extremely inspiring to me. In Character, painted in 1985, colour is not the only central focal point of the image; the textures that he has been able to create with the paint is also what the viewer focuses on. Tapies’ work, like the other two artists mentioned above, has a style of its own that should be recognized for its thoughtful use of space, colour and texture to create a specific mood; which is something that is very important to my work as well.

A portion of Francis Bacon’s “Triptych. August”, 1972

Harold Town’s “Mary Hopkin”, 1969

A closeup of Antoni Tapies’ “Character”, 1985

Social Media Branding and Fashion

Recently there has been a lot more opportunities for fashion businesses to flourish.  With social media outlets like Instagram, designers are able to showcase their brands and gain a large following, which can lead to further success.  Many female run clothing businesses have been able to gain traction and owe a lot to Instagram and the exposure it gives to them to be able to showcase their brand and image in order to gain potential clients.  With proper marketing and social media presence, as well as a cohesive and well thought out branding, small female run businesses can really solidify a place in the already massive and growing fashion world.

Every brand is different, with their own aesthetic and style to offer.  Each brand has their own special quality and something new and unique that they can give to their unique clients.  One brand in particular that does this is Olivia Rose the Label, which offers pieces hand-made to order by the designer herself, giving the brand an element of slow fashion, but also of a high quality personal touch.  On her Instagram, designer Olivia Rose presents a cohesive collection that tells a story through the images that are posted, with some of the images presenting depictions of marketing materials and packaging, showing clients what they can expect from purchasing from her. Among the personal touches, it is explained immediately that each item is made to order in the bio and there are many story highlights showcasing her items on clients, adding to her branding and overall image.

A second brand which takes branding very seriously through social media is Stone Cold Fox.  On their Instagram page, they take the branding of their website further by showcasing new images of their products, as well as mixing in images of their storefronts, and portraying the lifestyle that comes with purchasing their products with images of clients wearing their products added into their image collection.  They also talk about their quality and connection to the designers by referring to them by name in their bio and posting photographs of themselves wearing the pieces they have designed. Throughout their page a cohesive colour palette is achieved and an overall style of imagery is observed, giving it a well thought out appearance. 

Each brand has the capacity to grow their own style and to be unique, bringing their own take on fashion to the industry.  Social media outlets like Instagram allow brands to have another outlet for exposure in addition to their websites, allowing the brand to further grow and flourish.  Both Olivia Rose the Label and Stone Cold Fox have a very large following and utilize personal touches to show their clients the importance of the brand to their lives, which helps the client to feel more connected to the brand.  This connection to the client and the branding they are able to achieve helps them to connect with more people and grow their brand further.

@oliviarosethelabel

@stone_cold_fox 

Visual Textures

A major inspiration of mine has always been textures.  As a textile design student, textures are very important to me; both visually as well as textures that I can touch and feel.  Last week I had the opportunity to attend a few field trips where I was able to collect some textural inspiration to apply to my own work and studies.  The first one was a self guided trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where I focussed on looking at textures of paint on canvas.  

Some textures were thicker, with acrylic and oil paints applied heavily onto the canvas.  Others were soft and utilized untreated canvas and thinner, watered down paints and inks to give a more fluid feel. Two paintings that were essentially opposites really stood out to me, one being Helen Frankenthaler’s “Protect Renoir” from 1974, which portrays colour seeping into the fabric of the canvas.  The second is Florence Carlyle’s “The Tiff” from around 1902, in which a woman seated wears a thickly painted floral dress. I have included close up photos of each in which the colours are very similar, but the styles are very different. In both paintings, the colours and brushstrokes are the most intriguing aspect, allowing the viewer to appreciate the action and personality of the painting, and to feel the emotions the artist must have felt when creating the work.

The next day we had the opportunity to go on a studio tour as a class, in which we visited Tanya Love’s studio and had a chance to look at some of her very textural works.  Love’s work has a strong commitment to nature and to the portrayal of natural imagery. One piece that was hanging on the wall of her studio was extremely visually textural, as well as physically tactile; it is pictured below.  Though it is behind glass, it is obvious to see the ripples of the material used and to feel the texture visually without needing to touch it, giving the piece a feeling of realism, like it really exists in nature.

One the same day, we were also able to visit the Textile Museum’s storage room where many antique embroidered textiles are kept.  In this case, the textures are definitely tactile and would be able to be felt with the touch of a hand. At the time that these textiles were created, visuals were often created with embroidery and colours and patterns were portrayed through stitch.  Below I have included a photograph of an assortment of antique embroidered textiles which are being kept together. In this photo, as well as through Love’s piece, textures are shown pictorially like the paintings seen in the gallery, but the textures have been explored in a much different, more traditional way.

Helen Frankenthaler, “Protect Renoir”, 1974 from The Art Gallery of Ontario

Florence Carlyle, “The Tiff”, 1902 from The Art Gallery of Ontario

Framed piece by Tanya Love in her studio, Toronto

Rolled antique textiles from storage at the Textile Museum, Toronto