Maiden Voyage

Welcome! And hooray for this first blog post!!! This is “Sketch, Doodle and Draw”… my new blog. Squeeeee!! With this blog I hope to provide you, the reader, with tips and guidance on all things surface pattern design, illustrations and maybe even graphic design. Aaaand, I might even dip into the business of it all. We will explore these things and hopefully it will help you avoid the pitfalls that I’ve encountered.

First, know that I am a graphic designer by trade and education. I’ve been doing that since 1991. That’s a long time, and I’ve enjoyed most of it. But, in the last few years, I’ve wanted to be less a designer and more an artist. What is the difference? Glad you asked. Designers are creative problem-solvers. Usually they have a client whose problem they are trying to solve, whether it be designing a house, a bridge, or a brochure. Artists make art. It is more about self-expression. It could be expressing feelings, opinions, thoughts or making a statement about the state of affairs.

So, I set out to figure out what my “medium” could be. I tried hand lettering. It felt familiar as I’ve had to deal with fonts for so long. But hand lettering (by definition) is about doing it with my own hand. Not with the computer. And I fell in love with it. It’s now one of my favorite hobbies. Hand lettering led me to try watercolor. And I fell in love with it too!! It is NOT an easy thing to do, and I so admire many watercolorists out there. I hope to continue to experiment with watercolor and get better at it.

Doodles. I’ve always doodled on everything. During meetings, during church, during phone calls. I have saved so many of my doodles. I wondered what I could possibly do with them. And I found surface pattern design. I knew I’d found my happy place. It combines all my graphic design/software knowledge with making with my hands. AAAAAaaand, I realized I’d been admiring patterns on surfaces all my life. I just didn’t know who created them. Well, now I know. And I’m now one of those people.

What do I hope to accomplish? As an artist, I am letting go of all those design rules. I’m making letters, doodles, watercolors and patterns for fun, and for the sake of bringing humor and fun back into the world. And to bring you along with me. Join me! Let’s spread some fun and cheer!!!

So how do you become a surface pattern designer? Well, that is for another blog post. For now, thanks for joining me and stay tuned! <3