Reaching For Past Projects To Make New Art
As I was working on the Soulbrush Session Series, it gave me inspiration to continue another art project. I'd put it on the back burner for a while now. I wasn't really starting from scratch, mind you.
I had aTaino-inspired design already figured out with a tight pencil illustration. It was prepped and already stretched onto a large 24 x 18 piece of Arches paper. All I had to do was decide on a media and paint. Right?
Home Decor Wall Art
Well... that's not exactly what happened, at least then. Not due to daydreaming or laziness, but because other projects caught my attention. I'm coming to believe that when a project looses interest or frustrates me, in order to give it a chance of ever coming alive, I just have to decide to forget about it for a while.
During this hiatus, I work on something totally different such as other creative projects, finishing a book, gathering inspiration etc.
Forwarding Ancient Foundations
When I came back to my Taïno-inspired piece, both the gouache media and the blue color from the SoulBrush Session project palette hinted at how to proceed. Since, this month I'm focusing on ancient civilizations and cultures, I'm channeling the essence of Haitian and Taïno history into a tribal-inspired design. I'm continuing the ancient tradition of forwarding the artistic foundation of these cultures through the re-interpretation of the thick black lines found on many Taïno and tribal symbols, in addition to the gecko imagery so prevalent in Haïtian design.
Licensing & Merchandising Ideas
Now, with the Taïno-inspired piece finished into a glorious archetypal image, I had fun trying to figure out where it could live beyond a print on a wall. I could picture it as a mural with some shiny areas, or bedroom linens in fine silk or a thick canvas picnic blanket stitched as a quilt. Better yet, I think the design would be fabulous as an embossed notebook cover, painted on stoneware or ceramic, perhaps even as an enticing packaging illustration.
Stationery Surface Design - Haitian Anoles
Kitchen Ware
Label Design
What do you think? Next, I'm playing with the idea of doing a piece about Nazca in Peru because so many mysterious things are coming out of this arid region. Also, because I went on a tour of the Nasca lines in 2014 and had already fallen, head-over-hills in love with Peru prior to getting there.
Don't just take my word for it. Go to my flickr album. It testifies to my sublime experiences of Peru. You'll see.
As a quick Update:
This piece is available as a beautiful statement piece in my art shop. Check out "Gecko" !
- For more inspiration, and other art and illustration projects, explore my Portfolio pages.
- For help with illustration, design or other ethereal illustration projects, contact me here.
For questions about licensing or the art, please email at the address below:
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Public Announcement: This blog post is part of a collection of 354+ posts from my original Wordpress blog "Dreaming Into Being" library. I've now retired and migrated it to “Wander & Paint,” my new blog posts at the United Wanderlust art shop. As time allows, I will be reviewing, editing, condensing, updating and releasing a number of these blog posts but not all of them.
Some posts require more precision surgery than others. I'll also probably be publishing new posts as the muse wills it and father time allows. This whole process may take a while but I think these blog post serve as great documentation of my process and reminds me of certain milestones. So, most of them will be made available again- at some point.
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