Catriona Millar and Retro Fabric Prints

These four runner ducks have appeared in lots of my artwork. I think they are just so cute. I thought I would give them a really upbeat background this time.

A piece of my imagination which I quite like. I call this one Conversation Piece

A very decorative chap, part bird and part cockerel.

Pen and ink drawing entitled Maura.

I found a lovely library book the other day on 1960s prints. All the fabric designs below are from this book by Marnie Fogg. Quite a lot of psychedelia but some quite restrained designs too. I love retro fabric prints of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Very nostalgic

This is my absolute favourite of the book. I love the hand drawn appearance of the flower motifs and the simple colour palette. I can feel some flower drawings coming on....lol. This is Odette, by Alexander Henry Fabrics. They must have had some very good designers.

A Marimekko1969 fabric called Paaryna which presumably means pears in Finnish. A lovely simple and graphic design. Gorgeous.

This beatifully graphic fabric by Alexander Henry Fabrics is called Shinjuku and is very inspiring for pen and ink artists. Love the hint of red among the black and white. One of my favourite colour combinations and one I use a lot in my own pen and ink work.

I really like gingham fabrics. They remind me of the summer dresses worn by millions of English schoolgirls. This is another Alexander Henry Fabrics design with a modern twist.

This is an amazing design by Alexander Henry Fabrics. You would have to choose very carefully where you put this and with what.

Love this fan design which is a 60s return to an Art Deco style. Apparently sunrises and open fans were very popular Art Deco motifs. Designed by Natalie Gibson.

This is a 60s abstract fabric, designer unknown.

Peonies and carnations print by Natalie Gibson. You couldn't feel depressed with a design like this around.

This fabric design is Treetops by Heal Fabrics. It is a little reminiscent of the style of fabric used by Zandra Rhodes.
The following images are all the work of Scottish painter Catriona Millar whose website can be found here.

Well, we are nearly there now. Christmas is just a whisper of tinsel away. Yesterday it rained every single minute of the day and it certainly put a damper on Christmas shopping. The crowds were out and about but everyones' spirits seemed to be well and truly dampened by the weather. Now if it had been about 6 degrees colder and the rain had been snow, that would have put an entirely different complexion on things. It would have felt wonderfully Christmas like and would have put a spring in everyones' step. But that didn't happen like that. But if it had....?

I have been beavering away with writing all my Christmas cards and also writing the letters to go with a lot of them. Like most people, I probably only communicate once a year with quite a few people and I feel I owe them more than just a few lines on a card. I know I am making a rod for my own back but I think it is fair that way, and of course, there is always the hope that they will reply with a nice little letter back about their doings throughout the year. The fact that I have most of their email addresses and could keep in touch in seconds is quite another matter. That would be spoiling the enjoyment of the yearly letter...lol.

Plenty of eye candy in this week's blog. I absolutely adore pattern and particularly retro pattern and I have illustrated some of the fabric designs from a library book I discovered. I am sure you will find something you like there.

Anyway, enough of Christmas things. My artist this week is someone who is gaining enormous popularity in the art world. She is Catriona Millar and she works mostly figuratively and in thick oils. Her work has a beautiful texture and I love her use of pattern and colour. There is a lovely naive and narrative quality about her images which I love. Apparently her degree show sold out within hours which is quite amazing but obviously the start of great things to come. I hope you enjoy her works as much as I do. A lot of the images are "borrowed" from galleries where she exhibits such as the Riverside Gallery and the Saatchi Gallery and you can also buy her cards from Art Cards Cornwall. Her own website can found found here.

Definitely someone to keep an eye on in the future.