Patterns Everywhere!

Spring 2023

A spring term of pattern making, featuring simple geometrics, repeating patterns, tiling and botanical patterns.

Week 1 - Colour Fields

Join me to paint a colour field painting. Colour Field painting was developed from the 1950s and 60s, an offshoot of abstract expressionism. Its proponents left behind any kind of representation in favour of paintings where colour took centre stage. Colour field painters would often create large canvases, in simple blocks, often just one or two. This is my take on the theme, but I’ve gone with a small scale painting in watercolour and used quite a few blocks of colour.

Week 2 - Start with a Circle

How to generate interesting patterns in a sketchbook, starting from very basic geometric shapes and progressing to more detailed and complex patterns. In this video I start with simple circle patterns, then begin to change the patterns to develop more interesting shapes. I’ll go on to use these patterns in future watercolour and art projects.

Join me to paint 3 watercolour patterns. These use really simple shapes, repeated over and over. They are calming and relaxing to paint, great for beginners to watercolour! Use these to try out colour palettes, to practise your brushwork and to create satisfyingly elegant pieces of artwork.

Week 3 - Leaves

Today I’m drawing and sketching simple leaf shapes as reference for more detailed patterns. Join me to draw as many different shaped leaf outlines in pencil as you can fit on a page. Then take your favourites and sketch them in pen, adding fun watercolours to bring your sketches to life.

Join me to paint 3 pages of watercolour leaves. In this video I show a practice page where I try out the different leaf shapes I can make with different sizes (and brands) of watercolour brush, and show three different ways to create your leafy patterns on the page; a directionless scatter pattern of simple leaves and stems, a directional line and wash pattern and a trailing, curving pattern.

Week 4 - Flower Repeat Patterns

In this video I have an informal chat about flower painting. I’ve been testing out some different styles of watercolor botanicals, trying to work out what kind of painting I want to be offering on this channel when it comes to florals. I share an exercise you can follow if you want to find a direction or unique voice in your own art.

In this video I show you the process of painting cherry blossoms in preparation for making a repeat pattern from them. I hope you’ll enjoy painting along with me, whether or not you choose to go on and make the pattern!

Week 5 - Curved Tiling Patterns

In this video I show you the basic ogee, fan and quatrefoil patterns, then develop them by trying out different sizes and variations. Finally, I develop three of the Ogee patterns further in my sketchbook.

Join me to paint this decorative watercolour pattern. Patterns are calming and relaxing to paint, and great for beginners to watercolour! Use these to try out colour palettes, to practise your brushwork and to create satisfyingly elegant pieces of artwork.

Week 6 - Mandalas and Circular Patterns

In this video I’m drawing a mandala-like circular pattern design in fine liner pens in my sketchbook.

This beautiful torus mandala pattern is a classic. Here is my take on it in watercolour and gold. In the video, I show you how to construct the geometric pattern using compasses and a ruler, then add my own choice of colour with watercolour and gold decorations.

Week 7 - Square Tiling Patterns

Paint a page of square tile designs with me. These were inspired by the patterns on Portuguese Tiles. I’ve made a pinterest board of tile patterns for inspiration to help you out. In the video, I share some pencil sketches of different tile designs, then choose my favourite three for my watercolour project

In this video, I share a great block print project for beginners. I show you the tools I’m using and how to design a really simple square block that you can repeat to make a fun tiling pattern. I used mine to make greetings cards, but you could print any paper or fabric projects with these designs.