Monday moodboard – Page 2

Posted on December 12, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Pantone Colour of the Year: Greenery

Last week Pantone announced its colour of the year for 2017. It’s ‘Greenery’ and it makes me happy.

A few design experts have been a bit disparaging about this colour with the name ‘Kermit’ referenced, well as a person who admires the work of Jim Henson I don’t think that’s so bad.

But seriously I love a bit of greenery, and I was even singing its praises earlier this year. Bringing the colours of nature into your home is a marvellous thing and the vivid shade of this Pantone works incredibly well with both subtle pastels and equally vibrant hues.

The colour is described by Pantone as a “fresh, yellowish hue” that “symbolises the reawakening of nature in spring and is a symbol for a new beginning”. Great – just what we need after 2016.

I’ve embraced shades of greenery already in my own new print designs (before the announcement I may add) so I’m incredibly happy that it’s not just me looking to find hope in natural colours and forms.

Posted on November 21, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Folk patterns

Joyous, colourful and breathtakingly beautiful, my folk art moodboard is perfect for brightening up this grey Monday afternoon. .

Marks, patterns and painting made by ordinary people is a constant inspiration for me. The simple shapes, harmonious composition, strong colour combinations and celebration of birds, flowers and animal life in folk art are timelessly popular in interior design and illustration. I’ve used them as a spring board for some of the work I created for my Christmas Posca pen workshops and Christmas wrap designs – look out for those next week.

Posted on October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Zoo Animals

Not sure how I feel about zoos but I certainly like the animals inside them. So my Monday moodboard is dedicated to them this week.

I’m broadening my drawing repetoire and have started drawing a range of creatures one would find in a British zoo. I’ve already created lots of flamingo illustrations and have just finished a zebra watercolour and ink piece. I’ll showcase more of these zoo-themed drawings in the near future (I’m exploring elephants and giraffes this week). Watch this space.

Posted on October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Japanese prints

More pattern research this week, this time I’m trawling through traditional Japanese prints. It makes such a lovely Monday moodboard.

My original passion for these designs started many years ago when a good friend of ours sent me some patterned washi paper from her home town in Japan. Ever since I’ve been stashing away more washi papers, collecting affordable prints and illos as well as gathering lots of visual examples on pinterest.

Whether it’s floral, avian or geometric in their themes, the delicate designs, intricate composition and sensitive use of pretty, coordinated colour is sure to inspire me. I wonder how its influence will show in my new work?

Posted on September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Metallics

Every single interiors retail show I visited over the summer this year featured metallics, particularly copper, that’s why it’s this week’s Monday Moodboard.

Fans of simplicity take note. You don’t have to be full-on bling to embrace a bit of metallic joy in your life (although don’t mind a bit of bling sometimes). Metallics can achieve a dramatic, opulent look but you can also use metallics to add warmth and texture to things as I hope I’ve shown here.

Metallic touches can be subtle, chic and classy I promise; underlaid under shabby chic furniture, incorporated into abstract-impressionist inspired painting, a subtle accent onto painted pebbles, gorgeous vintage bakewares even to brighten up a simply-shaped cake – it’s not all about blinding people with glamour and sparkle.

Posted on September 19, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday moodboard: Autumn

Rich, warm and inspired by nature – this week’s moodboard is all autumn patterns and motifs.

I know we’re only in September but this change of season is very exciting for me. Autumn’s natural colour way is a source of inspiration in itself. Rich purples and reds, faded greens, soft creams and burnished bronzes make me feel warm as the colder weather creeps in. The motifs too – poppy heads, falling leaves and feathers, pine cones and woodland animals – are such rich pickings for illustrators and artists. I’ve blocked out a whole three days of drawing this week to dedicate myself to precisely these subjects… Watch this space!

Posted on September 12, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Handwriting

This week’s Monday Moodboard celebrates handwriting.

Handwriting is a passion of mine and ever since I got my first calligraphy set at nine years old, I’ve been perfecting my ‘i’s, ‘f’s and ‘r’s. This has paid off as my handwriting is something I am consistently complemented on and I’ve often been commissioned for feature illustration (see below). Handwriting Boots Health and Beauty, October 2010 During the summer I attended a lot of AW/Christmas 2016 retail shows and at least half of them featured live calligraphy sessions. I’ve also noticed that some of my favourite illustrators are running brush script and calligraphy workshops all over the country. It seems in the world of digital, the tactile, fluid quality of hand-scripted or brush type is still something to be treasured.
With this in mind, I thought I’d do some pieces of my own. You can buy my initial prints at my Not On The High Street shop.

Posted on September 5, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Pattern

This weeks’ Monday Moodboard is all about pattern. I’m currently working on some Christmas and textile patterns for homes projects. These little lot are just a sample of what I’ve been looking at.

I’ll trawled my pinterest boards for inspiration and although the designs above aren’t like my style they have given me loads of ideas for composition, colour-ways and motifs.

Have a little look at my Pinterest boards for more patterns and illustration ideas.

Posted on August 22, 2016August 21, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Arts and Crafts

The first artist I ever got into was William Morris, so it’s been real fun putting my Arts and Crafts Monday Moodboard together.

William Morris is the father of the Arts and Crafts movement and a true hero of mine. The following three quotes are really important to me and match my personal philosophy…

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”

“I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.”

Wonderfully the 2017 trend reports predict the designs of the Art and Crafts movement to be a key influence in new designs. I can’t wait to see this and see if the look will affect my own work. I must admit the flowing, ornate lines, delicate florals, gorgeous leaf motifs and pattern repeats have been gently guiding me throughout my illustration journey.

Posted on August 8, 2016August 8, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Monday Moodboard: Black and white

Timeless, classy and striking, I love black and white designs. In fact I can’t believe I haven’t featured this on my moodboard sooner.

I hardly ever wear anything other than black and white clothes (occasionally navy or grey but it’s mainly black and white). I also am a massive fan of simple black and white sketches, print and design. The purity, harmony and general all-round elegance is, for me, a total short-cut to cool.

At the moment I’m working on the design for a poetry book. The publication is printed in black and white so I wanted to think of effective shapes and marks that would look strong on the pages without distracting from the words (which are the most important thing). I’ve done lots of research and have settled on something that I’m quite excited about. You can’t see it yet but the book is set to be released later this year so, watch this space.