DesignPrompt3 - Abstract

Today’s Design-A-Day SpoonChallenge is brought to you by Tina Vey, known as Ottomanbrim in the Spoonflower Marketplace. Today, Tina gives us a closer look at how she incorporates elements of abstract art into her design process. Be sure to follow along on the blog and in your inbox (it’s not too late to sign up) until March 15 as we feature a new technique each day, presented to you by members of our talented community of designers!

FranzKline-Untitled
Franz Kline – Untitled, 1952. Source: Artnet

Tina: Whenever Spoonflower announces a new contest theme I think, “oh no, not another cute animal theme! How can I interpret this theme and design a fabric I would want to live with?” Whatever the subject of the contest may be I always try to convey the essence and rhythm of the object without it looking representational.  This can be quite difficult, so I study photos and write down words that convey the essence of the object. Then I draw and redraw simple shapes until I get something that looks fresh and appealing.  And as my husband’s art teacher Harvey Kurtzman said, “If you like it, push it even farther.”

StuartDavis - PremiereStuart Davis – Premiere, 1957. Source: LACMA

Tina: I usually push myself to work and rework a composition hundreds of times. Of course, I throw a variety of textures into everything I do trying to make Illustrator do what Photoshop should be doing. Illustrator reluctantly does eventually do what I want but the color wheel spins so long I have ample time to do all my online shopping waiting for my changes to save.

OttomanBrim - FunkyJazz

Ottomanbrim – Funky Jazz. Source: Spoonflower

Tina: One of my favorite Spoonflower themes was ‘History of Jazz’ where I got to play with a lot of my favorite shapes inspired by a few of my favorite artists.

Inspired by Tina’s process for creating abstract designs? We want to see! Be sure to tag your designs influenced by today’s SpoonChallenge technique with #SFDesignADay on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!