Marinette’s Colours Surface Pattern Designer
Marinette’s Colours Blog
Watercolour art and surface pattern design blog.
Follow along as I share the highs and lows of pursuing surface design, as well as what I’m learning along the way.
Got my first Spoonflower sale!
1st May 2024
Ive been adding designs to my Spoonflower shop for 4 months now. I was so pleased to finally get my first sale last week! Someone bought a pillow sham in my kingfisher and bee eater stripe design. I hope they will be happy with their purchase.
All the research I have been doing about art licensing and surface pattern design says that sales and success don’t happen overnight but take time. But, I was getting impatient and starting to wonder if it was worth continuing to add designs to my shop, so this sale was just the boost I needed to keep at it.
I’m sharing this to say ‘don’t give up if things don’t happen for you as quickly as you’d like’. I think we start enthusiastic but can so easily start to doubt ourselves.
Next steps: I’m in the process of creating a new improved portfolio which is almost finished. I will then bite the bullet and get pitching. I love the idea of my artwork and designs being used on stationary and fabric. It’s a scary thought putting myself out there and risking rejection but if I don’t try I will never accomplish my goal.
We have an art challenge and give away over on Instagram this month. Take a look @marinettescolours and join in! The more the merrier!
5th April 2024
Another favourite fabric collection design.
This week has been a learning week for me. I have been learning to create vector surface pattern designs in the Affinity Designer 2 iPad app. Liz Kohler Brown has a great free introductory course which was super helpful.
Vector designs can be infinitely scaled without losing their quality. While I love watercolour painting and won’t stop painting, vector work will most likely start featuring in my art licensing portfolio and fabric designs.
I have this week listed my new watercolour surface pattern collection Feathering the Nest’ on Spoonflower.com. Here’s a few of the designs. Perfect for quilting and home wares. I can see the designs on dresses too. What do you think?
29th March 2024 My favourite surface designs yet
These last couple of weeks have been busy busy. I have entered another Spoonflower design challenge with my Snack-a-licious desserts design. Voting is now open! I’d really appreciate your votes!
I have also added a new collection to my Spoonflower shop called Lavender Haze. I am super proud of this fabric design collection. I think they’re my best surface pattern designs yet. It’s a pretty watercolour lavender floral repeat pattern with accompanying simpler patterns and a stripe, available in 4 colours. Some of them can be seen below.
I have another collection in the making called Feathering the nest. Another one I’m really proud of. I have encountered some issues with the design programme I was using exporting my designs at a lower DPI though, so this week I’m trialling Affinity Designer 2 for IPad to see if I can get the hang of it. There’s loads more on this app so it’s taking me a bit of getting used to but I am liking it.
The path to an art based business is not easy but I’m determined to keep putting the work in.
Oh yes! Before I forget did you see on the homepage? If you sign up to my email list over the next few weeks you’ll get a free step by step watercolour sunflower tutorial! Don’t miss out - sign up now!
Here is my watercolour beach design. Voting is now open until March 26th and anyone can vote. You don’t need to be registered with Spoonflower. Click the picture to go over to vote for your favourites!
Surface pattern design update
14th March 2024
Just a little update this week. I’ve still been busy designing. Got a few things on the go at the moment but haven’t added anymore fabric designs to my Spoonflower shop this week.
What I have done is enter my first Spoonflower design challenge! The theme is a trip to the beach. What do you think? I am not expecting to rank anywhere as there’s over 2000 entries and so many very talented and experienced designers, but I am happy with my design. It’s the first time I’ve played with overlapping motifs. I do hope it will give me some exposure and hope people will then look at my other designs. Here’s hoping!
8th March 2024
How to fix small Watercolour mistakes
You’re painting your next masterpiece when a little slip of the hand and “whoops!” Picture 1 happens.
Maybe you don’t have the steadiest hands like me, well don’t worry - help is at hand!
Picture 2 is the little hero we need. A little piece of magic eraser sponge. That’s right! Our cleaning cupboard contains a little artists miracle!
Once your paint has dried simply break a small piece off, wet it and squeeze out the excess, then gently wipe the area you need to erase until the paint has gone. (Picture 3)
Use a dry brush or some kitchen towel to dry the area and your work is saved (picture 4)
Don't forget to sign up to my email list for more arty goodness!
Fri 1st March 2024
How to Flatten your Watercolour paper
No matter how heavy in weight your watercolour paper is there’s always the possibility it will warp or buckle if it gets wet enough.
I use Bockingford 300gm cold pressed paper mostly which I love but like all paper it still sometimes curls a little.
Steps to flatten your paper are really as simple as 1,2,3:
1. Wet the back of your painting with clean water. Just brush it on with a paintbrush.
2. Cover with something heavy like a big book.
3. Let it dry.
And that’s it! You’ll have a lovely flat painting.
Check out the little video of my process going on my Instagram later today.
Thanks for stopping by today. Don’t forget I have paintings and surface pattern designs that can be licensed in my portfolio. See you soon!
5 Essential items for Plein-air watercolour sketching
Sketching on location is a really great way to practice our drawing and painting. Creating from life beats from a photo any day of the week. You need not carry all your art supplies with you. Here is my guide to the 5 essential items you need for your plein-air grab and go kit.
1. A sketchbook or paper like this moleskine watercolour sketchbook I’ve used in the example picture.
2. Something to draw with. This can be whatever you want, it doesn’t have to be pencils. You can use pens, felt tips, anything you fancy.
3. Watercolour paints of course! I have this Windsor and Newton set. I replaced the white watercolour with white gouache as I like to use it to add highlights to my work.
4. A water brush. These are a fantastic piece of equipment as it saves you having a cup or jar of water which is a pain to carry round. You can just fill your brush before you go and you’re sorted!
5. An old towel or kitchen towel for cleaning your brush. Once you use one colour you can just squeeze a little water out and brush onto your towel until the colour has gone, ready for your next colour.
And that’s it! Just a few pieces to get your creativity flowing when you’re out and about. Personally I like to have a fine liner and a white pen too to add contrast but these are not essential.
Sign up to our email list on the homepage to get more tips as well as tutorials, Spoonflower updates and more!
23rd Feb 24
16 Feb 2024
Creativity for Wellbeing
You’ve probably heard it before. Creative hobbies are good for our mental health. “But I’m not artistic!” you may say.
Good news!! You don’t need to be!! 😀
If you are artistic great! But it’s really not needed. Simply the meditative act of putting marks on paper can have a really calming effect.
I love painting with watercolour but if I’m painting something particular I can sometimes feel the pressure, trying to get it ‘right’, so every now and then I like to just doodle and mark make. It feels so freeing.
In the pictures are some examples of my mindful work. Art for mental health can just be circles and lines but it’s exploring colour at the same time. I also enjoy, as in the below picture, to let the paint mingle together then when it’s dry just outline all the paint lines.
Have a go and I hope you’ll feel more peaceful doing it.
An instagram account I absolutely love following is @thiswritingdesk (this is not a sponsored plug) Kolbie has so many great tips to help silence the inner perfectionist and enjoy mark making and exploring watercolour. I highly recommend following their account.
I’d love to see your mark making for mental health. Tag me on Instagram @marinettescolours or email me leah@marinettescolours.co.uk Thanks for reading!!
If you’re in need of art supplies you can use the link to Jackson’s art supplies above. This is an affiliate link (explained at top of page) Thanks
Do you want to make a bespoke watercolour palette but not sure what colours to choose? Here I’ll share my choices with you to give you inspiration.
Empty watercolour tin
This tin I found on Amazon UK has been a game changer for me. With this tin you’re able to curate your very own palette with your favourite colours. I love tube paints but often find I squeeze out too much when I’m working small. Being able to have the same colours but in pans makes such a difference.
Some of my favourite Watercolour Art Supplies
9th Feb 24
My chosen watercolours.
Would you like some recommendations of fantastic watercolours? Let me tell you what I have in my palette:
Shire Blue super granulating colour, Potters pink super granulating colour and yellow ochre by Horadam Aquarell.
Green Apatite Genuine granulating colour, Bloodstone Genuine granulating colour, sepia and Buff Titanium by Daniel Smith.
Turquoise, Prussian blue, Paynes Gray, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Magenta, Ultra Marine Violet and Naples Yellow deep by Windsor and Newton.
I do have more tubes but these were my top choice for my palette.
Essential tool for digital pattern design
Hello! How did it get to February so quickly!!!! I hope you all had a fab January.
I have continued adding designs to Spoonflower with plenty more waiting to be uploaded for sale. I’ve also been painting watercolour birds that are available for art licensing.
I just love birds! I don’t have a specific favourite bird but birds in general are my favourite creatures. Their beauty and songs are so enchanting.
Ok, so you’re probably thinking what’s that got to do with the title of this post? So I’ll get to the point. I use an iPad and the curve app to arrange my scanned watercolour art into repeat patterns. My birds will at some point also be used in patterns. Touch screen is great but when it comes to precise details a stylus is ESSENTIAL!!
I use a Hastraith stylus pen from Amazon.uk. It charges really quickly and the battery lasts really well. You also get several spare pen tips.
The ditsy floral here <- will soon be available on my Spoonflower shop. Can you imagine trying to arrange all those little flowers into place with your fingers? Exactly, a stylus is super essential.
Have fun creating! Speak to you all soon!
4th February 2024
January 2024
Surface pattern design and Art licensing submissions
Hi all! I’m popping back on at the end of the month because there’s been a lot happening!
You can now shop Marinette’s Colours designs on Spoonflower.com and I already have more designs waiting in the wings to be added over the coming weeks. I was so happy to learn that you can now proof your designs digitally. Not only does it save money but you can zoom right in and get an even closer look than you would in the flesh. Just waiting for those sales to start rolling in now..
I also took the plunge and sent out my first few art licensing submission emails. It’s nail biting stuff but I am glad I went for it. I got one reply the next day! The collage shown here is what I’d sent as a sample of my work. It was a no but it was very kind and polite so it has helped to settle the nerves a bit. All the other submissions have a link to my full portfolio.
My suggestion to you all is to just go for it! It costs nothing to send an email or fill in an online submission form so what is there to lose?! The worst that can happen is they say no or don’t respond. We can live with that can’t we?!
Want to keep up to date with what’s happening at Marinette’s Colours?!?! You can now sign up to my mailing list and be the first to hear when new things are happening. Sign up is on the home page. I really appreciate all of your support.
Keep on creating and speak soon!
January 2024
Turning the lows into learning
It’s been a busy month already! I have been working hard preparing designs to sell on Spoonflower.com. The first couple of samples I got through weren’t as I had hoped and I let it get to me… but… turn the low into learning! That brought me to learning point number 1: That’s what proofs are for! To iron out the wrinkles, so that’s what I have been doing. We all start somewhere. On the plus side the next lot of proofs I got in I am very happy with.
Another thing I’ve experienced over the last couple of weeks is overload. It felt like there’s so much to do and I kept jumping from one task to the next and not really completing anything. On to learning point number 2: schedule schedule schedule! I’ve divided up my time so I work on different things each day. It’s printed out and put up so I can easily refer to it. This will help me batch jobs such as scheduling content for my socials.
I am already feeling less stressed having a clearer plan in place.
I promised to keep this blog short and sweet so I’ll leave it there for today. Happy creating and keep turning the lows into learning!
My story so far
A little about my journey into the art world so far.
This blog will be short and sweet. I don’t know about you but if I am looking for a recipe and click into a webpage with tons of writing I’m looking for that jump to recipe button! 😂
So… my aim here is not to bore you but just to share the steps I’m taking to try and jumpstart a little art career. If I find some success maybe my story will encourage others to have a go for themselves.
I started painting again in 2020 when Covid hit. Having a long term health condition my work sent me home to be safe. After twiddling my thumbs for a bit I decided I could paint little pictures and make them into cards for friends. (one example in pic) They were gratefully received and so I started to think 🤔’what if……..’.
After lots and lots of research 🧐 and painting this is where I am currently at: I have been working on an art portfolio to pitch to companies in the hopes of getting my art licensed and onto products. Still lots to do here.
I have my brand name Marinette’s colours.
I’ve set up a Pinterest account for Marinette’s colours and I have this cute little web page! All in the hopes of getting seen.
I’m also working on a few patterns with plans to start selling on Spoonflower. It’s all very exciting and just a little bit nerve wracking too!!
I’ll leave it there for now! Thank you for reading! ☺️
December
2023
Email: leah@marinettescolours.co.uk
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