When I create ocean inspired art, I want to capture the feeling of what I experienced, whether that is the wonder of visiting a new place, the excitement of seeing an amazing underwater creature, or the joy of swimming in a calm ocean.

Finding Inspiration in Crete

We visited the Greek island of Crete in late summer 2024 – and I just absorbed everything. The colours, ancient towns, beaches, heat, new landscapes, and architecture. I was struck by the juxtaposition of blinding light and aged patinas, against the warmth and smoothness of the sea.

Now over a year later I’m still thinking of this magical island and wanting to capture that feeling of being on holiday – the heat, the relaxation, the stunning ocean, the little details that make you realise you are somewhere completely different.

Art Rituals and the Creative Process

To immerse myself back into what it felt like to be on this island, I start by creating a relaxing atmosphere in my home – I light incense, make a cup of black chai tea, and play some chilled music. I’ve realised lately that I create my best art when I try to recreate what life felt like before social media – so I avoid using my phone for anything except taking the occasional photo.

Building the Crete Colour Story

I then spent time looking through my travel photos and collating those that spoke most strongly to me. With these photo mood boards, reading my travel diary, and looking at the sketches I made in Crete, I could start creating.

I wrote down any words that described the feelings, textures, colours, and motifs of Crete.

This led to creating the colour story of the Crete collection. The colours of Crete for me are aqua, sea blue, caramel, cream, and a dusty pink, with highlights of neon yellow and pink.

I made swatches of different art materials to test each colour and play with combinations.

Texture is also very important to this collection so I tested different mediums to see what my colours looked like with texture. There are two main textures I want to capture – the smooth silky glowing of the ocean, and the aging patina of the towns with peeling paint and crumbling walls.

With my moodboards, descriptive words, colour palettes, and textures, I’ve now got a visual world to immerse myself in. I just need to surround myself with these items, sip my tea, play my music, smell the incense and I am back in Crete, ready to create.

Now I’m starting to explore combinations of colours, materials, and motif ideas.

From Inspiration to Ocean Inspired Art and Surface Pattern Design

Over the next weeks I will continue this exploration, refining my ideas and developing a body of work that captures the experience of Crete in late summer.

I want the art to feel like you are floating in an aqua sea, the heat of the sun warming your face, and a deep sense of calm and happiness.

I will be releasing a collection of original artworks, limited edition prints, and seamless surface pattern designs that will be perfect for swimwear and resortwear.

If you’d like to see my current work, you can explore my existing surface pattern designs here.

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