MY DESIGN BACKGROUND

My love of design and creativity comes from growing up in a family of talented designers and being surrounded by beautiful textiles and artwork all of my life.

After graduating from Art School in London in 1990 I specialised in high-end packaging design for over 15 years working for clients such as United Distillers (now Diageo), Crabtree & Evelyn, Highgrove (HRH King Charles), Fortnum & Mason’s and Marks & Spencers. The companies were Butcher & Gundersen, Peter Windett & Associates, M&S and Ian Logan Design.

During this time I developed a love for colour, typography, illustration and detailed artwork which I have now put to use with my current design venture as a photographic/ mixed media artist. My design background comes through in the way that I work, as I plan and multilayer each artwork with a huge amount of detail.

Taking a break from design agencies, I spent an inspiring year travelling through Asia with my husband and after a 3 year stint freelancing and guest lecturing at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, we returned home to the ‘alternative arty’ City of Brighton, UK for the arrival of our twin boys. Then ready for our next exciting adventure, we moved to Asia, first to Shanghai, then Hong Kong and are now based in Singapore. My heart belongs to Asia as I continue to be inspired by the wonderful energy and vibrant colour I see around me, both at home and on my travels.

HOW I CREATE MY WORK

I create my fine art prints using a mix of photography and illustration. I love to walk the streets photographing street life and architectural detail, whilst back in my studio I photograph vintage objet d’art, textiles and ribbons from my own curated collections, slowly but methodically weaving all of my imagery together to form a highly detailed, multi layered digital artwork.

This in turn is printed onto 100% cotton canvas or photographic etching paper and then to add an extra layer of interest, some designs are also hand finished in gold and metallic inks or metallic foil leaf using a tiny paintbrush and a lot of patience.

See my 'Chinoiserie in Aquamarine & Powder Blues', ‘Chinoiserie in Teal & Peacock Blue’ and ‘China White & Champagne Gold’.

I always start my design process with good old fashioned sketches of my ideas, colour ways and subject matter before gathering all of my visual elements together.

Many customers say that they love finding new details every time they look at their artwork, little hidden objects they may not have not seen before..  many of my customers who come in to my private appointments ask me ‘with all of this detail, how do you know when your artwork is finished?’  ‘How do you know how to balance all of the elements and colours to create a harmonious final piece? The honest answer is by trusting my instincts and being true to myself and that only comes with a lot of experience.

I am so passionate about what I do and hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it!

Louise x

Photography: Louise Hill, Natasha Shuttleworth & ZebraJojo Photography (centre 2)