Kate Pugsley shares her experimental creative process
Chicago-based illustrator surface pattern designer Kate Pugsley takes Greg McIndoe behind the scenes for his latest Follow Friday, to explore her colourful and inspiring Instagram feed.
Kate Pugsley studied at RISD, graduating with a BFA in illustration. With a long list of clients including Flow Magazine, The New York Times and Lenny Letter, her work often features elegant animals and female characters set against nature-inspired backdrops.
Playful plant people growing in Kate’s sketchbook.
A sneak peak at a new collaboration between Kate and Red Cap Cards.
Satisfying composition of painted paper, photographed as part of Kate’s pattern developing process.
An adorable narwhal swimming through Kate’s grid.
Colour experiments offer a glimpse behind the scenes of Kate’s creative process.
Soothing blues and deep greens are offset by splashes of bright yellow and pretty peach, adding an element of spontaneity to both the palette itself and eventually the finished piece.
An ideallic scene created by Kate for Flow Magazine’s 2017 calendar.
Speedily painted colour palettes have become a staple of Kate’s Instagram feed and could be regarded as art pieces in their own right, playful moving around with different combinations.
What’s so intriguing about Kate’s palettes h unorthodox combinations. Soothing blues and deep greens are offset by splashes of bright yellow and pretty peach, adding an element of spontaneity to both the palette itself and eventually the finished piece. The combination of subdued tones and youthful bursts is vital in conjuring up the unique fashion-meets-nature vibe of Kate’s work.
Underwater scenery painted in a sea of luscious tones.
The combination of subdued tones and youthful bursts is vital in conjuring up the unique fashion-meets-nature vibe of Kate’s work.
Female characters and nature feature heavily in Kate’s work.
Desktop carnage after a day of paper play.
Sharing the process behind your designs makes for a much more relatable (not to mention easier to keep regularly updated) Instagram account. It is certainly encouraging to know that other artists don’t just conjure final pieces up out of nowhere – there is clearly a lot of thought and planning involved, and a peek behind the curtain makes this all the more fascinating. Whether it’s a rough sketch, an experiment gone wrong or an ‘ooh’ worthy colour palette – pictures that capture the process offer a behind the scenes view into the mind of the creative behind them – and if her Instagram is anything to go by, Kate Pugsley has one of the most imaginative minds in the illustration business!