I thought I would share how I start to play with colours and choose palettes for new pattern collections in fabric and wallpaper. I am very drawn at the moment to yellows, ochres and soft lilacs which feels like a big leap from the teals, blues and turquoise I have turned to in painting and printmaking lately.
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| Palette Inspiration Golden Yellow and Lavender ©2026LisaLeQuelenec |
I am very inspired by this postcard that I picked up at the Russell-Cotes Museum of 'Magpie or Still Life with Magpie by Clementina M Hull 1866-1908. It may not come across in this picture but the colours are both subtle and vibrant and the complimentaries sing beautifully against each other. I need the cheerful colour in the middle of Winter amidst all the grey and dark.
Isolating the colours and curating them with shells, objects from my collections and paint swatches that I have painted is an interesting exercise. I like to move physical objects around and lay them on painted swatches as it feels more real than just manipulating on a screen. I want to see how colour behaves in different light and how it will drape around a form like fabric will in real life. It helps me to imagine how it can be used within a real setting.
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| Colour Inspiration Sea Sage ©2026LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Palette Inspiration Summertime Blues ©2026LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Colour Inspiration Deep Duck Egg ©2026LisaLeQuelenec |
Isn't the koi door handle and plate above stunningly beautiful? This is from the Russell-Cotes Museum too. The stripes are from corrugated plastic roofing on Boscombe pier - not quite so artisan and romantic but colour inspiring in its own way.
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| Colour Inspiration Warm Terracotta ©2026LisaLeQuelenec |
This gorgeous botanical sample was photographed at an exhibition of May Morris designs last year. It was amazing to see the drawings, watercolours and evolution of her designs along side the finished work.
You can see from these palettes that I am a bit of a magpie too, always collecting treasures, making connections. Sometimes the flotsam and jetsam takes years to surface and influence work but I think the benefit of time is important, ideas need to evolve and percolate waiting for the right moment.
The new Collection will hopefully be ready to share next week or the week after, I have been working away on them since December and am partway through loading them onto Spoonflower.
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