Natasha Kirby is a painter and surface designer based in London and Kent. We are head-over-heels for her colorful, detailed florals and are so excited to share her work with you before Surtex kicks off tomorrow!
About Natasha
“It was while studying a Fine Art degree at UWE Bristol that I realised my love for print and pattern. I spent three years experimenting with different types of paints and materials. I loved making a mess! Mixing things together, throwing paints around and watching how they reacted to one another. I found the elegant flow of thick gloss paint so beautiful, dripping off a brush and slowly weaving it’s ways across the canvas leaving its mark. I learnt that by mixing different paints together I could manipulate this natural quality – some paints would repel while others would mix to create amazing new colours and the most wonderful patterns. I endeavoured to find ways to capture these movements and reactions.
This process is fundamental to my work and I use it not only for composing large works and also for sketching.
Although I grew up in London my grandparents lived in Kent and I spent my childhood exploring this beautiful part of the world known as the garden of England. It was here that I developed my love for nature and the outdoors and these are key influence to my creative process.
Inspired by the pastoral landscape of the Kentish countryside mixed with the vibrant colours and sounds of my London life, I paint colourful abstract landscapes. I use my unique style of dripping and pouring paints to create intricate organic patterns and compositions which offer an enchanting interpretation of the flora, fauna and sylvan glades of the rolling Kentish hillsides.
The motifs that emerge from the accidental nature of my technique are then brought into Photoshop or illustrator and form the foundations for my surface pattern designs.
Alongside selling my original paintings I also have a range of placemats and coaster and have just launch a collection of notebooks and greeting cards which can be found on my website.
My work is available for licence and I am always interested in collaborations and new projects.
This is my first year at Surtex and I am very excited to be exhibiting with Dot and Flow collective in booth #244. We are an international collective of designers who offer a rich and diverse range of bright, bold and colourful patterns and illustrations. Be sure to come and say hi and check out our work. We really look forward to seeing you there.”
You can see more of Natasha’s work at natashakirby.co.uk, www.dotandflow.com, or on Instagram @Natashakirbydesigns.
