Her detailed stitched paintings are created using fabric, gouache, and ultimately embroidery. “Stitched Paintings is the term I use to describe my style of work,” she writes on her website. “The process flows like this: I paint blank pieces of linen in abstract washes then add botanical, illustrative details in with acrylic paint or gouache or ink, finally I add texture through stitch.”

Partly trained and partly self-taught, Woods has learnt her craft through trial and error. “Coming to stitch as a mixed media artist I have taught myself a variety of embroidery techniques which probably don’t follow traditional embroidery guides but work for the kind of mark making I enjoy creating,” she writes.

“Stitch for me has become a bit of an obsession which marries my love of detail, color, texture, and allows hours of quiet reflection and Netflix binge watching,” she concludes. Sounds ideal to us!

Take a closer look.

The post Fleur Woods’ Stitched Paintings Are a Homage to Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Her watercolor paintings and drawings have also been used for magazines, books, wallpapers, stationery, fabric, and packaging. “Sometimes I work in watercolor and pencil, other times I make line drawings with ink, or I work with clay,” she further relayed in a piece she shared with the Flow blog. “While I can work out my designs in all kinds of different ways, the main ingredients are always time, love and attention. I love the imperfections that are inherent to handmade work. It shows a kind of vulnerability so that it is easier to make contact with the object when you look at it.”

Whatever she does, nature plays a huge part in it, providing her with endless inspiration. “Whenever I travel, I always love to go to the botanical gardens of the city I am visiting,” shared van Waveren. “These places, which in most cases were designed and built a long time ago, are wonderfully peaceful refuges within a bustling metropolis. But more than anything, it is the diversity of the plants that impresses me most.”

Her Instagram might provide you the same peaceful refuge in times of need.

The post Find Peace In Valesca van Waveren’s Illustrations appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“I think what mostly inspires me is nature,” she reflected in an interview with the Hidden Hipsters. “All the colors, patterns and shapes that you can find in nature are so amazing and beautiful!” she gushed. According to Buurlage, she often feels the need to sketch when she’s outside. These little doodles of animals and botanicals will often reappear in her illustrations as decorative elements. “My work often contains ornaments that are inspired by nature,” she stressed, “I don’t think I could create anything that is really ‘me’ without these botanical decorations.”

Based in the Netherlands, Buurlage grew up in a small village where nature was prevalent. Having graduated from Minerva Academy Groningen in 2013, she has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since, working on editorial illustrations for magazines, children’s books, book covers, posters, apps, and e-books.

“Children’s books from the fifties, sixties, and seventies really inspire me,” she notes. “I often go to second-hand stores to look through all the beautifully illustrated covers of these books for inspiration. I love the use of color and shapes in these picture books and the characters are always so adorable. My vintage children’s book collection is growing every week!”

Aside from her editorial work, Buurlage also runs an Etsy shop, where you can find illustrated goodies, such as posters, pins, and postcards. But you can also enjoy her work from afar, via Instagram.

The post This Illustrator Is Clearly Inspired by Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Amongst her more unique creation are botanical hoops featuring plants and flowers. Printed on textile and framed in a wooden hoop these watercolor illustrations promise to bring a soft and natural touch to your home. “We at Olislagers have a passion for art and are inspired by nature,” reads her website. “Plants bring a room to life in a way that nothing else can. But let’s be honest, these living creatures need space, light, water and lots of love. With this new collection, we offer everyone the possibility to create an urban jungle however big or small.”

With most of her illustrations centered around the natural world, Olislagers is clearly drawn to the outdoors. Nature also provides her with endless inspiration. “With the coming and going of seasons, there is always something to discover,” she writes. “Whether it’s small like a flower in bloom or big as the ever-changing lights and colors in the sky, all you have to do is take a step back, really look around you and find that there is beauty everywhere.”

You can also follow her Instagram page, for more or less the same effect:

The post Birgitt Olislagers Captures the Fleeting Beauty In Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

And so, the freshly pressed project was born: an incredible collection of wildflower specimens which Buck shares on her website and Instagram page. In 2019, Buck brought the freshly pressed project back with her to Minnesota, where she continues to collect, press, and add to her herbarium collection. “It has been an adventure in rediscovering the species from my childhood, which I now view with a new appreciation,” she writes.

“The freshly pressed blog is my way of connecting with others and hopefully inspiring them to further explore the melding of art and nature,” she adds. Having pursued degrees in biology, fine arts, and environmental studies, Buck is fascinated by botanical history – how we as humans have applied meaning and value to different plant species as a way to connect to our surroundings and how we can tap into this history as a motivation to preserve and protect our biodiversity nowadays.

“I believe that designers and scientists can both benefit from exploring across fields,” she says, “my blog brings various projects and musings to press to motivate both professions (as well as those of us who fall in the middle) to approach their work with a fresh perspective and renewed sense of wonder.”

Her website also includes a short guide on how to collect and press flowers. “Plants are easiest to identify when flowering and press best when they have fresh blooms,” she explains. “Keep an eye out for plants that are close to blooming, and collect a sample as soon as the flowers open.”

Follow her Instagram page for more:

The post Lindsay Buck Catalogues Wildflower Specimens appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“I’ve always drawn,” said Katariina in an interview with Flow Magazine, adding that painting is something she rediscovered later in life. “I completely fell in love with it, and now it’s an essential and natural way of expressing myself,” she notes. “One of the best things about the illustration process is doing research for projects. It’s so much fun to read up on a potentially completely unknown subject and figure out how to make it work as an illustration.”

According to Katariina, her work process requires both solitude and creative companionship. “I work best if these two are balanced,” she stressed in the interview. “I work from home, but my husband is also a creative entrepreneur and has his office right next to mine. I think it’s a pretty ideal situation; I like to have my space and quiet, but it’s also very important for me to have someone to bounce ideas off and take coffee breaks with.”

Living in the countryside, she spends her free time embroidering or running around with her binoculars and watching birds. “I have a small and cozy home studio with a desk that I use for painting, another desk for my computer and a little couch for our dogs,” she says. “Most of the time I stay by my painting desk, but when it comes to finalizing my work I switch to my computer.”

Below are some highlights from her Instagram page.

The post This Illustrator Zooms in on the Natural World appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“When I was growing up we had a caravan in Wales and I loved the wildness of the landscape,” recalled the Birmingham-based embroiderer in an interview with Ballpitmag. “I think going there instilled in me a great love for nature and the outdoors.” After completing an art foundation course in college, Redfern worked with mixed media textile and paper collage for around six years, before starting to work with hand embroidery in 2015.

Now her work centers around hand embroidered hoop art, a small selection of which can be found on her Etsy shop. She also designs downloadable embroidery patterns which you can download for a reasonable price. “I love the fact that it takes quite a long time to stitch a piece, so it is quite a meditative process,” reflected Redfern, “and I find all of the materials really pleasing; the colorful threads, beads, lovely natural colored fabric (natural calico is my fabric of choice) and the wooden hoops.”

Drawing is an important part of her process, and when starting a new piece of work she usually makes preparatory drawings, based on photographs or her imagination. “One of the things I find most rewarding about creating embroidery patterns is the thought that they are hopefully bringing enjoyment to people, so I would like to keep creating new patterns, as well as working on new original pieces to further explore my favorite subject matter,” she says.

The post Chloe Redfern Embroiders Wildflowers and Birds appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Frank is also a big fan of slow living and makes sure that her work as a freelance illustrator is well balanced. “I’m an early bird and like taking time to have a coffee and to let my brain start wakening naturally,” she described her routine in an interview with Freelance Wisdom. “I then go out running first thing into the countryside with my dog which completely focuses me and clears my head. I can then get back to the studio feeling refreshed for 9am ready to focus.”

She adds that she’s a big believer in the Swedish philosophy of “lagom,” meaning “just the right amount” and finds that balancing her day while focusing on one task at a time as well as taking breaks helps her productivity. When she is not in her studio by the sea, Frank can be found out walking with her dog, sketchbook in hand taking inspiration from the countryside and coast where she lives.

Her life philosophy seems to be working, and with more than 26k followers on Instagram as well as clients that include Anthropologie, Tesco, and Lonely Planet, her brand is well established.

The post Ryn Frank Promotes Slow Living appeared first on MyTrendTales.

With her mother and grandmothers all being gifted seamstresses, it was only a matter of time before Cobbett followed suit. After studying at Chelsea College of Art (UAL), she worked in the printed textile design industry, but a move to the country and a gift of an old Bernina sewing machine changed her course of action. And so, her long-held desire to be a maker, as well as a designer, finally came to fruition, through her reimagined forests.

“I love intricacy and adding my own little secret threads to the work that might not be obvious at the time but in a certain light, they shine out or sparkle,” she shared in an interview with the Voice of London. Inspired by the forest floor, she constantly scours her surroundings, seeking hidden treasures, and photographing and collecting fallen debris. Those are later recreated using approximately 130,000 individual stitches a day.

“Someone said to me recently that when someone asks me how long each piece takes to make that I should say that it’s taken me 22 years of experience to get to this point,” she says. “I think sometimes we forget that a person’s ability to make something isn’t based on the actual time it took to make.”

The post Textile Master Recreates Plant Decay, Moss, and Fungi appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2014 with a BFA in ceramics, Hood sells her own unique designs online and in-person at markets and open studios. According to her website, her surface design is very much inspired by animals, wallpaper, nature, and ink wash paintings.

“Nature is such an important part of her life and her artwork,” reads her website, with her pieces also providing careful reminders of the cost of modern living, while portraying threatened and endangered species of animals.

And when it comes to the work itself, she follows her advice to other aspiring artists: doing her absolute best. “Everyone wants to learn from/employ the best of the best,” she told the Boston Voyager, “so strive to be the best at what you’re passionate about and everything should fall into place. Pick up any job you can, no matter how small and insignificant because you can learn a lot from any experience and that will help you in the future.”

Here are some of our favorite pieces by her.

The post Drink Tea In Style This Holiday Season appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Her detailed stitched paintings are created using fabric, gouache, and ultimately embroidery. “Stitched Paintings is the term I use to describe my style of work,” she writes on her website. “The process flows like this: I paint blank pieces of linen in abstract washes then add botanical, illustrative details in with acrylic paint or gouache or ink, finally I add texture through stitch.”

Partly trained and partly self-taught, Woods has learnt her craft through trial and error. “Coming to stitch as a mixed media artist I have taught myself a variety of embroidery techniques which probably don’t follow traditional embroidery guides but work for the kind of mark making I enjoy creating,” she writes.

“Stitch for me has become a bit of an obsession which marries my love of detail, color, texture, and allows hours of quiet reflection and Netflix binge watching,” she concludes. Sounds ideal to us!

Take a closer look.

The post Fleur Woods’ Stitched Paintings Are a Homage to Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Her watercolor paintings and drawings have also been used for magazines, books, wallpapers, stationery, fabric, and packaging. “Sometimes I work in watercolor and pencil, other times I make line drawings with ink, or I work with clay,” she further relayed in a piece she shared with the Flow blog. “While I can work out my designs in all kinds of different ways, the main ingredients are always time, love and attention. I love the imperfections that are inherent to handmade work. It shows a kind of vulnerability so that it is easier to make contact with the object when you look at it.”

Whatever she does, nature plays a huge part in it, providing her with endless inspiration. “Whenever I travel, I always love to go to the botanical gardens of the city I am visiting,” shared van Waveren. “These places, which in most cases were designed and built a long time ago, are wonderfully peaceful refuges within a bustling metropolis. But more than anything, it is the diversity of the plants that impresses me most.”

Her Instagram might provide you the same peaceful refuge in times of need.

The post Find Peace In Valesca van Waveren’s Illustrations appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“I think what mostly inspires me is nature,” she reflected in an interview with the Hidden Hipsters. “All the colors, patterns and shapes that you can find in nature are so amazing and beautiful!” she gushed. According to Buurlage, she often feels the need to sketch when she’s outside. These little doodles of animals and botanicals will often reappear in her illustrations as decorative elements. “My work often contains ornaments that are inspired by nature,” she stressed, “I don’t think I could create anything that is really ‘me’ without these botanical decorations.”

Based in the Netherlands, Buurlage grew up in a small village where nature was prevalent. Having graduated from Minerva Academy Groningen in 2013, she has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since, working on editorial illustrations for magazines, children’s books, book covers, posters, apps, and e-books.

“Children’s books from the fifties, sixties, and seventies really inspire me,” she notes. “I often go to second-hand stores to look through all the beautifully illustrated covers of these books for inspiration. I love the use of color and shapes in these picture books and the characters are always so adorable. My vintage children’s book collection is growing every week!”

Aside from her editorial work, Buurlage also runs an Etsy shop, where you can find illustrated goodies, such as posters, pins, and postcards. But you can also enjoy her work from afar, via Instagram.

The post This Illustrator Is Clearly Inspired by Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Amongst her more unique creation are botanical hoops featuring plants and flowers. Printed on textile and framed in a wooden hoop these watercolor illustrations promise to bring a soft and natural touch to your home. “We at Olislagers have a passion for art and are inspired by nature,” reads her website. “Plants bring a room to life in a way that nothing else can. But let’s be honest, these living creatures need space, light, water and lots of love. With this new collection, we offer everyone the possibility to create an urban jungle however big or small.”

With most of her illustrations centered around the natural world, Olislagers is clearly drawn to the outdoors. Nature also provides her with endless inspiration. “With the coming and going of seasons, there is always something to discover,” she writes. “Whether it’s small like a flower in bloom or big as the ever-changing lights and colors in the sky, all you have to do is take a step back, really look around you and find that there is beauty everywhere.”

You can also follow her Instagram page, for more or less the same effect:

The post Birgitt Olislagers Captures the Fleeting Beauty In Nature appeared first on MyTrendTales.

And so, the freshly pressed project was born: an incredible collection of wildflower specimens which Buck shares on her website and Instagram page. In 2019, Buck brought the freshly pressed project back with her to Minnesota, where she continues to collect, press, and add to her herbarium collection. “It has been an adventure in rediscovering the species from my childhood, which I now view with a new appreciation,” she writes.

“The freshly pressed blog is my way of connecting with others and hopefully inspiring them to further explore the melding of art and nature,” she adds. Having pursued degrees in biology, fine arts, and environmental studies, Buck is fascinated by botanical history – how we as humans have applied meaning and value to different plant species as a way to connect to our surroundings and how we can tap into this history as a motivation to preserve and protect our biodiversity nowadays.

“I believe that designers and scientists can both benefit from exploring across fields,” she says, “my blog brings various projects and musings to press to motivate both professions (as well as those of us who fall in the middle) to approach their work with a fresh perspective and renewed sense of wonder.”

Her website also includes a short guide on how to collect and press flowers. “Plants are easiest to identify when flowering and press best when they have fresh blooms,” she explains. “Keep an eye out for plants that are close to blooming, and collect a sample as soon as the flowers open.”

Follow her Instagram page for more:

The post Lindsay Buck Catalogues Wildflower Specimens appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“I’ve always drawn,” said Katariina in an interview with Flow Magazine, adding that painting is something she rediscovered later in life. “I completely fell in love with it, and now it’s an essential and natural way of expressing myself,” she notes. “One of the best things about the illustration process is doing research for projects. It’s so much fun to read up on a potentially completely unknown subject and figure out how to make it work as an illustration.”

According to Katariina, her work process requires both solitude and creative companionship. “I work best if these two are balanced,” she stressed in the interview. “I work from home, but my husband is also a creative entrepreneur and has his office right next to mine. I think it’s a pretty ideal situation; I like to have my space and quiet, but it’s also very important for me to have someone to bounce ideas off and take coffee breaks with.”

Living in the countryside, she spends her free time embroidering or running around with her binoculars and watching birds. “I have a small and cozy home studio with a desk that I use for painting, another desk for my computer and a little couch for our dogs,” she says. “Most of the time I stay by my painting desk, but when it comes to finalizing my work I switch to my computer.”

Below are some highlights from her Instagram page.

The post This Illustrator Zooms in on the Natural World appeared first on MyTrendTales.

“When I was growing up we had a caravan in Wales and I loved the wildness of the landscape,” recalled the Birmingham-based embroiderer in an interview with Ballpitmag. “I think going there instilled in me a great love for nature and the outdoors.” After completing an art foundation course in college, Redfern worked with mixed media textile and paper collage for around six years, before starting to work with hand embroidery in 2015.

Now her work centers around hand embroidered hoop art, a small selection of which can be found on her Etsy shop. She also designs downloadable embroidery patterns which you can download for a reasonable price. “I love the fact that it takes quite a long time to stitch a piece, so it is quite a meditative process,” reflected Redfern, “and I find all of the materials really pleasing; the colorful threads, beads, lovely natural colored fabric (natural calico is my fabric of choice) and the wooden hoops.”

Drawing is an important part of her process, and when starting a new piece of work she usually makes preparatory drawings, based on photographs or her imagination. “One of the things I find most rewarding about creating embroidery patterns is the thought that they are hopefully bringing enjoyment to people, so I would like to keep creating new patterns, as well as working on new original pieces to further explore my favorite subject matter,” she says.

The post Chloe Redfern Embroiders Wildflowers and Birds appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Frank is also a big fan of slow living and makes sure that her work as a freelance illustrator is well balanced. “I’m an early bird and like taking time to have a coffee and to let my brain start wakening naturally,” she described her routine in an interview with Freelance Wisdom. “I then go out running first thing into the countryside with my dog which completely focuses me and clears my head. I can then get back to the studio feeling refreshed for 9am ready to focus.”

She adds that she’s a big believer in the Swedish philosophy of “lagom,” meaning “just the right amount” and finds that balancing her day while focusing on one task at a time as well as taking breaks helps her productivity. When she is not in her studio by the sea, Frank can be found out walking with her dog, sketchbook in hand taking inspiration from the countryside and coast where she lives.

Her life philosophy seems to be working, and with more than 26k followers on Instagram as well as clients that include Anthropologie, Tesco, and Lonely Planet, her brand is well established.

The post Ryn Frank Promotes Slow Living appeared first on MyTrendTales.

With her mother and grandmothers all being gifted seamstresses, it was only a matter of time before Cobbett followed suit. After studying at Chelsea College of Art (UAL), she worked in the printed textile design industry, but a move to the country and a gift of an old Bernina sewing machine changed her course of action. And so, her long-held desire to be a maker, as well as a designer, finally came to fruition, through her reimagined forests.

“I love intricacy and adding my own little secret threads to the work that might not be obvious at the time but in a certain light, they shine out or sparkle,” she shared in an interview with the Voice of London. Inspired by the forest floor, she constantly scours her surroundings, seeking hidden treasures, and photographing and collecting fallen debris. Those are later recreated using approximately 130,000 individual stitches a day.

“Someone said to me recently that when someone asks me how long each piece takes to make that I should say that it’s taken me 22 years of experience to get to this point,” she says. “I think sometimes we forget that a person’s ability to make something isn’t based on the actual time it took to make.”

The post Textile Master Recreates Plant Decay, Moss, and Fungi appeared first on MyTrendTales.

Since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2014 with a BFA in ceramics, Hood sells her own unique designs online and in-person at markets and open studios. According to her website, her surface design is very much inspired by animals, wallpaper, nature, and ink wash paintings.

“Nature is such an important part of her life and her artwork,” reads her website, with her pieces also providing careful reminders of the cost of modern living, while portraying threatened and endangered species of animals.

And when it comes to the work itself, she follows her advice to other aspiring artists: doing her absolute best. “Everyone wants to learn from/employ the best of the best,” she told the Boston Voyager, “so strive to be the best at what you’re passionate about and everything should fall into place. Pick up any job you can, no matter how small and insignificant because you can learn a lot from any experience and that will help you in the future.”

Here are some of our favorite pieces by her.

The post Drink Tea In Style This Holiday Season appeared first on MyTrendTales.