Seeing the world through patterns!

She was born an artist; always drawing, painting, sewing and creating in any form possible. So much so she formed part of an exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London in 2007. Life happened thereafter and she stopped creating quite so much.

Fast-forward some years and Kimrhi Studios has launched. It’s the home of bold, graphically styled illustrations and patterns with textured accents as a nod to her love for printmaking. All work is drawn, colored, inked, stamped or digitally created by herself, Rhiannon Kimberley Pettie in her home studio in Surrey, UK.

She gets inspired by animals and nature alike which kickstarted the hashtag #365animalfaces early in 2016. She posts daily doses of animal fun on her Instagram account, (@kimrhistudios) as well as her current personal art projects. She loves to go for walks, taking pictures and picking bits up to bring back to her work. Living in Surrey is very inspirational as nature is all around and a canal just a short walk away.

She hopes to spread her love for color and pattern through her designs and brighten up the world in the process. If you would like to see backstage and have a little nosey at what she’s working on you can check out her social media links for current projects and freebies for designs to color yourself.

We would like to know more about you. For example, where are you from? Where do you currently live?

Hello!  I’m a freelance designer living in the beautiful surroundings of Surrey in the UK. Amongst lots of wonderful natural and historic sites I am able to gain so much inspiration on a daily basis that feeds into my work.

 

How would you define your style?

I’d describe my style as fun, energetic and bold. I adore blues, greens and pinks although other colours do pop into the mix. I like to draw fast with my brush pen and I feel this gives a nice energy to the designs as well as the textures I love to incorporate. I discovered my love for texture through lino printing which I stated in Jan this year, except now I print with all sorts of items!

 

Could you describe how your workspace is? What elements do you consider you can’t work without?

There are so many things I cannot live without! My surroundings are key for discovering my colour palette; I love to borrow colour ideas from nature’s flowers and leaves. Fall is great for Seasonal colour work! To make my patterns I couldn’t be without my brush pen. This is my most predominant tool I use but I also have other inks and pens I use to create my motifs and marks to serve as a great contrast. Lastly my Wacom tablet and  computer is key to pulling it all together!

 

What was the biggest obstacle to get to be the artist you are today? How did you get pass it?

The biggest obstacle is having the belief in yourself, your designs, abilities and to carry on going even when it may seem easier to give up. We are always constantly learning and improving and so anyone feeling this I advise to keep cracking on and know you are on your journey and this is all part of it. As they say practice makes perfect, so accept the imperfections and keep trying as success, however you measure it, only comes to those who keep on trying and creating!

 

You created the #365animalfaces project that is coming to its end. Could you tells us a little bit about it? Would you do something similar next year?

The #365animalfaces hashtag came together as a way to give me some focus as to what I was posting on Instagram each day, a personal project to help develop my art, practice my skills and share with others so we can all learn from each other. It has changed so much since the beginning where I was giving instruction on how to draw your own animals, creating in traditional media. Now it is centered more around vector art how I’m incorporating my own custom brushes. This is furthering my pattern design and I can’t wait to see where the last few months takes it!

I will definitely carry on another hashtag but It’ll probably be more focused next year. It has connected me with many other artists and is great for feedback and development.  I love the pattern a day challenges others do, so maybe that will be next!

 

What do you like to do to get inspired while working on your designs?

 

I love to go on walks for my inspiration, that may be locally down the canal, to RHS Wisley gardens locally or further afield. The best place for inspiration is outside, you never know what may trigger an idea, the more you look for patterns the more you see them everywhere!

I also love to try out different techniques, recently I attended a papercut workshop and I find learning new skills always gives you a new spin on design.

If you had to create a work of art that represents your favorite artist, what would you do and why?

If there was one pattern I would want to be brave to have a go at it would be abstract. I really love Kandinsky’s paintings and admired these a lot during art college, the depth of colour and line quality always attracts me and I would love to be able to design in such a free way!

 

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