100 Day Surface PATTERN PLAY Project

This collection comes from a self-directed 100-day project. A sample of 100 A5 pattern studies made across (roughly) 100 days. Working mostly in watercolour and gouache, with a few mixed media experiments along the way, each piece became a small moment of exploration in colour, shape, and repetition.

Surface pattern study with abstract mini floral and leaf motifs in green tones, ink and watercolour sample
Hand-painted grass pattern study in watercolour and gouache, seamless repeat study held in hands

Not every day came easily. There were plenty of moments where I was convinced I’d run out of ideas - but that was kind of the point. Pushing through those blocks often led to the most unexpected (and favourite) outcomes. What started as a discipline quickly became a reminder that creativity isn’t about waiting for good ideas, but making space for them to show up.

Some of these pieces have since been developed into full repeat patterns. Others remain as raw studies little snapshots of process, experimentation, and play. Even five years on, I still find myself coming back to this body of work for inspiration. There are so many directions I’d love to take these designs in (if only there were more hours in the day), especially seeing them evolve into real-world applications.

Hand-painted Australian native floral pattern in watercolour, seamless repeat design study for textiles

Some finished designs

Drawing tools

When you think you are out of ideas look around at your workspace.

Hand drawn set of drawing implements, ink line work, pen and pencil motifs exploration for pattern design
Printed drawing tools repeat pattern sample held in hand, hand-drawn digital arrangement surface design
textileSurface pattern repeat sample with colour palette and pattern block hand-drawn art supplies design pattern repeat sample, colour palette and pattern block hand-drawn art supplies, yellow base design
textile pattern repeat sample, colour palette and pattern block hand-drawn art supplies, yellow base design
Pattern design presentation showing repeat sample, monochrome colour palette, and repeat unit in blue tones
Surface pattern repeat design hand-drawn art supplies motif detail with pattern sample

uuu

A few little u curves in pretty pastels on a rich ultramarine blue background

repeat pattern sample with small abstract motif in pastel on dark blue background made in illustrator for surface pattern design applications

Delicious Donuts

Delicious Donuts began its life as a pretty random and ugly mess of fat circles and brush marks in yellow and pinks. One or two of the fat circles sparked something in my brain - it looks like a donut! I was very excited to come back the next day to  refine the motif idea. The design was then built and developed in Adobe Illustrator into the Delicious Donuts pattern. I imagine this pattern working well for fabric, wrapping or homewares, perhaps part of a branding package for a donut shop. The refined vector motif still sparks joy. This pattern is one of those pieces that still feels fresh every time I revisit it. I want to wrap birthday presents with it.

Hand-painted abstract shape study in watercolour and gouache, motif exploration for textile pattern design
Hand-painted doughnut motif study in gouache, pastel tones arranged on paper exploration for textile pattern design
repeat pattern sample with doughnut motif in pastel tones made in illustrator for surface pattern design applications
pattern block featuring doughnut motif in soft pink, blue and maroon colours on creamy background for surface pattern design