Inspired by....Dufy

With Baz Lurhmann's adaptation of  The Great Gatsby about to hit our screens, I found myself delving into a favourite reference book - Art Deco Textiles - The French Designers by Alain-Rene Hardy. Dufy's wonderful floral and pictorial designs and skilful repeats always inspire.

The French artist Raoul Dufy (1877 - 1953) was encouraged to design fabrics by the great Art Deco era couturier Paul Poiret. In 1911 Poiret set up a small textile printing studio to produce Dufy's lively and dramatic patterns, which were incorporated to great effect into his clothing designs.

Coat, 1911
Paul Poiret 
Textile design by Raoul Dufy 
Ivory and navy block printed velvet with brown fur trim and gold metallic mesh-covered silk closures.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Such was the success of Dufy's collaboration with Poiret, less than a year later the artist was offered a contract with the Lyons silk firm Bianchini-Ferier. Between 1912 and 1928 Dufy designed over 2000 patterns for dress and furnishing silks, and linen and cotton furnishing textiles.

The Harvester, c.1920

Design for printed linen by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roses, c.1925

Design attr. to Raoul Dufy

Les Tuilleries, c.1920

Design for woven silk by Raoul Dufy

Fleurs, 1918

Design for block-printed cotton by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Jungle, 1922

Design for woven silk / wool by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Venice, c.1920,21

Design for woven silk by Raoul Dufy

V&A Museum

An artist's home in the south of France

I love the eclectic mix of patterned fabrics, tiles and wallpaper and the bright pops of colour found throughout the family home and studio of artist Myriam Balay Devidalin in Nimes, France.

A screen is covered in an Atelier LZC textile design, whilst the bed linens were sewn by Myriam from her collection of vintage fabrics.

Layers of wallpaper were stripped away to reveal the original rendering of the house, built in 1835.

The vintage Scandinavian chairs are covered in printed fabrics by French design studio Robert Le Heros.

11 Year old Alix's bedroom is decorated with a classic Osborne and Little wallpaper design.

A length of Deborah Bowness wallpaper sits perfectly in the library.

Moroccan tiles in warm orange hues and a beautiful hand woven curtain create a peaceful environment in the bathroom.

Via Marie Claire Maison.

Journey on a Cloud

I picked up 'Journey on a Cloud', a Children's Book Inspired by Marc Chagall, written by Veronique Massenot and illustrated by Elise Mansot at the National Gallery of Victoria bookshop recently, and I think this title definitely makes it into my all-time favourite children's picture book list.

One of Marc Chagall's most enduring and mysterious paintings Bride and Groom with Eiffel Tower forms the backbone of this beautifully crafted children's book. 

Zephyr is a day-dreaming mailman from a small village of blue houses and hills. One day he embarks on a fantastic aerial journey aboard a cloud, taking him on an adventure exploring distant and colourful lands.

Journey on a Cloud (Voyage sur un nuage) was first published in French by L'Elan Vert in 2008. The English edition was published by Prestel Verlag in 2011. The English edition is available on Amazon UK, and in Australia at Fishpond Books.

A strong dose of colour

Once again, the new fabric and wallpaper collection entitled 'Colour for Living' from the UK company Sanderson features a vast selection of beautiful (and colourful) designs that are bound to become design classics. I really admire the collection for the manner in which it gently references historical design for a contemporary market. 

St Ives - a wallpaper and fabric design featuring the hilly streetscapes of this renowned artistic hotspot, carved into lino in a naive style .

 This Rainforest fabric design reminds me of the Austrian / Swedish modernist designer Josef Frank. I love the blue colourway.

The linen textures of this Block Leaf design hark back to the pared-down and graceful 1950's patterns designed by Lucienne Day.

 

Another of my favourite designs from this collection is Bellflower -  I love the Atelier Martine / Dufy influence. 

You can view the entire collection of fabrics and wallpapers from Sanderson's Colour for Living range here.

Lilac Luxe

I love the kooky mix of colours and patterns in Audrey's Parisian bedroom featured in the latest issue of Milk Magazine. I wonder who designed that fabulous wallpaper featuring cherubs, doves and peacocks?

Photographed by Louise Desrosier for Milk Magazine

Inspired by Charleston

After a busy week of painting and trying to master designing repeats with Photoshop and Illustrator, (thanks to this very helpful online class from Camp Pikaland) it is time to pop into my slightly abandoned blog.

Most of the UK and Australian Interiors magazines are featuring the latest furnishing fabric releases this month, and I have gathered together a selection of fabric and wallpaper designs from one of my favourite new ranges -  The Bloomsbury, Dalloway and Orlando Collections by Sanderson. I love the painterly (surprise, surprise) peek back into the bohemian times of the Bloomsbury set, and anything inspired by Matisse immediately grabs my attention.

During my two years in England a visit to Charleston was always on my agenda, but unfortunately I didn't manage to make it there. One day......

Matisse Leaf wallpaper

Matisse Leaf is a wallpaper design inspired by the loose and spontaneous brushstrokes of the French artist.

This exuberant design Still Life takes inspiration from the vivid colour combinations, lively brushstrokes and dramatic compositions of Matisse's pattern filled paintings.

The painterly rose design Ottoline was inspired by the rambling gardens of Charleston.

A design close to my heart! I can easily spend hours making sure my palette is just right, resulting in pages of gouache dabs that look just like this wallpaper design.

I love the loose, vibrant brushstrokes that create the peonies of the printed linen design Vanessa.

The Zigzag wallpaper design was painted on plaster to imitate the fresco technique often used by the artists of the Bloomsbury group.

The Cut Flowers design was inspired by the naive drawings decorating a wall of a downstairs room in the Charleston farmhouse.

Another gorgeous colourway - Fitzroy is a bold graphic design typical of those found in fashionable 1930's interiors.

Take a look at this wonderful collection of fabrics and wallpapers here.

l'Herbier d'Emilie Vast

Staying up into the wee hours to watch Cadel Evans racing his way through the French countryside to victory in the Tour de France inspired me to re-visit these beautiful books by French artist / designer Emilie Vast. I picked up a couple of copies in Paris a few years ago for the Linen House design studio library, but these are so lovely I couldn't resist adding a few titles to my own library via Amazon France.

Arbres

Feuillus d'Europe
Published by editions MeMo, 2009

Petite flore 
des bois d'Europe 
Published by editions MeMo, 2010

Plantes sauvages des villes

Published by editions MeMo, 2011

Spare, elegant, with a touch of inspiration from Art Nouveau decorative design - Emilie Vast's art work is beautifully laid out on thick matt paper in a subdued colour palette.
A great reference point for anyone interested in contemporary botanical illustration and textile design.

Take a look at Emilie's website here
editions MeMo

Amazing Arbres

Two of my favourite French companies; Textile house Pierre Frey and the wonderfully quirky cabinet of curiosities on the Rue du Bac - Deyrolle have combined forces with a collection of beautifully detailed fabrics based on botanical teaching charts. I have a couple of these posters framed in my lounge room, so I think this tree design 'Aboretum' might just have to be a new set of cushions for my couch.....

 Prairie

Verger

You can read more about these beautiful fabrics here.