Marimekko

I started a new painting after finding a "Dick Blick" store nearby.....awesome. I had never actually been into a DB store before just always orderd from their catalog, so having a large one just 1.2 miles from my house (or .2 miles from the Clybourn stop on the el) is just really great. So i finally got some art supplies since I left a good about of my papers and canvasas in the move. 

Below are two tapestries that inspired the start of my painting: (they are not mine)

I had seen the lower tapestry in CB2 (which is the super fancy Crate & Barrell) for a ton of money. This one is "Ystavat" by Maija Louekari. I really liked the simplicity of it and I wanted to try to make something as sketchy and together as this. After looking up the designer Maija Louekari, from Finland, I have found a lot of other "Marimekko" designs, which I'm pretty sure is just the company, but all of their fabrics have these really great simplistic outline designs. 

So I attempted my own version with this crazy picture I fell in love with of old men wearing some sort of 3D glasses. Awesome. Once again I can only do like one style. I attempted to make it abstract and outlined and sketchy.....and it turned out cartoonish. Its ok it's fine right now, but its not Marimekko. I plan on fixing some of it. I like how the orange background doesn't touch the outlines and is messy, but now I think im going to add some gray washes to the faces for some depth if i'm going to completly abandon this "marimekko" style.  Oh well I will attempt again, maybe on something not people, since I can only do them like this.