Behind The Design: Wild Sweet Pea
Summer is here and with it brings an abundance of seasonal blooms. On walks you may come across a pop of bright pink within the hedgerows: The everlasting sweet pea or my preferred name, the wild sweet pea - the subject matter of my summer homeware and stationery collection.
The colourful flora is not native to the UK, yet is widespread in the countryside throughout Wales, Scotland and England. It is thought to be a garden escapee and as it’s name suggests, grows year after year wherever it establishes itself.
I have a personal connection to the flower, I have grown up seeing it bloom every summer in my Nan’s garden. I have always loved the vibrant hue of this particular sweet pea, so it made an excellent choice for a summer textile collection!
The Design
I am always in awe of the striking floral colour, traditionally I’ve always thought of and only seen sweet peas depicted on textiles and other media as being light, pastel hues painted delicately in a watercolour-esque style. As I began designing this pattern, I fell into the same approach and choose a white background, believing it to be what suits the flower best.
In-keeping with my other designs, I illustrated a painted lady butterfly to add to the pattern. From my research, I discovered that everlasting sweet peas are prefered by small whites, however this would be difficult to replicate on a light background. However, migratory butterflies like the painted lady will occasionally visit the flower (if their own favourite flower is not available). Not quite the same, but this did fix the dilemma I was in!
It wasn’t until I looked back at my previous work, woodland mushrooms and wild daffodils that I realised that a lot of my signature designs actually differentiate from what is expected from the subject matter; This was due to the contrast between the illustration and the background colour, which replicates well onto the cotton of my textiles.
The Collection
The everlasting sweet pea will forever be an icon of summer wildflowers. To be able to capture its beauty within my designs is pure joy. I hope you love the growing collection of home textiles and stationery.
Take a look at the collection here and comment below with your thoughts on everlasting sweet peas!