A friend of mine asked me to make custom designed tea towels for her kitchen. My only instructions were, “any design you like. vintage inspired…. maybe tattoo inspired.”
I will admit I was a little nervous with this request. I have never had someone ask for custom work so I had a lot to figure out. Primarily following my design instincts and running with it with confidence and of course figuring out what the design should be. She told me that she wanted black tea towels and that I should use “artists discretion” for the other colors. I made a list of possible images to paint, mostly kitchen oriented such as an old malt machine, or milk bottles etc. Nothing really felt right and I was not sure how to make them look tattoo inspired. I love tattoos so I wanted to make sure I included it well in the image choice and execution.
Then I decided that I should focus on the tattoo design instead of kitchen design. What are typical American style vintage tattoos? Top of my list barn swallows, nautical stars, banners, hearts, anchors, and pinups. I opted for two barn swallows with a nautical star in the middle, and I hope that she likes them too! I also decided to add the design to my etsy shop, click on the image below to purchase.
If you would like custom designs done, please visit my etsy store or send an email to peaksboutique@gmail.com.
Erica
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