Some creative work begins with a brief, a trend report, or a moodboard. But for textile and print designer Alexandra Farmer, the spark often arrives unannounced, intuitively, and without a plan.
“When I’m not on a client project, my personal work tends to begin in my head,” she says. “I hate to use the word doodling, but that’s often how it starts. With one small flower, and then another, until it grows into something expressive.”
Letting the Work Lead
There is no still-life setup in her studio. No vase of peonies positioned just so. The flowers that fill her work aren’t literal, they’re imagined, remembered, and felt.
Her process is fluid, instinctive, and personal. What begins as one petal can evolve into an entire garden of shapes, color, and mood, an outlet that often mirrors her inner landscape.
“It becomes a real expression of my mental health. I just make it up as I go. I go into a total zone.”
This intuitive approach has become Alex's signature, organic, unplanned, and alive.
Three Mediums, Three Worlds
- Gouache – “It’s a very traditional form of painting for textiles,” she says. “With gouache, the work becomes bold and painterly.”
- Fine-liner pens – Paired with Copic alcohol markers, these pieces take on precision, filled with detail and structure.
- Colored pencil – Offering softness, layering, and nuance, this medium brings a whimsical evolution of leaves, shapes, and botanical forms.
Each medium Alex uses has its own ecosystem. “If I pick up a pen in the morning, I know it’s going to turn into a certain style of work, but it’s not intentional. It just grows that way.”
Where Light Shapes Creativity
Alex's studio, attached to her home in Ojai, California, opens into the kind of light artists dream about.
“The morning light here is beautiful,” she shares, a time when her creativity feels fresh and grounded. But there’s another moment she holds dear, the one locals call The Pink Moment.
As the sun sets behind the mountains, the sky shifts into layered shades of rose and apricot, a cinematic wash of color that feels like nature exhaling.
“It’s magical. That dusk time is special. The sky turns pink, the mountains turn pink, it's a full sensory experience.”
A History of Craft
Born and raised in England, Alex grew up steeped in the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris, Aubrey Beardsley, and the distinctly British tradition of pattern as storytelling.
“It was almost immediate after I graduated, I went straight into print design,” she says. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years now.”
Those early influences are part of Alex's creative DNA. Romantic yet modern, intricate yet full of movement.
A Practice of Evolution
No single reference, no one source of truth. That’s the beauty of Alex's work. Drawings emerge, and color follows, shifting, combining, and evolving until the piece lands somewhere right.
“The evolution of plants and flowers and nature and leaves that come into my head. I’ve just gathered them over the years.”
In the background, three black cats often curl up beside her as she paints, a reminder that creativity can be nurtured with comfort, companionship, and a little mischief.
Discover Alexandra's Artscape wallpaper collaboration.
Photos by Georgina Harrison
