Ruth-Mary Smith
Meet the Artist
Ever wanted to know more about the talent behind our prints? Come sit down with us as we chat with the artists, and learn more about them and their day-to-day life.
Ruth-Mary Smight of Whimsical Illustrations and Designs joins us this week to share a bit about herself. Make sure you check out her amazing art on our Artist Marketplace and pop some of it into your cart today!
A little about myself…
Hi, I’m Ruth-Mary, named after my two nans, so no favouritism! I live in Sydney, close to the beautiful northern beaches. I live with my husband and three daughters who are all growing up really, really quickly! One special thing about my family is that we are a patchwork family- a family formed by adoption, fostering and natural birth. My family is a precious gift that brings me so much joy! My favourite season is autumn leading into winter. I love arriving home to the cozy fire.
Tell us about your illustration
I am an illustrator and have the great pleasure of illustrating children’s books as well as designing for fabrics and paper goods. I have been drawing for a long time and use a hybrid of traditional and digital mediums. A couple of months ago I had my picture book ‘Little Mister Gets a Sister’ written by Samaria Lemke, released by Larrikin House in Australia. It certainly is a joy to see your illustrations in print. I am working on another picture book at the present time.
I started designing for fabrics a couple of years ago when I was saddened that I had many sketchbooks of characters that were not being able to ‘live’. I looked into pattern design, and I was hooked! I love fabric – there I said it! Seeing my characters come to life on fabric is so exciting. Last week I sewed a Christmas skirt with one of my Christmas designs, I can’t wait to wear it out.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I love designing for the children’s market, I think the joy from my own family is a big influence for me. I am also influenced by vintage styles, if you came and had a cup of tea with me you would see that is certainly true in my house and décor. It also greatly influences my palette; I just love vintage greens, browns, and pinks. I love muted colours and put a lot of thought and experimentation into colour schemes for my design work. I work in a hand-drawn style because this is the type of artwork and artists that I am drawn to.
I am excited to be part of the Cloth Cuts team of artists and look forward to releasing more designs in the new year.
Where can we find you?
You can find me here…
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ruthmary_smith
Email ruthmaryillustrates@gmail.com
