About me…
I grew up in Connecticut. I went to the Hartford Art School in the early 1970s, where I'm pretty sure I studied something. For the next decade or so, I worked as a magazine art director and designer in Boston and Denver. I moved to the Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, in 1989, where I established my own art direction, publication design and production business. After a 25-year run, I retired. I now spend my time creating these distinctive patterns and digital prints.
My process…
I’ve been working with patterns that repeat for several years now. All of these designs begin with a selection of small tiles. I use multiple tiles to make patterns that repeat in unusual ways. I work with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. These designs are not generated with coding, but by manipulating tiles within a grid. The patterns repeat perfectly, but the repeat is not readily apparent. I’ve used these patterns to design fabric for custom clothing, tablecloths, bedspreads, pillows, aprons, etc., using both printed and woven fabrics.
For my digital prints, I combine these very graphic patterns with photographs that I’ve taken of textures found in nature and architectural or other elements. The interplay between the graphic elements and the photographic images is the focus of my work. Because the work is digital, I can print to a number of surfaces including canvas, paper and aluminum.
MEDIUM: All of my work is digital. I work with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Ways to contact the artist
Website: www.billcooke.com
Instagram: @billcooke.art
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Studio Location: Kent, CT
