Worked on this pattern yesterday and thought I’d show where it came from. I had created this page in my sketchbook using a large brush and very watery paint. I liked the contrast of colors and the bits of more opaque paint which reinforced the vertical lines

Watery shapes

I wanted to keep the watery design but wanted a small diamondish pattern. At first I removed the background and shaped up the diamonds freehand in photoshop. There were things I liked about it but I felt it was not a finished design.

Finished Design, Three color ways

In the final version I selected more hard edge shapes and worked with them. The variety of the shapes, none of which are true diamonds works with the loose ramdomness of the watercolor, while the hard edges give contrast. The black background came first, then, after explorations, I settled on the group of three. The only difference is the in background colors, yet they work well together and each stands on it’s own with it’s own feeling..