Glorious Stems

Hey guys,
I'm Dylan Mierzwinski (Dylan M for short), a graphic designer, sewing enthusiast, and aspiring illustrator living in Phoenix, AZ. My illustrative style, while still developing, is highly inspired by vintage illustrations and prints, botanical drawings, hastily drawn lines on napkins, matchbooks, stamps, and iconography. Think Mary Blair meets Ed Emberly, with a simplified, feminine twist. My favorite colors lately are a muddy, mustardy, goldeny yellow/brown, paired with soft pinks, and bright orange-red.
I love flowers, Parks and Recreation, Michael Scott quotes, taking baths, and dogs. All dogs.
Also, I'm a new member of the Roost Tribe! So I'm posting this as my first challenge :) If you don't know what that means, I highly recommend you check out Bonnie's little world she's created.
A lot of people love gardens for their bright, happy nature, but I’ve always loved a garden in a summer evening, with deep emerald greens and pops of little flowers and buds.
These colors remind me of pieces my mom had in her kitchen when we were growing up: tea towels, aprons, egg cups, framed prints and dishes, tin trays - all with botanicals, fruits, and vegetables printed all over them. When I first made the palette I didn’t love the colors on their own, but in context, it feels just like her.
This palette on its own brings me back to my childhood days of colorful sweaters paired with coordinating leggings. In context it reminds me of a dollhouse, or dollhouse wallpaper. Or an old, kind of ugly but endearing chair your grandmother would have, which is totally what I love about it.
I've often felt color was my weakness, as palettes don't seem to come naturally to me. I've found that color combinations I like on their own don't produce a final product that speaks to me, and that I have to work a little harder to find palettes that bring to life my vision once in context. Bonnie's classes have been invaluable, but this one especially really helped me break out of my color-rut. I seriously came up with so many palettes before narrowing it down to the three I've showcased above. What fun it was!
Thanks again for the class and the challenge, Bonnie. This was a big milestone in my illustrator/surface pattern timeline!