Caitlin McGauley really needs no introduction for the die-hard Marysia followers– her flowing watercolor take on leopard debuted
on our Summer 2014 collection, its popularity making it a no-brainer when choosing to use the print again for the first Marysia Sport pieces in 2019.
Most recently, her hand-painted black polka dots were featured in our Summer 2022 collection.
We are head-over-heels for her latest endeavour: a hand-painted seashell print that adorns everything from swimwear to apparel to Bumby for our Resort 2023 collection.
Rendered in watercolor, the whimsical pattern takes on the natural beauty of Harbour Island’s pink sand beaches and turquoise waters.
Below, we learn about what inspires her, why watercolor is her chosen medium, and get a glimpse of her process when creating our print.
xoxo
Marysia
How did you get started with watercolor?
I felt the need to draw and doodle on every scrap of paper when I was little. My mother carried around a notepad wherever we went, and she eventually enrolled me in watercolor lessons. Although I have tried every medium from oils to block prints to clay, watercolor has always been my favorite, probably because I started so young.
Where do you most draw inspiration from?
Unique shapes of flower petals, leaves, vines, or shells. I take a long walk every day and take lots of pictures to use for future paintings.
How does travel influence your work?
Since I primarily paint flowers and bright prints, there can be a shortage of inspiration in the dark winter months where I live in the northeast. After a few months of gray, it's nice to travel south somewhere warm and see turquoise water, hot pink orchids, and lime green sea grape leaves.
What was your process behind the MARYSIA Seashell print?
The idea originated when designing a grasscloth wallpaper for Marysia's home in the Bahamas. I started the print over the summer when I was collecting a lot of shells, and made little watercolors of those that I had collected. Then, I placed the paintings in different formations to see which colors and shapes worked best next to each other. The patterns on the shells themselves were so intricate and beautiful. The wallpaper has a flowing, meandering repeat as though you are walking on a beach and looking down. For swim, the shells are laid out close together to look more like a group of shells collected on a trip to the beach.
