From Print to Fashion: Painting for textile design with Tara Whalley

Want to turn your creative ideas into original prints for fashion and textiles? Join artist Tara Whalley for a hands-on painting workshop exploring how to transform your artwork into textile design.

This is a 100% analogue workshop – no computers, no digital design, just paint, paper and creative experimentation. Working with gouache, you’ll explore colour mixing, imagery and composition, learning how to approach your paintings with fashion prints in mind. Tara will share practical tips from her own creative practice, including inspiration drawn from her work with Gorman, helping you develop your own ideas and creative approach to textile design.

Set inside the colourful world of the ATW studio, you’ll be surrounded by vibrant tapestries, inspiring artworks and objects from Tara’s personal collection. Take inspiration from the colours, patterns and textures around you as you create your own original painted artwork.

Whether you’re studying fashion, developing your design portfolio or simply curious about the world of textile design, this is an opportunity to experiment, build your painting skills and learn from an established creative practitioner.

Leave with your own original artwork, along with practical painting techniques and fresh ideas for creating artwork for textile design and future projects.

No previous painting experience is required. All materials are supplied. Please wear clothes you don’t mind getting paint on.

Skill level: No experience necessary. Ages 18+

Materials: All materials supplied.

Tara Whalley is a Melbourne-based fashion designer and artist whose label is known for its distinctive hand-painted prints. Inspired by her time working with Mayan weavers in Guatemala, Tara developed a painting practice that transforms her experiences into original textile designs. Her work has featured at Paris and New York Fashion Weeks and in publications including Vogue and The Design Files. She won Frankie Magazine’s 2019 Fashion Designer Award.