Style Imitating Art…
Welcome back to my interpretation of a fun and unique piece of art. Salazar, Shelbee, and I are the curators. You can think of this series as fashion meets art museum! SIA challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Shelbee is this week’s curator with this illustration from a book. I hope you enjoy this post, the information, and my interpretation.
How it works…
Every other Monday one of us selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. We then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, we share our outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Shelbee chose this week’s art work for this round of Style Imitating Art. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. Please send your photo to Shelbee by Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 by 10 pm EST. Style Imitating Art is an interesting way to inspire your outfits. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.
The artist…
I hope Shelbee was able to uncover so much more about our artist than I was. There are two Katherine Quinns who happen to be authors/artists. After reading about the first, I realized she was not our Katherine Quinn. Ours lives in Pakipaki which is Maori for “applause.” She lives in the New Zealand countryside on a little hill with her family, her cat, Rosie, and two clownfish named Luna and Scout. Her husband’s name is Jono. I only mention that because I think it’s such a cool name. Oh, and Rosie is afraid of everything except bulls. I wonder how she knows that!
A little more…
Quinn’s father was a Canadian who emigrated to New Zealand and worked at the local Marineland when he first arrived. Quinn and her dad would look through his books and photos of marine life (I’m guessing here). She also said she was “lucky to grow up with parents who said I could do whatever I wanted as long as I cleaned up when I was finished.” Two of the things she really likes to draw are whales and fish. She had the opportunity to snorkel in coral reef at Rarotonga when she went on her honeymoon.
Still more…
As you can probably tell, Quinn draws her inspiration from the natural world, both above and below the waves. Her artistic process involves creating an illustration then uses Procreate and Photoshop. These digital tools allow her to create “detailed, textured artwork” with a “hand-drawn sensibility.”
“Katherine’s work is highly original, often witty, and always full of charm. With a keen eye for detail and a fresh perspective, her illustrations are loved worldwide. Whether depicting life beneath the waves or creatures of the land, her work invites viewers to take a closer look. Passionate about sparking curiosity, Katherine Quinn creates art that invites others to explore and appreciate the beauty of nature.”
Even more…
Quinn had an imaginary friend named January. Her mother said that friend disappeared once her little brother got a “bit more interesting and interactive.” Quinn’s dream project would be “to have a range of home décor products or children’s line of bedding featuring some of my work.” She believes a fabric collection would be like “creating a world or a story.” Both of these things are important to her.
A skosh more…
“Creating worlds has always been something that is very important to me and in my patterns I like to think each element has its own sense of belonging to the world and whatever/whoever sits easy in my brain. So creating patterns and fabric collections was a natural progression for me… the frantic sense of excited chaos getting elements to fit and then the overwhelming sense of harmony when they do and the fact that I can create a structured repeating rhythm that could go on forever… feels a little bit like magic.”
Finally…
Quinn likes to collect things. She loves seeing bunches of things that are the same or very similar grouped together. And, supermarket shelves really delight her…I cannot even imagine that! My supermarket is always moving things around so it is my least favorite place in the whole world. But, that’s just me! She says,
“So creating patterns and fabric collections was a natural progression for me… the frantic sense of excited chaos getting elements to fit and then the overwhelming sense of harmony when they do and the fact that I can create a structured repeating rhythm that could go on forever… feels a little bit like magic.”
The artwork…
This piece of art is an illustration in the book, Pets and Their Famous Humans. Quinn’s art is described as “Each of these wonderfully entertaining stories is made even more appealing by Katherine Quinn’s captivating illustrations. Rich in detail and reminiscent of folk art, they capture the humor and poignancy of these fascinating pairings. Together these stories and illustrations will create lasting impressions that will help young readers identify historic figures and spark joy in friendships with the animals in their own lives.” The book measures 8.32 x 0.44 x 10.7 inches. The book was published on March 19, 2020. It’s available in hardback. It doesn’t appear to be available in paperback or ebook.
Sources…
Katherine Quinn’s representatives
My interpretation…
This may have been one of the toughest SIA challenges for me yet! I went solely with colors. I thought about going with a more playful look, but I just couldn’t come up with anything. I’m wearing a gold-ish color corduroy duster from J Jill. I’m kinda surprised it’s still available. I think that’s because it came out so late in the season. I thought the corduroy was a good way to show the texture of Frida’s cape or sweater. I thought about wearing a blue dress, but I couldn’t find any that were plain. You watch…I’ll find one later this week! So, I went with an old navy embroidered tee from Talbots and a pair of old jeans from Loft. I didn’t have a flower crown so I used a scarf for that part of the artwork. The outfit is OK, but it’s not my favorite!
The Lewk!
I really, really hope Adidas comes out with more colors of these sneakers. I have them in blue as well as my Adidas Sambas in a beigie color with lavender stripes. These are my München Sneakers in the silver/off white/silver color. They are even more comfortable than my Sambas! As I looked at the artwork, I noticed our Frida was wearing red beads around her neck. That informed my decision to pick this beautiful necklace by Michael Michaud. My necklace doesn’t appear on his website, and the earrings that are similar are larger than mine. I bought both the earrings and the necklace at the museum gift shop.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I really like this illustration, and, if I were still teaching, I would buy this book for my classroom library. I love the simplicity of the illustration as well as the vibrant colors. It’s just a happy little illustration, isn’t it? So, can we talk? Did you think I’d be carrying a deer? Did you ever have an imaginary friend? Why do you think Frida Kahlo was included in this book? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Don’t forget…
If you want to be included in the Style Imitating Art round up, send Shelbee your photo by 10:00 pm EST, Tuesday, March 10th. Photos of everyone participating will appear on her blog on Wednesday, March 11th! If you’re interested in joining us, consider all of your options…the colors, the textures, the feelings they evoke! Come on, give it a try! I think you’ll love it!
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
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Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World . I also link up with I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month as well as the Global Writing Challenge on the second Thursday. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, Cat, and Rena. I also host 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
It works well Marsha and a plus deer would have covered up too much of your outfit!
I think it looks great! The duster really pulls out the color and feel of the painting.
This is totally something I would wear. I love the duster.
No deer, what a pity …. 😉
That duster is fabulous, Marsha! I love the colour! I also really enjoy seeing you in jeans and sneakers for a change.
The art is super cute, shame you’re not carrying a baby deer too lol!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
Your corduroy duster is amazing and works really well for representing this artwork. While this may not be one of your favorite outfits, I really like seeing you in causal denim outfits sometimes! Unfortunately, I was not able to find much about the artist either. I linked a few interviews with her in my post that are quite interesting. After I finished my photos and changed my clothing, I spotted a deer Beanie Baby sitting on top of my vanity. I wish I had seen it sooner because I would have used it in my photos. Instead, I am just holding an imaginary deer! LOL I never had an imaginary friend that I can recall, but my younger brother did. He would stand at the front window at night and talk to his reflection, which he named Davin. It took us forever to fugue out who this Davin kid was but once we did, we laughed so hard!
Shelbee
I just love how you wore the scarf around your waist…it really set the outfit to make it fabulous, and the duster is a great option.
XOOX
Jodie