Abigail Bromige-Smith

Abigail Bromige-Smith is an artist, designer, and maker, living and working in South East London. Her work exhibits a love for colour, shape, and pattern, taking inspiration from 1970s and Art Deco design.

Her journey into the creative world started when she moved to London in 2013 to study Illustration at the University of the Arts. “I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do, but I couldn’t imagine a life doing anything but a creative job,” says Abigail. She continues; “I struggled at Uni; not only was the cost of living more than my part-time job could cover, but I didn’t feel like I had my own *style* in the way that others did on my course”. After graduating, needing to pay her rent Abigail got sucked into full-time work that she wasn’t passionate about. However, after losing her job in early 2020 her creative flame was reignited; “I was able to take a step back and think about what really excites me and why I moved to London in the first place”. She began working non-stop to build up her portfolio, and it wasn’t long before she started taking on commissions. Today, Abigail works full-time as a Graphic Designer and spends her mornings, evenings, and weekends working on her own creative venture.

Abigail has always had a love for drawing and printmaking, but has more recently been experimenting with digital art and how it can be translated to other forms. An example of this is her recent collaboration with hat brand Camilla Ashley. Abigail worked with Camilla on a range of bucket hats using 4 unique prints she had designed. “I’m super proud of them and really enjoyed learning more about textiles and repeat patterns,” describes the print designer.

Her designs usually begin by creating a library of shapes either digitally on Adobe Illustrator or on graph paper. For her recent Peckham project, Abigail explored the streets of Peckham and used her sketchbook to collect shapes, colours, and textures. She then used this collection of elements to create unique compositions, abstracting the area. The colours used in the project were even taken from some hanging string-vests she spotted on her venture.Abigail reminisces of first falling for shape and pattern at 6 years old, when her family moved into a big empty house in serious need of some TLC; “They stripped back the walls to uncover the ugliest 70s wallpaper you can imagine – but I loved it”. As a big fan of 70s rock, this subconscious influence is also evident in her work, as well as inspiration from artists including  Bridget Riley, Andy Warhol, David Hicks, and Orla Kiely.

“I think the end-goal for me is to be freelance. I know it won’t be an easy jump to make, but nothing good ever comes without risk,” concludes Abigail. Currently, she is working on a range of prints exploring typography, shape, and texture, and has only scratched the surface of what is possible. Keep an eye out for some more exciting collaborations in the pipe-line over the next few months!

www.abibromiges.com
@abibromiges

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