An artist by nature, Vicky Lowe considers herself a surface pattern designer by trade. In her creative process, inspiration from her life on Hatteras Island and her travels around the globe becomes quick-study watercolors: Salty peg-leg sailors adorn kitchen aprons. Swimmers on floats drift on brightly colored porch pillows. Bees buzz among flowers on tea towels. “I don’t like labored things,” she says. “I want it to look fresh, spontaneous.”
A native of England and a university-trained graphic artist, Lowe enjoyed a career in London and New York, designing tabletop goods and textiles for Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Target, Bloomingdale’s, and Lenox. After initially visiting Hatteras Island to enjoy its renowned surfing, kiteboarding, and paddleboarding, she felt drawn to the ocean. In 2010, she moved to Avon and launched her own design company, A Good Catch.
Lowe has a gift for noticing the simple movements of the world around her and capturing them in her loose and natural painting style. She transfers her sketches and vignettes to a digital format, where she can turn them into patterns, which are then transposed onto fabric. From there, the possibilities are vast.
Lowe sells her cheerful textile goods and prints at markets and in galleries on the Outer Banks and around North Carolina. “People say my work makes them smile,” she says, “and that’s the best compliment.”
To learn more about Vicky Lowe’s work, visit agoodcatch.us.
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