BLUNT + Ellen Porteus | Limited Edition Collaboration
Ellen Porteus is an Australian artist whose eternally youthful and bad-ass feminist style is the highlight of our latest Limited Edition drop. We caught up with Ellen to chat about the inspiration behind her weird and wonderful neon jungle design.
What have you enjoyed most about the collaboration?
I loved the challenge of working with a new and unusual canvas! Playing around with how the umbrella would look at different angles, open, and closed was really fun. I was given a lot of creative freedom by the Blunt team to go wild with the patterns and colours, so seeing it come to life was amazing.
We’re loving the mysterious jungle vibe. Pink leopards on an umbrella? How did you get to this concept and what is the inspiration behind the design?
At the moment I’m really inspired by the patterns found in nature - the spots, the stripes, the shapes on animals, insects and foliage. I like taking inspiration from these and dialling them up a notch, making them bolder and brighter and a bit surreal. The Blunt Umbrella was the perfect canvas to play with this, layering pattern-on-pattern to create a really vibrant artwork. I liked the idea of featuring a lot of foliage on an umbrella because they’re what we use to take shelter in nature! I love using leopards and leopard print in my artwork because I love playing with the kitschiness of it.
What does your creative process look like?
Most of my work starts with very quick sketches and brainstorms on paper, getting as many ideas out as possible. Once I feel I have something worth exploring further, I progress to digitally drawn linework using a Wacom tablet. From there I tighten up the linework, spending a lot of time perfecting every line in Illustrator, colouring the piece, and adding and refining detail.
How would you describe the feeling of using the BLUNT + Ellen Porteus on a rainy day?
Rain, hail, or shine, I walk a lot! Even in rainy Melbourne when it’s grey and miserable I’m out and about. I hope this umbrella injects a bit of psychedelic fun and colour into people’s rainy days.
How do you choose what brands to collaborate with?
I love collaborating with brands who are passionate about what they do, and excited about what I can bring to the table. I also love trying new things, so when the opportunity presents itself to do something unique and fun, I’m all in!
Why BLUNT Umbrellas? What excited you about working with them?
I am really excited to be partnering with Blunt because they really take pride in the quality of their umbrellas. They have been fantastic to work with and really open and encouraging of my ideas. I love that they regularly collaborate with great artists in Australia and New Zealand.
Inspired by mysterious jungle landscapes, and with Ellen’s distinct use of glossy, tubular lines and contrasting colour, the design is a colourful eruption of foliage and hidden creatures. Perfect for those who like to live on the wild side.
The BLUNT + Ellen Porteus Limited Edition Metro is available to shop in the UK, AU and NZ.
