Holding Patterns

Alternating beads on a bracelet. Stripes on an umbrella. Floor tiles. Patterns are everywhere. They even appear in nature, like leaves growing in a regular arrangement on a branch. Pattern is also one of an artist’s most powerful tools.

Some artists rely on sharp, geometric patterns, building with shapes like squares, triangles, and circles. Others prefer organic patterns inspired by nature. And many artists use both. The results can be realistic, stylized, or even a combination of styles. Keep reading to learn how the artists featured here use pattern to add rhythm, texture, and depth to their work.

Colorful beads on a bracelet. Stripes on an umbrella. Patterns are everywhere. They even appear in nature, like petals on a flower. Some artists use shapes like squares and triangles to build geometric patterns. Others prefer organic patterns inspired by nature. Many artists use both. The results can be realistic or stylized. Keep reading to learn how the artists featured here use pattern in their work.

Matthew Wong, a Canadian artist, is known for his skillful use of pattern in paintings of landscapes and interior spaces that burst with light and texture. In his 2018 oil painting Night Moods, above, Wong’s work is painterly, with visible strokes over areas of flat color. He fills the composition with clusters of flowers, rippling waves, and dabs and dots of color. Notice how he uses one pattern for the floor and others for the walls. This technique helps Wong define spaces within the scene. How would this composition be different without the patterns? Would it still look like an interior?

Matthew Wong is a Canadian artist. He’s known for his skillful use of pattern. His 2018 oil painting Night Moods is above. Wong’s artwork is painterly because it uses visible strokes of paint over areas of flat color. He fills the painting with clusters of flowers, rippling waves, and dabs of color. Notice how Wong uses one pattern for the floor and others for the walls. This helps him create the shape of a room.

Kehinde Wiley fills his 2015 Portrait of Natasha Zamor, above, with curling, organic patterns. Lush flowers disappear into the background behind the figure. Look closely and you’ll notice that they also crawl into the foreground, looping through her hair and across her torso. This creates the illusion that the flowers encircle her on all sides. Is the floral pattern meant to look like wallpaper, or like real vines swirling across the scene?

American artist Kehinde Wiley painted Portrait of Natasha Zamor, above, in 2015. Lush flowers disappear behind the figure. They also loop across her body and through her hair. This creates the illusion that the flowers wrap around her. Is the pattern meant to look like wallpaper? Or are they real vines?

American artist Fred Tomaselli combines geometric and organic patterns in his 2021 work Bear Cam, above. The artist uses patterns to render a bear catching fish in this stylized fantastical world. Geometric stars and circles, each inscribed with tiny patterns, become glimmering jewels in the sky. Notice how the colors and textures in the stars echo the fishes’ scales and the bear’s fur, creating unity. Concentric circles and spirals become a splashing river. Tomaselli uses these patterns to create a captivating setting, inviting you to get lost in the details.

Study the works shown here. Which method of using pattern is your favorite?

Fred Tomaselli is an American artist. He combines geometric and organic patterns in his 2021 Bear Cam, above. The work depicts a bear catching fish. The stars and circles in the sky have tiny patterns inside them. They look like shining jewels. Notice how their colors and textures echo those in the fishes’ scales and the bear’s fur. This creates unity in the scene. Meanwhile, Tomaselli uses concentric circles to create a splashing river. These patterns invite you to get lost in the scene.