Designer Feature: Patrice Horvath
We’re thrilled to feature Patrice Horvath, an endlessly talented artist and designer based in New Jersey. Filled with colorful patterning, thematic illustrations, and whimsical watercoloring, Patrice’s invitation designs beautifully set the stage for dozens of birthdays, weddings, and outdoor events (with a fresh, colorful aesthetic!) Today, she’s here to share a bit more about her journey, her inspiration, and her favorite part of the design process.
Can you share a favorite design from your Greenvelope.com collection? What was the creative process like?
My favorite is Watermelon Whimsy–my first and most popular design for Greenvelope. I usually have a weekly painting session, where I’ll sit down with my watercolors and some rough ideas. It’s usually on the weekend so I can have some fun without the pressure of client work. This design started as some paintings in my sketchbook. I’ll scan it in at high resolution and then my graphic design skills kick in. I really enjoy the process of seeing my art come to life on these beautiful digital invitations.
Can you share a bit more about your journey as an artist? How did you get started to where you are now?
It runs in my family, so I was always drawing. When I was a kid, I’d make hundreds of paper dolls–draw them, cut them out, and then create rooms of a house and every type of accessory. I continued to focus on art in high school and started oil painting. In college, I majored in graphic design and after graduation I began working at a magazine. Then I worked for five years at a boutique design agency, working on every type of project for print, web and animation. A few years ago, I started getting the itch to paint again and this time gave watercolors a try. I was hooked! I started posting my work on Instagram and selling it online. I fell in love with seeing my artwork applied to all types of products and decided to pursue it full time. More recently, working with Greenvelope has been a great way of merging my paintings with my love of invitation design.
Other than stationery, what types of design or artwork do you do?
Besides stationery, I love to apply my art to products in the home decor, gift and apparel markets. I do this frequently in my Society6 shop but I also have some licensing deals in the works with great companies that I hope to announce soon. I also get a lot of requests for freelance surface pattern design and graphic design work and I have a select rotation of clients I like to work with.
What part of the design process do you enjoy the most?
Even though I enjoy the flow of painting, I get really excited when I see that work start coming to life on stationery and different types of products. I start to see the possibilities and get inspired to keep creating!
What is your motto or favorite quote?
My motto is “fake it ‘til you make it.” We never feel ready or fully prepared to do something and tend to focus on how we’re not qualified. Saying this to myself gives me that extra confidence boost I need so I can figure it out as I go along and just go for it!
3 Favorites
- Favorite Color: A coral pink! It’s so pretty and feminine but more mature than baby pink.
- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Banana gelato. I spent time in Italy so I know you can judge a shop’s gelato authenticity by the color of their banana flavor. It needs to be more of a light brown than a yellow.
- Favorite Television Series: Certainly not my only favorite, but I’ve been rewatching the Wonder Years. What a great show about simpler times and teen angst. Kevin Arnold–so cute!
A huge thank you to Patrice Horvath for joining us today! You can can check out her full stationery collection on Greenvelope here.
