It’s always a treat to meet the talent behind the art and today I present you with Lina Moysis. Her illustrations and paintings pepper the print, marketing and clothing at Urban Outfitters and Free People. I asked her to share her inspiration and working style and was incredibly impressed with her response. She’s one smart cookie.

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I’m inspired by history, by how it morphs our environments and how it is woven into our experiences. These layers are evident in every environment, from clamoring cities to quiet countrysides. I find those histories to be most inspiring. As a designer, this finds its way into my process, from the subject matter of my art to the significance it has in my own life…from the colors I see to the people that I meet.  As a textile design, I find these histories repeated time and time again, each era redefining the past to make the history it’s own. Each era responding to it’s environment while simultaneously influencing it. Pattern’s role is just that. A constant dialogue of histories both past and present.

My time as a designer at Free People has influenced and encouraged me to ask questions of my own. Free People’s aesthetic and ideology lies in it’s roots. It draws it’s inspiration from history and cultures worldwide. As the audience, we feel connected to this aesthetic because we’re familiar with it. The textures of these histories are tangible. And yet, something new is created out of the past based on current trends so that the final product is both familiar and new. My creative process is very similar..familiar and new. I love the texture of real paint and pencil- of tactile materials. I feel that we yearn for the tangible in a digital age. That there is a way to reconcile both the past and the present. I explore this.