Jamie Fingal: Drawing, Painting, and Daily Practice

By Contemporary Textile Review

In August 2019, artist and textile innovator Jamie Fingal opened a window into her studio life, sharing her continued commitment to daily visual journaling and mixed media exploration. Known for her vibrant quilt work and imaginative motifs, Fingal has long treated drawing and painting not as separate practices, but as an integral extension of her fiber art.

The Tools of Her Trade

Fingal’s creative toolbox reveals a well-curated mix of favorites: pan watercolor kits for their portability and rich pigmentation, Micron pens for clean, archival lines, and a variety of brushes suited to detail work and expressive washes. “It’s all about the layering,” she explains — both in materials and meaning.

Her workspace is vibrant and functional, filled with color palettes, brush holders, and sketchbooks in progress. Each object is chosen for its function, but also for the inspiration it contributes to her process.

Daily Practice as Ritual

At the heart of Fingal’s method is the discipline of daily creation. In her visual journals, she captures whimsical scenes, personal symbols, and snippets of everyday life. The act of drawing becomes a ritual — a moment of reflection and invention. These pages often serve as the blueprint for future quilt projects, evolving naturally from sketch to stitch.

“Drawing and painting keep me connected to joy,” Fingal notes, emphasizing how important play is to sustaining creativity. Her visual journals are as much about emotion as they are about composition — a playful yet intentional archive of her days.

Where Fabric Meets Ink

What sets Jamie Fingal apart is her seamless merging of media. Her paintings inspire quilt patterns, and her quilts inform her ink work. She treats fabric like paper and ink like thread. The boundaries between mediums blur, giving birth to pieces that are full of personality and movement.

Her August 2019 reflections remind us that art need not always begin with a finished goal. Sometimes, it starts with a sketch, a splash of color, and the courage to return to the page every day.

To see more of Jamie Fingal’s work and daily creative experiments, visit her blog post: Drawing and Painting (August 2019).