I first discovered Annabelle Golden of Graphics & Grain through her art — intricate, nature-driven, and carrying a restless energy that's hard to define until you learn she's been drawing it from the road.
Annabelle is currently cycling across Africa, carrying everything she owns on the back of her bike, and it's exactly that spirit that drew us to her work and made this collaboration feel inevitable. The print she created for Artist Series 004, Mirage, was born from a few quiet hours of meditative symmetry somewhere between continents.
We sat down with Annabelle to talk about life on two wheels, creativity as a daily practice, and what it means to make something beautiful while the world blurs past.
Enjoy.
Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?
I am from Long Island, New York! I went to college in New Orleans and it’s by far my favorite place to be in the United States. I currently live out of a bicycle and am using it to travel the world! I am making my way across the continent of Africa at the moment, and have plans to cycle around the world before settling down in one place again!
How did you first get into graphic and textile design?
During the early days of the pandemic I was looking for a hobby and skill that I could pour myself into and have always been so inspired by visual art but, not having too much innate talent, I thought it was a skill set beyond my reach. I had a very old iPad laying around and started playing around with digital art, and that medium unlocked a whole new potential for me. Not having to worry about making mistakes, having an endless undo button, and the ability to play with colors and textures at every stage of the process gave me so much freedom to experiment and try new things. That level of flexibility and experimentation was so much fun which led to me wanting to draw every day, and I firmly believe that it’s impossible to do something every day without seeing improvement. From then it was just a daily practice that I fell in love with!
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Nature, the outdoors, and all of the incredible colors, textures, and unexpected combinations that exist in the natural world.
What does your creative process look like?
My creative process has looked a lot different this year as I’ve started to travel full time on my bike. Without as much time to create, I find myself drawn to a lot of quicker, looser styles of drawing, like sketching, creating symmetrical symbols and iconography, and just going back to that early period of experimentation without feeling as much pressure to always create a polished and finished illustration. I tend to be very inspired by colors, so I will find a color palette that speaks to me and create with those 4-6 colors for weeks or months before finding new combinations to lean on.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability is so multi-faceted but for my current phase of life, sustainability is all about longevity. I travel by bike and have all of my possessions on that bike, or the small backpack strapped to the back of it – so every piece of clothing, gear, or miscellaneous item I carry with me needs to be thoughtful and intentional. Making sure all of those pieces can last a long time, be multifunctional and serve me in multiple situations and environments is so important to me. I truly can’t wait to replace my old and fraying bathing suit that I currently have with me with a piece from this collection – knowing that it’s meant to last and will be up to handle a more active lifestyle than your typical swimwear.
What inspired the design for this project?
Lately I’ve been extremely inspired by symmetry in my designs. I find that the drawing takes on a life of its own when bound by a constraint like symmetry. When I’m illustrating, there are so many decisions I make at every stage, but when I keep the drawing symmetrical, a lot of those decisions flow extremely naturally and without a lot of overthinking or second guessing. It becomes more of a free-flowing process, where each stroke of the pen is guided by the ones that came before it. So in this season of life, I want my creativity to feel calming and meditative, as a period of reprieve from the stress of everyday life. That’s exactly what this piece was. A few hours where I could really turn my brain off and let the shapes I created guide the rest of the piece.
What does this collaboration mean to you?
I love lending my work to different projects and opportunities for it to exist off the screen, but I find it so special when I get to work one on one with someone who’s building something special, going after a dream or creating something really intentional. So this collaboration was a really special one to dream up with Emily, where I got to hear the story of Saturday Swimwear, learn the motivations behind the brand and the work that goes into creating comfortable and sustainable swimwear. It makes every step of the process feel a lot more purposeful when I can feel assured and proud of where the print will ultimately end up!
How do you want someone to feel when they wear this print?
I hope people feel confident and comfortable when they wear this print and any of their Saturday Swimwear pieces. Feeling like you can move freely and run and play is so important and I hope this print makes people feel like they can do all of those things while looking cute too!
What’s next for you and your art?
This year, I’ve not had as much time to devote to my creativity as I would like, so I’m really hoping to just get back to the basics and spend more time drawing and experimenting and letting my style evolve. I would love to return to a daily practice of some kind, just finding a way for art to be a part of my routine again, rather than being reserved for when I have enough spare time.
What’s the best way for readers to get in touch with you?
Find me on instagram @graphicsandgrain for more of my art or @grainonthego if you’re keen to follow the bike adventures! I’m also on TikTok @annabelleegolden! Thanks for supporting!
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