Alexandra Karamallis describes herself as “a very whatever I feel inspired to do is what I will do kind of a creative person.” Which is meant to say she does it all, and with creative abundance. Her work includes watercolor gouache painting and collage making, as well as sweater knitting.
“I love knitting and painting, but I go through phases with both of them,” she shared in an interview with Matter of Hand. “I will really focus on painting for four or five months and then, often in the fall, I’ll start to feel like I want to knit a sweater.”
Based in New York, she works as a painter and textile designer with the aim to make art that is at once thought-provoking and joyful. Nature is a recurring theme throughout her work, and specifically gardens. Through the juxtaposition of nature with architecture, she aims to draw attention to the beauty in diversity.
Her creative process includes a lot of research beforehand, which includes an exploration of colors and compositions. “Typically in the front end of the process I do the research and take notes, then I come to a decision more or less about what I want the content of the painting to be,” shared Karamallis. After her visual research, she sits down and paints. “I try to look at the whole thing throughout the process,” she adds. “I think that a lot of painters do that to create a larger, cohesive composition.”
See more of her original work on Instagram.
