From absent-minded doodles to a unique style of layered digital prints, graphic designer Quentin Horn is making the most of his talents.

What began as a creative outlet for graphic designer Quentin Horn – “something other than logos and corporate identities” – has seen him turn his doodles into art.

How did you develop your style?

I was about to recycle a notebook when I noticed my doodles – pages full that I had unconsciously drawn while speaking to someone on the phone, trying to work out the best colour combination for a corporate identity or wondering what to have for dinner. On a whim I scanned all 200 pages and painstakingly “cut” them out in Photoshop to create my first “brush” library. I started to use these ‘brushes’ to create a bigger picture, so to speak, and it just snowballed from there.

Do you have a favourite medium?

I don’t like pens much; I only use them to fill in forms. Give me an 0,5 mm 2B clutch pencil and I’m happy – the softness of the lead on paper is very satisfying. Photoshop is my studio. I did a piece for Heritage Day last year titled I am Layers, which had 1 410 layers.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am busy creating pieces for what will be my first solo exhibition. The idea started with outings to the park with my son, Felix. We are magpies and our collection of found objects includes many ceramic fragments. I have been looking online to see if I can match pieces to Delft designs, and this has caused me to pay more attention to their subject matter: mostly Dutch landscapes, scenery and portraits. Which got me thinking… Imagine if the first Dutch settlers were able to take photos and email them home to be painted on ceramics in order to share the newly discovered plants, animals and people from the southern tip of Africa. Reading Jan van Riebeeck’s diary and the recorded explorations of Robert Gordon has given me some insight, and I have completed four pieces, with more in the making. I juggle this with commissions to pay the bills.

What’s next for you?

I would love to collaborate with other designers and artists, and see my art applied in fashion and textiles. Other than that, I will continue to add new South African-themed prints to my range.

See more of Quentin’s work at doodlesbyq.com.

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From exquisite pendants and vintage bulbs to timber designs and chandeliers, when it comes to sprucing up your lighting at home, the options are seemingly endless. It also means that more often than not, the traditional lamp shade is easily dismissed as old fashioned.

Well, here are 6 modern options we thought we’d share… just in case.

1. Crosses Drum Medium Lamp Shade (29cm x 20cm) R129.99, Mr Price Home

2. Large Jozi Lamp Shade R329.95 (42cm x 27cm), The Lighting Warehouse

3. Under The Bell Shade (46cm x 82cm), Price on Request, Muuto at Créma

4. Garden Fabric Lamp Shade (47cm x 33cm) R850, Quentin Horn at VAMP

5. Textured Lamp Shade in Grey (40cm x 22cm) R299, Studio. W at Woolworths

6. Tapered Cross Hatch Lamp Shade (35cm x 22cm) R249, @home

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Most doodles remain outside the margins of notebooks and diaries, never to be revisited or seen by anybody other than their author. Not so for artist and freelance graphic designer Quentin Horn, who recently held an exhibition that took doodling to an art form.

After years of throwing away his old notebooks, Quentin realised that he had pages full of doodles drawn while he was on the phone, or trying to come up with design solutions for client briefs. Eventually he decided to scan one of his notebooks to see what could be done with all the doodles.

That first notebook had 200 A4 pages of little scribbles and odd-looking faces, says Quentin. “I quickly realised that there were so many different textures and densities to these individual images, and that they could be used as ‘brush strokes’ to create depth and bring definition to a bigger image.”

Those brush strokes were recently shown to the public, when he hosted an exhibition at I Love My Laundry in Cape Town’s Buitenkant Street.  “The prints are unlimited, primarily because I want my art to be affordable to everyone,” he says. Faith, an A3 print of Gandhi’s face goes for a mere R300.

The popularity of Quentin’s work is such that he is now creating bigger doodles directly onto paper for client commissions. On the addition of these one-off pieces, he says, “This has been an interesting experience, as now the doodles are more thought through and not as organic. But both versions have their place.”

His current selection of work is available for sale at three Cape Town venues: I Love My Laundry, Vamp Furniture in Woodstock, and at PRESENTspace in Lifestyle On Kloof. There’s also an online shop planned for the near future.

View more of his work at facebook.com/DoodlesQuentinHorn.

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