TRANQUI PRINTS
NICK MAHSHIE [2007, Painting]
Based in Pasadena, CA
Tranqui Prints draws inspiration from the blend of pattern, color, and natural phenomena unique to artist Nick Mahshie’s hometown of Miami. Each print represents love for the outrageous and beautiful—millions of caterpillars raining from live oaks, fossilized sea creatures embedded in carved limestone walls, iguana tails draping over fence posts in the humid summer air. The tropics embody a visceral connection to the balmy air and hot sky; saturated colors and enhanced brightness. It’s the sun hitting the water and radiating a palette of pastels across the clouds.
Working with small artesian teams of traditional textile printers and dyers in Jaipur, India—Tranqui creates limited edition runs of its unique apparel designs and accessories. The materials are made with primarily natural fibers (100% cotton/linen blends) and coconut husk buttons. Every print design undergoes the same process of development, beginning with hand-drawn and painted sketches, color studies, and eventual repeat pattern trials and sample swatch production.
Mahshie, founder of Tranqui Prints, grew up catching lizards and climbing trees in the working class neighborhood of Westchester, in Southwest Miami. Growing up with a single mom, he found his voice in the expressive potential of the hyper-saturated palette, whimsical shapes, and mystical nature of the life he created for himself outdoors.
