2025 Year Review
Highlights
- It snowed in Charleston and I made some tiny snow paintings!
- Dress Collab with Beau and Ro
- Greece Retreat, first time doing Al Fresco!
- Cover for The Correspondent (German version!)
- Marsh and Sketchbook Kits
Lowlights
Generally, I just made less work than I was hoping. Between doing IVF a few times and then being so sick once I did get pregnant, I just wasn’t myself the second half of the year. Raven (my studio mate) was always reminding me that taking care of myself and growing this babe is MORE important than making paintings, and it was so helpful having her keeping my priorities straight.
Favorite Paintings
Mini paintings - Mini Work on Paper No. 36
Kitchens - Coming Home (Made it a print!)
Amalfi - Porto Di Capri (Made it a print!)
Al Fresco - Orange Slice (Loved it so much, I kept it!)
An Ode to the Marsh - Sea Green
Holiday Shoppe - Orange Orchard (Made it a print!)
Series that was the hardest to work on and why - Ode to the Marsh
I was doing IVF and then newly pregnant while working on this series. While doing IVF, it actually felt great to get in the studio and work on pieces that felt comfortable. Then, once I was pregnant, I was SO nauseous that it was very hard to push myself to get in the studio and get anything done. The collection actually has less pieces in it that I had originally planned for because I had to take some weeks off and stay in bed.
My favorite collection was… a tie between Kitchens and Amalfi!
The Kitchen collection was one I’d been mulling on for a while. How to do it? Will these capture the feeling of home I am going for? Will people want to buy paintings of other peoples kitchens? I LOVE how it turned out and I’m excited to do another round of these paintings in the future.
Amalfi was special because our trip there was a total dream, but sometimes going to such a beautiful place can make it intimidating to paint. I want to capture just how special this place is, while making it my own. I loved focusing on the light and shadow of the striped umbrellas. I tried to filter my colors so each piece had a limited palette. I think I could have painted this collection forever.
Something new I tried was… Al Fresco on raw canvas!
When I am starting a collection, I always think through every element. The material, the surface, the framing… and how will it impact the feeling I am attempting to convey. In the past, I have always done Al Fresco on paper to give it a light and airy feel. This year, I decided to bring the light linen feel to the pieces by switching the surface to raw canvas. So, my process looked a little different. Starting with mapping out the scene with pencil, then working flat to block in all the colors. Finally, I flipped the canvas up on the easel to work in details. I love how they turned out.
The most watched reel was… My intro to the kitchen series!!
My Favorite Color I used this year was… Charvin Linen Flower
A few things I listened to while painting… (I was a little off my listening game this year, and want to definitely do more audiobooks in 2026!)
- Good Hang with Amy Poehler
- Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett
- The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (German Edition!)
- Awake by Jen Hatmaker
- The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
My favorite memory from the studio this year was…
Getting to share I that I was having a baby girl with everyone in the studio was VERY FUN. I’d been out for a while because of my nausea and I happened to pop in when all the girls were in the studio. I told them all it was a girl and shared the name we picked and everyone cried. It was special.
A goal I had and reached was…
Launching my substack, The Color of Home! Art is such a personal thing, and I love getting a look inside personal homes. This year alone we have featured 27 different art collections with links to artists from all over the world. It’s been a big undertaking, but I am loving it. We actually just started taking submissions so click here if you think you might be a good fit!
A goal I had and didn’t reach was…
I would love to make a coffee table book of my sketchbooks and I told myself I’d start working towards it in 2025. I didn’t even start! Entering the publishing world is intimidating! I still have this dream… if anyone has any advice, let me know!
The person who inspired my paintings most was…
Ty Williams! For my birthday I got this piece, and it now hangs above our fireplace. This piece spoke to me because it feels like getting off the ferry in Greece. All the dark haired Greeks around me, the refreshing sea, the pop of stripes. So good! Ty’s work in general is loose and playful. He has such a great balance of detail and blocks of color. I am such a fan and felt very inspired by his work this year.
A new series I am thinking of doing for 2025…
Airplanes? Boats? Dean is constantly noticing them which makes me notice them. I’ve been playing with the idea in my sketchbook, so we will see!
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