The most loved print was… The Companion Prints - "Somewhere" + "Beyond the Sea"!
Runner Up Prints were… "Cheery", “Gathering Sails” + “Retreat”... are y’all hoping for some Regatta originals?!
My favorite paintings from each collection this year were…
Companions - "Companion No. 23"… I had a lot of fun playing with the texture of the water in this one!
Shorelines of Maine - "Last Light" … I tried a lot of colors for the setting sun, from red to orange to yellow and finally settled on the perfect pink!
Al Fresco - "Gathering"… I used one color for all the shadows and it was so fun to challenge myself in that way! It also was the biggest painting I’ve ever made and I was intimidated to work that large, but happy with the turnout.
Sun Moon + Sea - "Salt Grass No. 4"… I don’t typically use yellow, and painting this piece felt like working on an abstract. It was a puzzle of color blocking!
The Greek Isles - "Vista No. 19"… It represents all the magical mornings of exploring the blue and white towns in Greece. Plus, I think the colors are very harmonious.
The series that was hardest to work on and why… The Sun Moon + Sea on raw canvas was hard to work on because it was a totally different way of painting. I felt very out of control letting the colors bleed into one another. It definitely took me a while to get into a groove of working WITH the lack of control. Eventually, I really felt like I figured it out, and used it to my advantage. I’m proud of those paintings!
Something new I tried was… Traveling + Painting! Going to Greece, partnering with hotels, painting and working along the way… it was all a learning experience! Sometimes, I would get nervous when people were watching me paint… like do I even know how to do this? My self-talk was always ‘Trust yourself, you know how to paint… and you can always start over if it looks bad!’ The less pressure, the better!
The instagram post that was liked most was… this one of announcing Sun, Moon + Sea!
My favorite color I used this year was… LeFranc & Bourgeois Flashe Paint - Royal Blue!
My favorite memory from the studio this past year was… The day Megan from the Lulie Wallace team announced she was pregnant… There was a lot of screaming! Also, when we all got moved into the new studio and Raven came in for lunch and brought baby English and we just chatted and suddenly the new studio felt like home.
A goal I had and reached was… Putting more focus on sharing my process through reels and videos. It was so amazing to have the Christmas video idea come to life. I couldn’t believe how well it turned out, and I will cherish the memory of the day we made it because my grandparents and I had so much fun!
A goal I had, but didn’t reach was… I wanted to create more pieces that were customized to the client without doing more commissions, and though I don’t feel like I reached that goal, I think I have a new plan for how to do that in the new year!
The person that inspired my paintings the most was… Luke Edward Hall! His book Greco Disco is an incredible inspiration for design, art, products and more. He also has a sketchbook full of ideas that he shares photos of in the book so you can get a glimpse of his process. Big fan!
A change that happened this year was… moving studios! Holy moly! What a process. I was able to reimagine my whole set up which was exciting. I can’t wait to share more of our new space now that we’ve had some time to set everything up!
My favorite email or comment I received was… an instagram DM I received that said “As a non artist seeing the brushstrokes is fascinating. I’m constantly trying to ‘figure them out’. I may not be able to purchase, but the joy your art brings me, is no less.”
The most liked product was… The "Al Fresco" Screen Printed Tablecloth! We started working on this last year when I did the first Al Fresco series, and it came together in time for this year's release. I also have loved seeing what y’all choose to write with the custom embroidery.
I’m most looking forward to (fill in the blank) in the new year! Painting!!! I know that sounds silly, but I really truly get so excited to paint all the time. My studio mates laugh at me because I am always saying ‘Man! I really love to paint!’ It’s so fun to explore old subjects and look at them in a new way or to try a completely new series. So truly, I can’t wait to dig in and get painting!
Cheers to another year of color!