Books, Clay & The Beautiful Balance of Making

⚽ A New Team to Cheer For

As I'm writing this, the World Cup final is about to begin... let's go Spain!

I was originally cheering for Switzerland, but after Argentina knocked them out, I had to choose a new favorite. Truthfully, I probably would've ended up rooting for Spain anyway, so apologies to any Argentina fans reading this. By the time this newsletter lands in your inbox, we'll already know who won, so here's hoping the best team came out on top. 

🍋 My First Painting on Gift Wrap

I can finally share one of my newest commissions, which also happens to be the very first painting I've completed on craft paper.

This isn't ordinary paper either. It's beautiful lemon-patterned gift wrap that's normally meant for wrapping presents. I've used this type of paper for pastel drawings before, but painting on it with acrylics was an entirely different experience. The paint interacts with the paper in such an interesting way, and because the lemon pattern stays so flat, the book I painted almost looks like it's sitting right on top of the page. I love when the material itself becomes part of the artwork.The little details painted onto the book cover also tell the story of the person receiving the piece.

🌿 Switching Between Clay & Paint

Last week wasn't my most productive week, and honestly, I think I needed it. This week I'm feeling much more excited to jump back into making.

I've started a new mixed media piece for my portfolio that combines acrylic paint with clay. I didn't get very far on it last week, but working on it sparked an idea that found its way into my newest commission.

I'm currently painting a home for someone who absolutely loves their plants. As someone who's equally attached to mine, I completely understood what to do. Instead of simply painting the plants, I sculpted them from clay so they actually stand out from the surface of the painting.

One of my favorite parts about working this way is how different each medium feels. Clay lets me build real dimensions with my hands, while painting asks me to create the illusion of depth using color, light, and shadow. I love switching back and forth between the two because it keeps both my hands and my brain thinking in completely different ways.

🎨 What's Coming Next

Alongside finishing the house commission, I'll be starting a large-scale commission for a leasing office here in Los Angeles. I'll be getting more direction on the project this week, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

I'm also patiently waiting for a Levi's jean jacket to arrive because I'll be illustrating directly onto the fabric. Drawing on clothing feels surprisingly similar to digital illustration. It's flatter, a little more graphic, and lets me focus on linework in a way that's completely different from painting.

I love that no two weeks in the studio ever look the same, and I have a feeling this one is going to be full of new experiments.

With love and color,

Rosalie 

Growing Up Doesn't Mean Growing Out of Wonder

🌏 A Thought I've Been Sitting With

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how I would describe my artistic style and who my work is really for.

The only gallery show I've ever done was in Venice Beach on Abbott Kinney. While helping install the exhibition, the guy helping me curate suggested hanging many of my paintings three to five feet off the ground so they would sit at a child's eye level. I thought it was a fun idea, but it also made me realize something. My art isn't actually made for children.

It definitely embraces childlike wonder, but that's different from being childish. My paintings are colorful, nostalgic, and joyful because they've become my way of finding light, even during life's heavier moments. Through creatures, playful details, and tiny worlds, I hope to remind people what it feels like to slow down, imagine, and appreciate the little bits of magic that still exist around us. I've never believed that art has to represent trauma or darkness to have meaning. Sometimes choosing to see the world through a softer, more hopeful lens is meaningful enough.

🍓 Looking East Instead of West

One of the comments I hear most often is, "Your work would be perfect for a children's book." I completely agree, but I also think it's made for adults.

Living in Shanghai and traveling throughout East Asia completely changed the way I think about whimsy. In much of the West, growing up often comes with an expectation that your home, your style, and even your interests become more neutral and minimal. In many parts of Asia, I experienced the opposite. People don't leave behind the things that brought them joy as children. They continue to surround

themselves with them.

One of my favorite memories was waiting outside Kiddy Land in Japan before it opened. The line was almost entirely adults. The same goes for stores like Miniso, where it's always adults filling their baskets with cute things. While trends certainly exist, cuteness isn't treated like one. It's simply part of everyday life.

When I shared my artwork with people while living in Shanghai and traveling across Asia, it was consistently adults, often my age and older, who connected with it the most.

🌼 The People I Paint For

My work can be enjoyed by anyone, but I think my target audience has always been adults. Adults who have forgotten how to play. Adults who spend too much time worrying. Adults who could use a little more color, whimsy, and imagination in their everyday lives.

If one of my paintings can make someone smile as they walk by it, remind them of childhood, or encourage them to see the world with a little more curiosity, then I think it's doing exactly what it was meant to do.

More on my newest paintings and the little worlds I'm creating in my next newsletter :)

With love and color,

Rosalie

🎇 Mooncake vs. Fireworks

🌭 Fourth of July Weekend

Happy Fourth of July! I spent Saturday walking the Strand from Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach, passing people decked out in red, white, and blue, plus a few outfits that could only exist on the Fourth of July.

For dinner, I had a proper Chicago dog complete with celery salt, bright green sweet pickle relish, and, of course, a poppy seed bun. Since I had already gone out Friday night (a rare occurrence these days), I stayed in instead. The evening was spent watching Love Island while comforting Mooncake through the endless fireworks.

🎂 Birthday Traditions

July 5th is my dad's birthday, so this weekend has always been a big celebration in my family. Growing up, it meant decorating the house, setting off our own fireworks, birthday cake, shrimp boils, and spending as much time as possible in the lake escaping the North Carolina heat and humidity.

I couldn't celebrate with him this year, but I made sure to send a birthday package filled with a few of his favorite things. Along with some little goodies, I made him a clay bookmark and a hand-painted clay matchbox. Since his name is Clay, it felt like the only appropriate birthday gift.

🍋 Painting on Paper

I'm currently working on a commission that's a little different from anything I've painted before. Instead of canvas, I'm painting directly onto handmade gift wrap from Paper Source that's covered in the cutest lemon pattern.

I've used pastels on decorative paper before, but never acrylic paint. The paper wrinkles and crinkles in a way that canvas never could, creating unexpected texture and depth. It's been such a fun experiment, and I can't wait to share the finished piece with you in my next newsletter.

🌎 Tiny Worlds

I've also started another large painting that will eventually make its way into my shop. Lately I've been completely obsessed with oven-baked clay (yes, the kind from Michaels haha), so I decided this piece needed a little sculptural element too.

The painting is filled with flower-like, slightly germ-shaped forms, each one holding its own tiny world. So far I've finished a blue ocean world that's home to Mooncake mermaids, and I have lots more little worlds planned.

My Shanghai series and The Things I Keep series will be making a return soon, but I've learned that when inspiration shows up, it's usually best to follow wherever it wants to go.

With love and color,

Rosalie