The Things I Keep (and Where They Go) 🌸

A Little World Travels Far 🌍

I recently finished a commissioned pet portrait and sent it off to Saudi Arabia. This marks my second international shipment, which feels surreal to say. I think I can officially call this a global business now.

This piece felt especially like me. Alongside the pet portrait, I brought back my little monsters. They appear as keychains attached to cat toys, adding a playful and personal layer to the work. It felt like a way to reintroduce them into my world and into yours.

The Things I Keep, Piece Three 💌

Last week, I completed the third painting in my series “The Things I Keep.”

This piece captures a collection of perfume bottles as tiny worlds of feminine whimsy. Each bottle becomes its own elixir or potion, filled with color, pattern, and imagination. Nestled among them are my one of a kind monsters, adding personality and a sense of quiet mischief to the composition.

This series continues to feel like a reflection of how I live. Surrounded by objects, memories, and now a little more fantasy than before.

Bigger Than They Look 🎨

Now that I have three large scale works in this series, I am realizing how hard it is to capture them in photos. They feel so much bigger in person. Not just in size but in presence.

It made me think it might be time to start reaching out to galleries.

There seem to be two paths as an artist. One is to promote your work locally through markets, shops, and in person interactions. The other is to pursue gallery representation, where you give up a portion of sales but gain access to a network and collectors.

If I am honest, I would love to stay behind my screen and paint quietly in my studio, sharing my work through social media alone. But I know that is not the full picture of what building a career looks like. So I am trying both.

This week I reached out to Artspace Warehouse, a gallery that helps artists step into the gallery world. Hoping for good news.

A Full Circle Moment 💫

I also submitted a piece to an auction at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, my hometown.

It feels really special to be part of something connected to where I grew up. I believe there is now a pet portrait by me available to bid on, which is a little surreal to say.

Passover Here and There 🕊️

This past week was not just about art but also about celebrating Passover.

It is one holiday I have kept close to me no matter where I am in the world. I started in Los Angeles, then flew to North Carolina to celebrate again with family, friends, and my Rabbi.

There is something grounding about returning to traditions that have stayed constant while everything else changes. It reminded me of what home feels like, both where I came from and where I am building it now. And of course, Mooncake came with me 🐾

With love and color,

Rosalie

Finding My Lane & Getting Back to It 🎨✨

What Kind of Artist Am I? 🎨💭

I was recently told there are three different types of artists, defined by what they focus on. Objects, portraits, and landscapes. I have painted all three, and because of my past commissions I think most people would describe me as a portrait artist, specifically a pet portrait artist. But over the past year, as my style and techniques have grown, I feel like I have finally figured it out. I am an object artist.

There is something about objects that feels grounding to me. They have edges, boundaries, clear shapes to fill in and build from. I love working with patterns over textures and being able to control the way light and

shadow sit on something still. There is a calmness to it.

That said, I still love stepping outside of that. I will keep painting portraits and landscapes and pushing myself in those directions, but it feels comforting to understand what naturally clicks for me.

A Week Spent Sick 🥲

I do not have much to share from last week because I was very, very sick. What I thought was just feeling off turned into a full blown case of strep throat that completely took me out.

I slept more than Mooncake, which I honestly did not think was possible. By day three I finally went to the ER and got penicillin, which truly felt like a magical potion. I will deal with rebuilding my gut later, that is next week’s problem.

By Thursday I was at least somewhat functional again and able to slowly ease back into painting…

Back to the Art Grind 🎨🐾

As soon as I had a little energy back, I returned to my perfume piece and my cat commission. It felt so good to be painting again after being forced to fully stop for a few days.

I also made my way through a pile of emails and found out that the children’s book I started illustrating last year is officially back on. I will be jumping into full page illustrations soon, using the characters and ideas I developed earlier on.

There is something really special about a project coming back to life. So many ideas get left unfinished or forgotten, so it feels exciting to return to one and actually bring it to completion.

A New Bag for Me 👜✨

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I also made a new bag for myself. A little side project just for fun. It felt nice to create something with no pressure, no client, just me making something I wanted to carry around.

Back to Business (Whatever That Means) 💻🎨

This week it is back to work. Back to painting for hours, back to emails, back to building this little art world I am creating. There is not really a “usual” in the art world, but it does feel like I am stepping back into my rhythm again.

With love and color,

Rosalie

Art Favorites & Little Potions 🧴✨🎨

​​Favorite Artist Features 🎨💫

I share a lot about my own art, so it feels only right to share some of the artists who inspire me most. If you have been following along, you already know my parents and especially my cat are at the top of that list, but here are a few more that have really shaped my world.

I discovered Os Gemeos, which means twins in Portuguese, while traveling in Amsterdam my senior year of college. My parents made me a deal that they would pay for museums while I was traveling across Europe with a friend, so naturally we went all in. We visited around 18 museums in Amsterdam, but one stood out the most.

The MOCO Museum.

That is where I saw it. A massive, whimsical painting filled with bright patterns and centered around this dreamy yellow character that felt like it came from another world. I followed that piece around the room like it was alive. I was completely obsessed.

That painting introduced me to Os Gemeos, and they are still one of my favorite artists today. Their work pulls from their hip hop background and tells urban stories through vibrant colors, playful characters, and layered textures. They use everything from paint to cotton balls to rhinestones, and often include the sweetest little dog that I can only assume is their own.

During Covid, that same piece ended up in a gallery in New York and the price dropped. I told my dad it would be the best investment he could ever make. He trusted me, and somehow that piece ended up in our hands. Getting to see it up close like that felt unreal. It completely shifted the way I think about art.

Another artist I love is Nhozagri, a Beijing based artist I discovered while living with a host family after my junior year of high school. I found her work at the 798 Art Zone and immediately fell in love. She creates these tiny, whimsical creatures using pastel and fluorescent colors that feel like they exist in their own little universe. Her work feels soft, surreal, and magical all at once.

Finished One, Onto the Next 🐶➡️🐱

Last week I finished a dog portrait and immediately jumped into my next commission, a cat. This dog piece felt a little different from my usual style. It leaned more into a modern art feel, almost like a subtle nod to Lichtenstein. I painted the bandana by first building up all the shades of yellow, including shadows and highlights, and then layered a pattern of

colored dots over it that matched the background. It ended up being one of the most graphic and stylized pieces I have done in a while, which was really fun to explore outside of my usual blended style.

Alongside that, I also hand drew a little invitation design for my dad to use for an upcoming event he is hosting. It is going to have live music and of course the famous Lexington BBQ, so I wanted it to feel playful, welcoming, and very on theme. It was fun to switch gears and create something that lives outside of a canvas and gets to invite people into an experience.

The Things I Keep: Perfume Edition 🧴✨

I have also started the third piece in my series, “The Things I Keep.”

This time, I am painting my collection of perfumes. To me, they feel less like objects and more like tiny potions. Each one holds a mood, a memory, a version of you.

I started by mixing a custom green background and then began building out the forms of the bottles. There is something so magical about the way perfume sits inside glass. The way light bends through it, the way the colors glow, the way each bottle feels like it is holding something secret.

Mindfulness? 🌿

Still figuring this one out. Trying to slow down, be present, and not let my brain run the whole show all the time. Some days are better than others, but I think even asking the question counts for something.

With love and color,

Rosalie