Paint, Puppies, and a Little Drone Adventure 🎨🐶🚁

Finishing the T Shirts 👕

Last week I finished hand drawing on five T-shirts. This was the first time I have been commissioned to draw directly onto clothing. I have drawn on tote bags as commissions before and I have drawn on clothing for myself, but never for someone else. It was such a fun project.

The shirts are going to UNC graduates, so each one includes a few Chapel Hill favorites. I added the Old Well, local bars, the North Carolina state flower, and of course a little basketball tribute. Each T-shirt was drawn by hand using materials designed to be permanent and then individually ironed so the colors could set and last longer.

New Pet Portraits 🐶🎨

Right now I am in the middle of two pet portrait commissions and having a lot of fun experimenting with new backgrounds. I am starting to drift away from my usual ones and play around with new ideas, colors, and settings to give each furry friend a little more personality.

As for painting the pets themselves, I think I have finally cracked the code on fur. Wavy, curly, scruffy, or straight, it is all starting to feel much more natural. When I first began painting animals I used the tiniest paintbrush imaginable and tried to paint every single strand of fur. It took forever. Now I can grab a more normal sized brush and build the texture much faster while still capturing all the fluffy, messy, adorable details that make each pet unique.

Drone Day in the Studio 🚁

This past week I also got to spend time with more friends from college. From Shanghai to Los Angeles and from wherever they now live around the world, it always feels special when we all cross paths again.

One of my friends came to LA for work and stopped by to visit. Not only did he bring lots of laughter and good times, he also brought a very cool drone. Honestly it felt like the ultimate boy toy because suddenly everyone was gathered around this tiny flying machine completely obsessed with it.

But I get it. When you put on the goggles you essentially become the drone. You are suddenly flying through space like a little fly on the wall. It is wild to see the world from that perspective. I even got some footage of it flying through my studio.

A Mermaid on the Door 🧜‍♀️

Last but not least, the mermaid piece I painted and sealed onto wood for my mom has now become a little piece of public art in Venice.

It is currently nailed onto her front door where it adds a bit of whimsy to the house and to the street. Venice is full of art on fences, walls, street poles, sidewalks, and just about anywhere people can add something creative. Now the mermaid gets to be part of that colorful neighborhood story.

With love and color,

Rosalie

Back in the Land of Bulk Everything 🛒🇺🇸

Happy Daylight Savings ☀️🌸

Longer evenings are officially here and I could not be happier. The sun is my favorite collaborator. When the days stretch out a little further, everything feels easier. I paint longer, walk more, and my colors somehow get brighter. There is something about spring light in California that makes the whole world feel like it is waking up again.

Costco Culture Shock 🛒

I have officially re-integrated into American society. On Tuesday I will take my Costco membership photo, which felt like the final step in sealing the deal.

My brain, shaped by the four years I spent living in Shanghai, had clearly forgotten how to comprehend one of America’s great institutions. I am talking about the massive grocery store.

While I had already relearned things like gas stations and strip malls after moving back, grocery stores were a different kind of shock. I am sure China has stores as large as Costco, but it was not something I ever experienced in Shanghai. Most grocery stores there felt smaller and more neighborhood oriented. You could pop in, grab what you needed, and be out quickly.

Here, the scale is something else entirely. Of course there are small grocery stores in the U.S., but if you see one it usually means it is some sort of specialty market. Organic this, cruelty free that, chickens that probably had their own toys and personal trainers.

But I am back in America and back on an American budget, which means it is time to retrain my China shaped brain into the Costco version.

Everything in bulk, baby.

Progress in the World of Commissions 🎨

My painting “The Things I Keep” is almost finished. I only have a few brush strokes left before moving on to the next piece. Right now I am touching up the shadows on the glass of chocolate milk and the tiny cow sitting on the little cow table. Then I will paint the edges of the canvas.

I always try to buy canvases that are at least 1.5 inches deep so I can paint the sides and frame the piece with a bold color without needing to buy a traditional frame.

This week I will also be working on a cat portrait and a dog portrait while continuing my newest commission series of hand drawn T shirts. I had

not used my fabric markers in quite some time before someone asked for personalized shirts, so it has been really fun switching mediums throughout the day.

The shirts are heading back to my home state of North Carolina, so I am making sure to include the state flower on each one. The dogwood is soft, pink, and beautiful, which makes it the perfect little detail to send home. 🌸

With love and color,

Rosalie

Happy March🌷

The start of a new month always feels good, especially when the weather improves. The days are getting longer and thank goodness for that because the sun is truly my best friend. It is a big part of why I moved to Southern California. I thrive on warm, bright days and so does my art. The more light we get, the more saturated my whimsical world becomes. That is when inspiration really flows.

This month is also about health. I may only be 25, but lifestyle habits add up quickly. I feel most grounded when I am eating well, following a routine, spending time outside, and working out consistently. All of these pieces work together. As an artist, there is nothing better than feeling clear and grounded in both body and mind.

LA Art Week, Frieze, and a Shanghai gallery moment 🎨

This week’s inspiration came not only from the beautiful weather, but also from quality time with both of my parents and from LA Art Week. When it comes to art, I know very quickly what pulls me in. The work I love feels magnetic.

At Frieze, I was especially drawn to galleries from Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Kyoto. Getting to see a Shanghai gallery in LA felt particularly special. Below are just a few of some of my favorite pieces I saw on Saturday.

Progress in my art world 💫

In my own studio, progress is flowing. I finished a second small dog commission and I am well underway on the third. I have also started designing hand drawn tank tops, which has been very fun to explore.

Most exciting of all, my series “The Things I Keep” is beginning to feel like a dream come true. These pieces truly capture who I am and what my style is about. While my work has always shared common themes, this is the first time it feels fully unified as a series.

So why would a cow table represent my artistic style and personality?

If you know me well, you know my home is filled with bright, slightly chaotic treasures that bring whimsy and a sense of childlike wonder into everyday life. I may have grown up, but I never stopped loving stuffed animals, wild patterns, glitter, saturated color, and spontaneous trips to the craft store to make something even stranger and better than anything I could find on a shelf. A cow table is not just furniture. It is playful. It is unexpected. It makes you smile before you even sit down. That is exactly how I want my art, and my space, to feel.

Reality can be bleak. So when I step into bright pink overalls or walk through my pastel pink door, I want to enter the world I dream up. The one I refused to leave behind in childhood. A world with talking cute monsters, suns and moons sharing a glass of wine, and rainbows in every view. If I am going to live in this world, I might as well design it myself.

These are the kinds of pieces I imagine hanging on gallery walls and, hopefully, finding their way into more homes. Stay tuned for more. ✨

With love and color,

Rosalie