Side Quests, Sea Gems, and Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day 💘

Happy almost Valentine’s Day, everyone. A day filled with love, the smell of roses, whimsy, and everything pink and red. I can’t wait to dress head-to-toe in Valentine colors, as always.

If you’re still looking for a last-minute gift for your loved one, reach out as soon as possible and I’ll do my best to make it happen 💝

I celebrated a little early this year. This past Saturday, my boyfriend took me to one of our Venice favorites, Dudley Market, where we shared what might honestly be the best cheeseburger, fries, oysters, and mussels. I also got to wear my grandmother’s vintage jacket, adorned with heart buttons, a red ribbon that ties into a bow in the back, and colorful embroidered flowers along the pockets. It felt very on-theme.

From Digital Mermaid to Wooden Magic 🧜‍♀️✨

Last week, I took a brief intermission from my personal and commissioned work to create a special piece for my mom. I originally designed this artwork as a digital illustration to use on her shipping boxes, but she wanted to bring it to life and have it greet everyone who enters her home.

The result is a painted wooden oval panel featuring mermaid versions of my mom and her lovely Rottweiler, Violet 🐾💙 The piece is finished with seashells collected from the shores of Venice and a few pink gems for extra pizzazz. It will be hanging on her door later this month, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Studio Updates & Side Quests 🎨🐕

Commissioned dog portraits are coming along. Not as fast as I’d like, thanks to many side quests, but steady progress is being made. As all artists know, every day is full of them.

As for my larger piece that will be part of a new series, there has been exciting movement there as well. It’s looking like Mooncake may be making a much bigger appearance than originally planned 👀🌙

More details on all of these pieces coming next week.

In Loving Memory of Uncle Fred 🤍

I wanted to take a moment to honor my Great Uncle Fred, who recently passed.

I never met my paternal grandfather, and I lost my paternal grandmother at a very young age, so Uncle Fred and Aunt Lou always felt like my grandparents. I spent many summer nights and holidays with them, sharing southern home-cooked meals made by my dad and brother and watching the Carolina sunsets.

They had an extensive collection of birdhouses that endlessly inspired my artistic eye. As people, they were some of the kindest and most intelligent I’ve known. Fred had a gift for humor and always knew how to lighten the mood and keep smiles on everyone’s faces. Like Lou, he stayed curious about the world and always kept up with what I was creating. There was never a piece of news or idea that passed over their heads, and I never stopped learning from them.

Below is a piece I created for their anniversary.I love you, Fred.

With love and color,

Rosalie