News

I enjoyed creating a step-by-step drawing tutorial for this Garden & Gun Jr. issue! Inspired by my book, A Raven's Nest, and living on the coast in Charleston. 

As 2020 is officially under way, I wanted to reflect on all that happened in 2019! This felt like a big year for me and my work as it was full of some dreams finally coming to fruition and full of other exciting accomplishments. Below are my top ten highlights that made my year!

No. 1 - A Raven's Nest

I released my storybook, A Raven's Nest, in January! Growing up, I loved reading artful books, so this was an idea that I had always wanted to pursue.

No. 2 - Book Tour

For the launch, Lil Bit Lit and I partnered with Serena & Lily on a book tour. At each Serena & Lily store I visited (Chicago, Newport Beach, Dallas, and Summit NJ), I shared a reading of my book and did a nest drawing workshop for kids. It was so fun seeing children connect with my book and artwork! 

No. 3 - Open House TV Feature

Renovating our Charleston home was one of the biggest personal projects I have ever taken on. It was so fun to show all the details that make our house a home on this feature!

Interior Design by Plum Collective

No. 4 - Girls With Flowers Release

A series that I continue to re-visit year after year. For 2019, I had a limited color palette in mind, which made exploring this subject more challenging. I think the end result was a success!

No. 5 - Anthropologie Collection

For years, I have admired Anthropologie and I was so grateful when this opportunity came along! We took some of my favorite paintings of birds for a tabletop collection. Seeing the finished products on their shelves was so surreal!

No. 6 - Book Reading at Zoo Gallery

I got to read my book at my family's art gallery, The Zoo Gallery, on the Gulf Coast. I spent quality time with friends + family and got in some beach time!

No. 7 - Mountains: Birds + Daily Studies

During the month of August, I took a self-imposed artist residency in the mountains of North Carolina. Not only did I work on a series of Bird paintings, but I also challenged myself to a drawing a day. Each drawing was then a surprise to the purchaser and included a note about that day during my residency.

No. 8 - Love Birds

This was a new series that I developed during 2019. These paintings were intended to bring delight into the home and was such a sweet series that I am currently working on round two to be released before Valentine's Day! 

No. 9 - Nests

Another series that means so much to me. For this series, in particular, I was inspired by my families old quilts. The quilts that have been apart of us way before me. The ones who have kept so many loved ones cozy.

No. 10 - Gregg Irby Event

Last, but not least, I finished the year with a lovely event at one of my favorite galleries, Gregg Irby Gallery. They still have a few left here if you are interested.

Grateful for another year of life and to be able to do what I love! Thank you for your continued support, year after year. It means so much. Here's to 2020 and all the things to come!

only love.

click to shop my storybook

Lil Bit Lit and I partnered with Serena & Lily to launch my storybook. I then got to do a cross country book tour to visit their stores!

    

              

I grew up admiring the Anthropologie store and loving the things they make. It was really exciting when Anthro reached out to make a tabletop collections using my artwork!

Working with Anthropologie feels like a stamp of approval, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. Here's my collection with Anthro!

Order Here

I started painting my Nest Series about 5 years ago when I got engaged with Thomas.  For our wedding invitations, I wanted to create an image that represented home and our love. Our love that wasn’t perfect but was perfectly imperfect. The invitations never came to fruition because we eloped to Italy, but painting nests stayed with me through the years.

Looking back on five years of nests, something amazing happened I never expected, but made perfect sense.  Just as the nests were born out of a special meaning for me, the nests began to take on special meanings for my clients.  Early collectors of my Nest Series loved how the nest represented their family. Some found each egg in their nest represented a loved one. Clients began sending me artwork from their children, inspired by the Nest Series.  These messages meant so much to me. The idea of my paintings inspiring children to make art – is there a better gift?

Seeing these messages from parents made me think … could I tell the story of painting nests for children? Could I write and illustrate a children’s book?   A book that would connect color to emotions and teach children that they can create a safe space using colors. I sat on this idea for a couple years until I was at a holiday party with a friend, Molly Fienning. She asked what I was excited about this coming year.  I told her about my children’s book idea and her support put new life in this project.  She connected with her editor friend, Jenny DiBenedetto. But the idea was too big for one book and we created Lil Bit Lit (lil bit lit-erary), an art-forward publishing house for children’s books.  I’ve settled nicely into my role of Art Director and I’m so excited to share this project and platform with you all and the world.

Writing and Illustrating a book had its ups and downs.  It might have been the hardest thing I have ever had to do.   The struggle to marry words to my images and ideas felt impossible at times.  The journey was personal. The book feels vulnerable. I have always struggled with words and working on this book really brought to surface these insecurities.

In the coming weeks the book officially launches.  My hope is that this story makes people feel things and empowers them to connect with those feelings.  You can order the book now. All orders should be on their way to their new homes - your nests - in early February.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported this dream.  I couldn’t have done it without you.

VIE Magazine is the local magazine I grew up with in my hometown of Destin, Florida. I always admired their professional and beautiful publication, and I'm so honored to be featured in their Arts & Culture Issue! You can read the full article here.

I get a lot of e-mails and messages from students and artists who are looking for advice. I love when they reach out, and I wish I could take the time to meet and connect with each person. However, since the studio gets busy and I'm not always able to find the time to respond to each and every person, I figured I'd create a blog post with answers to the most frequently asked questions. I hope this is helpful!

What advice do you have for finding your creative style?

Paint what you know. If you're a flowery happy person-- paint flowers and let your happiness come through. Connect with who you are as a person and let that translate through your art. You'll find your voice quicker that way; rather than imitating other people (although that's great practice!) Don't be afraid to explore. Make bad art, and let yourself find what feels like the truest version of you. 

How much of your time is spent on the business side of things vs painting?

When I was first starting out, I would dedicate one full day a week to business. I then moved into starting every morning responding to emails followed by painting the rest of the day. My advice would be to think about what you're good at and when you're good at it, and structure your time that way. 

What is your best advice in terms of generating a social media presence?

Since social media is always changing, it's hard to give concrete advice on this topic. I think most importantly it's best to gain your following organically. I feel so lucky to have a following that has been right there with me along the way. The people who follow my work and support me are like a little extended family. When I post new work or something personal, I know I'm in a safe space. Secondly, I would say don't be afraid to reach out to bloggers/influencers/other artists you admire. Working with others who have a similar audience as you will help build your following.

What inspires you?

I'm constantly inspired by avant-garde fashion and textiles. I also love interior spaces, retail shops, and decaying buildings. Oh, and flowers, but most importantly my pup. 

What advice would you give to someone just starting out as an artist?

Find a supportive community. Ask a lot of questions. Don't ignore business advice.

What are supply can't you live without?

A glass palette and a spray bottle with water. 

What are helpful programs / tools you use to run your business?

Here's the nitty gritty business stuff.

E-commerce Site: Shopify

Web Development: Scoutside The owner is really hot! (lol he's my husband)

Email Service: Mailchimp

Shipping Software: Shippo 

Shipping: UPS (I recommend finding a UPS owner who you LOVE and will take care of you. I couldn't do what I do without our local UPS. Shoutout to Jonathan!)

Photos: Photos that aren't take by a professional photographer are taken with my iphone or my digital camera. I use a Fujifilm X-T10.

Art Supplies: I get almost all of my supplies from our local Artist & Craftsman. I use Birch Wood Panels to paint on.

I'm blown away by the response to the launch of West Elm Experiences! It's received lots of fun press which is so encouraging and exciting! 

It's neat to see each publications' perspective of the experience. West Elm is so supportive of local artisans, and I'm happy to see that they are being recognized for it. 

Also, I was lucky enough to speak to USA Today about West Elm's new launch and so thrilled that they even used one of my photos in the story. 

Want to read the articles?

Vogue

CondeNast Traveler

Architectural Digest

USA Today

Forbes

I've been working with West Elm for a few months now on the launch of West Elm Experiences. I was thrilled when they asked me to be among the first makers in the country to offer an experience through West Elm! You can now book an afternoon with me through their website. 

This experience is so special to me because it's truly a way to connect with people who follow my work. It's more than a studio visit or a meeting-- it's sitting together, sketching, and having a conversation in the beautiful city I call home. Charleston is such a magical place and being able to offer an experience outside among the blooming flowers and cobblestone is so exciting. 

 The experience starts with meeting at one of my favorite parks in Charleston, we'll sit and drawn the flowers (or whatever inspires us that day!)

    

It's been so fun to see all the press around this and I can't wait for the experience to begin in April! It can be booked by yourself or by groups of up to 5 people. Looking forward to meeting and spending time with anyone who wants to join me for an afternoon!

      

 I am always trying to think of new things to make - new ways to express myself.  To stretch the way I create and push what I want to say in a new direction.  When thinking about making a candle the first person that came to mind was Beau at Content Co.  I have been a fan of his for a while and stoked with the opportunity to work with him.  His passion and excitement for all things candles is contagious.  He truly knows he stuff - plus he’s a pretty amazing human.  

Our first meeting went something like this.  We gushed about our cute sidekicks (pups) for a solid 20 mins and then got down to business.  I told him stories about growing up in Northern Florida and the smells that reminded me of home.  We talked about my work and what inspires me to paint the things I do.  We decide to use my different series as a guide for creating each scent.  

I paint ‘girls with flowers’ all summer because the series is warm, bright and happy - much the way summer makes me feel.  I keep Bergamot in my purse at all time because the scent makes me happy.  

The ‘ladies in conversation’ series came last spring.  It was inspired from a memory where I was sharing mint tea in a beautiful Charleston garden with a dear friend - I just love mint tea - the taste and the smell. 

I paint the ‘Nest’ series in the fall and winter, when I need to feel warm and safe.  I hope the viewer feels the complex colors of the Nests and experiences this in an emotional way.  I wanted to create a winter candle that was both clean, but not too sweet.

With that information, Beau started the process to give life to my new scents. To no surprise, the next meeting was magical.  When smelling what he had been working on my mind was flooded with memories.   The experience was really surreal and has left me with so much gratitude towards his process.

Now that we had locked down each scent we moved on to thinking about the packaging.  I wanted to touch each candle and make each one uniquely special.  I was currently working on my “Lucid Lines” series and thought it would be a cool way to extend what I was learning on to the surface of the candles. 

Contents Co. and I only made 50 of each scent.  Each candle is numbered and painted by hand.  The glass vessel is made with 50% recycled glass.  And the candle are made with essential oils and natural soy wax.  Only the best ingredients for you and your sniffer!!!!  Because I am such a big fan of this candle collection and want everyone to enjoy them - use "happysmells" at check out to enjoy 15% off!!

photos by Elizabeth "Lizzy" Ervin