As I begin 2026, I’m reflecting on where I was when I started my artistic “career".” Obviously, I’ve been creating my entire life, but it was in 2019 that I set aside a designated “studio” space in my home and began selling my work. At first, I had an easel, a little “art cart,” and a dresser full of supplies, crammed into our guest bedroom. I very quickly outgrew this space and added a desk where I worked with perfect light by a marvelous window. During naptime, or after my kids went to bed, I’d paint. On the guestroom bed, I would sprawl out all of my artwork, pack commissions, and build a business. I had no idea where this little space would take me.

*working by my magnificent window on a commissioned “home portrait.”*

This crowded guest room space served me well, but I dreamed of a space I wasn’t sharing. In June of 2020, our family moved into a new home, and finally, I dedicated an entire room to my craft. When we moved in, I was thrilled by the light in the front “formal living room” of our traditional 1980s home. Carpet or not, this room became “my studio.”

My self-refurbished dresser from the guestroom came along with me. In the throes of the pandemic, all of my kids were homeschooled, and we spent a LOT of time on that studio carpet. I brought back my “drafting table,” which my parents bought me to use for my art in their unfinished basement as a teenager. i purchased my canvas lamp and began to add to my collection of tools and share my journey on Instagram.

Come 2021, I began launching collections of artwork from my website, photographing everything professionally, and covering my carpets. 🙈

It was 2022 that my “business” began to take off. I started showing in galleries, selling regularly online through Instagram, and started understanding my voice as a creative. Beyond the business, my art practice grew, and it affected my being: inside and out. As I painted more, I grew in my understanding of my calling as an artist. I started to see my personal style unfold. The studio was my happy place, and everything the canvas taught me started having an effect on my life.

We put in LVP flooring throughout our entire downstairs, a huge 3-month renovation process we did most of ourselves. The floors TRANSFORMED and brightened my studio space. Toward the end of the year, I added a peg system on the wall, which allowed me to hang things easily.

In 2023, I added a couch and played with some different rugs. My work started growing. Larger and larger.

We’ll call 2025 the “year of the couch.” I got sick of the peg wall and went crazy, feeling all the freedom in the world to fill the wall with nails. Soon, I had more artwork than wall space and ended up having to move the couch OUT. It’s mindblowing to me that all but THREE of these pieces have sold.

I had my fourth branding shoot in the studio in 2025, and felt my brand come to life. Suzy Vandyke of Vandyke Photo Co. captured a vision for my brand I didn’t even know I had. I’ll cherish these photos in my little home studio forever.

And now it’s 2026! Seven years with a space to create. Every year, things have evolved, and every year, I’ve grown as an artist, and as a person. This studio, this light, the shadows, and everything created here have left an imprint on me. It’s such a gift to do what I do. Ultimately, every bit of the journey is a springboard for what comes next.

Studio scenes since 2019

Creation vs. Consumption