New Collections: The Monterey Swell and La Jolla Breeze

Wow, it’s been a while! I haven’t posted any new artwork since the end of February. For me, that’s an incredibly long time to go without sharing any of my new designs. But it’s all been for good reason…

Over the past few months I’ve taken some time to really figure out what I want from my artwork and how it is seen in the world. December through the beginning of February was an absolutely insane time period for me, as holiday sales and prepping for two big licensing shows monopolized the majority of my working day. Once everything calmed down again I took a step back from my current work and realized I was unsatisfied with the direction it was taking.

In the past, I’ve jumped through a variety of subject matter and techniques -- never really finding something that stuck or felt 100% right. Though some of my past work -- especially my abstract explorations -- still resonates with me, other things do not. I took March as a time to refocus and figure out what direction I wanted to take next. And, finally, some palpable inspiration came to me.

I LOVE traveling and seeing new places, things and people. There is something so unique about each spot I visit that I want to capture and remember forever. Pictures just don’t usually do it justice (at least for me!). I was looking to really encapsulate the essence of a location in a way that isn’t always tangible. Finally, I knew exactly how I’d do that -- with color.

Every place in the world has such a unique color palette. A group of colors is almost as unique as a fingerprint. And that fingerprint subliminally defines the sentiment of a place. Once this idea came to me, I immediately knew it was right. It’s such a beautiful way to really understand a location without being so incredibly literal and provides the ability to keep my work pretty abstract.

I started with one of my favorite places in California – Monterey. There is something about that town that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Besides being personally meaningful to me, its beauty is completely unrivaled. The hues of the ocean are some of the most beautiful blues and greens I’ve ever seen in my life. It has rich bio-diversity in the marine sanctuary of Monterey Bay – including endless mustard/ochre kelp forests and so many interesting critters and plants living in that beautiful eco-system. I used all of that inspiration to create my “Monterey Swell” collection, full of plenty of gorgeous abstracts and patterns based around a harmonizing color palette. By far, it’s my favorite work I’ve created to date.

I took a similar path with my “La Jolla Breeze” collection. I cemented the color palette with plenty of vibrant turquoises, greens and blues. What came out was a beautiful collaboration of flowy watercolors and pretty line drawings. Have to admit, I really like this collection!

I can’t wait to continue to share this journey with you all. My hope is that this art resonates with you as much as it does for me. Stay tuned for a new desert/Joshua Tree inspired collection coming out very, very soon!