Quiet beginnings

In the beginning of every year, everything feels slower in the best way. Quiet winter mornings at my desk, a warm drink nearby, and pages of sketchbook explorations taking shape one brushstroke at a time. Those pages are where so much of my work begins: they help me work out colors, compositions, and new ideas before they grow into bigger paintings later on. I started the year inspired by cotton-candy sky colors of shell pink and cornflower blue. That color fixation held-strong throughout the year in most of my pieces. I continued to be captivated by my metallic watercolors and finding new ways to include them in my paintings. Flowers, oysters, waves, and shorelines were definitely my most prominent subject matters. I love exploring different ways to capture them. 

Sketchbook season: where ideas begin, shift, and surprise me.

The vulnerable part: sharing

Making art is such a personal, inward process and sharing it is vulnerable, even years into doing this. 2025 marked my fifth year in business, and putting my work out into the world still feels a little scary sometimes. But I’ve learned that every piece is valuable, even the ones that don’t make it past the “discard pile.” The trials, the experiments, the happy accidents  they all shape the artwork I create. You all continue to shine new perspective on pieces that I may see as flawed, you see beauty. I'm so appreciative of all of your supportive and kind words.

Favorite collections

This year brought some special collections that I'm holding going to hold dear. A few of my personal favorites were By the Light of the Sea Collection, the Daffodil Collection, and the fall oysters collection. All inspired by that feeling I’m always chasing: light, saturated colors, and that balance between delicate details and loose softness.

Harold & the Mermaid Garden

Harold and the Mermaid Garden took over 40 hours to complete. Finishing it was such a triumph, and it pushed me creatively in the exact ways I didn’t know I needed. I walked away from it with more confidence, and skills in a medium that often challenges me (acrylic).

The in-between moments

When I look back at 2025, what I remember most isn’t just the finished pieces, it’s the in-between moments: days spent painting by the harbor, weekends at shows with friends, late nights in the studio surrounded by stacks of prints, cards, and small originals waiting to find their way to new homes. This post is a little collection of those memories: the art, the places, the friends, and the moments that made 2025 what it was.

ALR Designs in the Wild

Thank you for letting me share my work with you  and for bringing it into your corner of the world. Seeing photos of my art in your homes or my bags out in the wild will never stop being one of the best parts of what I do. 

Grateful for my people

I’m endlessly grateful for the friends and family who help make this business possible, the behind-the-scenes support that keeps everything running during the busiest seasons.

Closing the year

2025 brought so much growth, both in my art and in my business. We had our most successful summer to date, and we finished the year strong with our most successful holiday season yet. Thank you for being here, for supporting my work, and for making this journey feel so meaningful.

I can’t wait to see what unfolds this year. ♥