Other times it comes from one of my favorite movies.
And sometimes, well, it comes from an internet-famous raccoon.
Over the last week or so I found myself smiling every time another video of Jimothy the raccoon appeared in my feed. Like so many others, I immediately fell in love with his determination. Jimothy gets around a little differently than most raccoons, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it. He simply scoots through life, exploring the world with the same curiosity as any other raccoon.
That confidence inspired my latest painting, Living His Best Life.
I didn’t want to focus on what makes Jimothy different. I wanted to paint him exactly as he seems to see himself: a raccoon with somewhere to be. No fanfare, no self-pity, just putting one foot in front of the other and carrying on despite what might limit him. Isn’t that what we all should be doing?
Maybe that’s why so many people have fallen in love with him. Jimothy isn’t trying to inspire or impress anyone. He’s just living his life, and somehow that has inspired millions of people anyway.
I hope this painting captures even a small part of the joy Jimothy has brought to so many of us over the past few days. I had so much fun painting him. ❤️
When I first started painting, I painted whatever caught my attention that day.
One week it might be a landscape. The next week a flower. Then a still life, a sunset, or an abstract piece. While I enjoyed experimenting, my artwork didn’t always feel connected. If you laid ten paintings side by side, it wasn’t always obvious they came from the same artist.
As I painted more, I realized I was drawn to recurring themes rather than isolated subjects. Instead of creating unrelated pieces, I found myself building bodies of work connected by a shared idea.
That shift changed the way I think about my work.
Start with a theme, not a subject
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that a collection doesn’t have to be about painting the same thing over and over.
Instead, think about a common thread that connects your work.
For me, those threads became literature, cinema, nature, and marine life. Each collection explores a different source of inspiration, but they all share a similar visual language.
Having a theme gives every new painting a purpose. Instead of asking, “What should I paint today?” I ask, “What belongs in this collection?”
Let your style do the talking
A cohesive collection isn’t just about subject matter.
It’s also about consistency in how you paint.
Over time, I found myself drawn to minimalist compositions with generous negative space, soft shadows, and restrained color palettes. Those choices became just as recognizable as the subjects themselves.
Your style doesn’t have to develop overnight. In fact, it usually doesn’t. It grows through repetition and by paying attention to what feels most natural to you.
Give yourself creative boundaries
At first, limiting yourself can feel restrictive.
In reality, I found the opposite to be true.
When I decided my Literary and Cinema Collections would focus on symbolic objects instead of characters, every painting became a creative puzzle. Instead of wondering what to paint, I could spend my energy deciding which object best represented a story.
Those kinds of boundaries often lead to more creative solutions because they encourage deeper thinking instead of endless options.
Don’t be afraid to say no
One of the hardest parts of building a cohesive body of work is deciding what doesn’t belong.
Not every idea has to become a painting.
I’ve had plenty of ideas that I liked, but they simply didn’t fit the direction I wanted my collections to take. Saying no to a good idea often creates room for a better one.
Your portfolio becomes stronger when every piece feels like it belongs.
Collections evolve over time
One thing I’ve learned is that collections are never really finished.
They grow slowly, one painting at a time.
Some ideas stay in a sketchbook for months before they become a finished piece. Others come together almost immediately. I’ve also found that one painting often inspires the next, leading me in directions I never expected.
Looking back, I can see how my collections have become more focused and more consistent over time. That didn’t happen because I planned every detail from the beginning. It happened because I kept paying attention to what felt authentic to me.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an artist trying to find your own style, don’t worry about creating a perfect collection right away.
Start by looking for the themes, colors, and compositions you naturally return to. Those repeated choices are often the beginning of your artistic voice.
For me, building collections has made painting more meaningful. Instead of creating isolated pieces, I’m creating bodies of work that grow together, tell a larger story, and continue to evolve with every new painting.
When I started creating my literary-inspired paintings, I realized I wasn’t interested in painting famous characters or scenes from books. What I loved most were the objects and symbols that stayed with me long after I finished reading.
For me, a single object can sometimes say more than an entire scene.
A green light can instantly bring to mind The Great Gatsby. A rose under glass can remind us of The Little Prince. A worn hat and feather can call up memories of Peter Pan. These symbols become part of the story itself.
I like the challenge of reducing a book to one meaningful image. It forces me to think about what truly captures the feeling of a story. Not the plot. Not the characters. The feeling.
I also love that symbols leave room for interpretation. Someone who recognizes the reference sees one thing. Someone who doesn’t may simply enjoy the artwork for what it is. Both experiences are valid.
As I continue expanding my literary series, I’ll keep looking for those small details that linger in our minds long after the final page. Sometimes the most memorable part of a story isn’t a character at all. Sometimes it’s a rose, a green light, a button, or a key.
For most of my artistic life, oil painting has been my primary medium. I still love oils and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. There is something special about working on a larger canvas, building up layers of paint, and watching a painting come together over time.
“Dwelling Place” Oil on 30×40 Gallery-Wrapped Canvas
That said, art has a way of evolving, and over the last couple of years I have found myself exploring new materials and new ways of creating.
About two years ago, my parents gifted me a set of watercolors. At the time, I had very little experience with watercolor painting, but I had been wanting to give it a try. They sat in my studio unused for at least six months. What started as simple experimentation quickly became something I genuinely enjoyed. Watercolor challenged me in ways that oils never had. It taught me to loosen up, embrace imperfections, and work with the paint instead of trying to control every detail.
One of my first watercolor paintings
Since then, watercolor has become a regular part of my creative practice. Many of my recent bookmarks, postcards, and small works have been created using watercolor. I have especially enjoyed painting florals, botanicals, insects, birds, and other nature-inspired subjects.
More recently, I have started experimenting with gouache. I am still very much in the learning phase, but I have enjoyed discovering the similarities and differences between gouache, watercolor, and oils. In some ways, gouache feels familiar because it can be reactivated with water like watercolor. In other ways, its opacity reminds me of working with oils. I am still figuring out how I want to use it, but I have enjoyed the process so far and look forward to creating more gouache paintings in the future.
Gouache Study Inspired by Artist Kate Jarvik Birch
I have also been spending time experimenting with mixed media and collage art. This is another area where I am learning as I go, but I find the possibilities exciting. I hope to share some new mixed media pieces on my website in the coming months.
While my work has expanded into watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, my relationship with oil painting is far from over. My interests and style are simply evolving. Many of my past oil paintings focus on landscapes, seascapes, buildings, and other structures. Lately, I have been spending more time working on oil portraits.
One of the biggest recent changes is the launch of my Etsy shop. Although I have had an Etsy account for many years, I only recently decided to open a shop and begin offering some of my smaller handmade items for sale.
The shop currently includes original hand-painted bookmarks and postcard collections, with additional items being added regularly. In the future, I plan to add notecards, artist trading cards (ATCs), miniature paintings, and other small-format original artwork. As the year progresses, I also plan to offer seasonal and holiday items, including printed Christmas cards, ornaments, and other giftable artwork.
If you would like to browse the shop, you can visit it here:
Thank you to everyone who has followed along as my art continues to grow and change. I appreciate your support and encouragement. And I am excited to see where this creative journey leads next.
