The Classics Collection, Spring 2025

This series of work began, fittingly, with a (very!) old book. This past fall, my husband brought home a 1911 copy of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women that he’d found at an estate sale. “You like this one, right?,” he said, as I happily grabbed it out of his hands. The cover featured only the title and author’s name, so there was plenty of blank space, and if you know me, you already know where this was headed- I knew I wanted to paint it. I didn’t even consider painting it to sell- when I opened it up and a love note and a pressed four-leaf-clover fell out, I felt like it was meant specifically for me (and someday, a gift for my daughter)- but as I’ve realized over time, my favorite collections of work always start with personal projects.

While I held onto that particular copy of Little Women, I did continue to paint more books in hopes of sending them out into the world. I was thrilled when the first eight sold with our holiday collection, and decided I wasn’t ready to stop there- which brings me to my point! I am so very happy to introduce my first original artwork collection of 2025- the Classics Collection. 

This collection of six mixed-media paintings of literary classics and nine hand-painted vintage books is inspired by the stories within them- most of which I grew up reading and loving. 

For almost as long as I’ve loved to draw and paint, I’ve loved to read, and one of my favorite parts about literature is that it connects us not only to each other, but also to past versions of ourselves. While working on this series, I reread parts of each of these books, and found myself transported to the times and places I was when I first read them. I was on the couch in the living room of my childhood home, reading Anne of Green Gables with my mom, on a sick day from school. I was playing hide and seek with my brother, praying that my closet would turn into the wardrobe from Narnia, transporting us both to a snowy wonderland. I was sitting in my high school English class, listening to Ms. Malone tell me that it wasn’t that I didn’t “like” The Great Gatsby, I “just wasn’t ready to appreciate it” (side-note- as I sat in bed last week rereading the final page, teary-eyed, I realized not for the first time that she was so, so very right!). I’ve said it before, but for me, the best art comes from the heart, and this collection of work undoubtedly has come from mine! 

While working, I was inspired not only by the stories within the books, but also by the times and places in which they were written. Each of the six mixed-media pieces features a cover of a different 100+-year-old classic, reimagined by me, on a patterned background. Most of the fonts I chose for the titles were borrowed directly from the first edition copies of the novels, and the patterned backgrounds are inspired by textiles/artwork contemporary with their publication dates, and from the authors’ countries of origin. 

This collection is a special one to me because it combines so many of my favorite things- art, reading, history, antiques, and nostalgia. It is my joy to share these reimagined classics with you!