August in the Studio

August has always felt like such a beautiful transition month — where the light starts to shift and the day starts to get that familiar wind that signals autumn is near. We’re still in the throes of summer and yet, in the studio, we’re painting autumnal delights! Pears, pumpkins, leaves, burgundies, foliage — my absolute favorite season is almost upon us.

That’s why it was such a great honor to be asked to design the invitation for the annual tea party hosted by the Philoptochos and Daughters of Penelope Daphne #29 chapters. They requested I paint something to signal Autumn is here, something with burgundies, plums, leaves, and abundance. So I got to work painting each individual element over the course of the last few weeks.

I love working with watercolors when designing invitations, especially because I can work alongside my children. I set them up with their paints and have a little more freedom to work on my commissions in this way. My mother has a perfect pumpkin tea pot that I used as a reference for the one illustration, and that paired perfectly with the leaves and fruit I intertwined in the design.

Not only did I paint the invitation suite – but I was also asked to share some of my paintings at the event! I had already been working on my Greek Trapezi collection, so it felt perfect to plan to display the first iteration of my table scape paintings. I have a little less than two weeks to complete the paintings and I’ve been busy painting away. Follow along on my Instagram and TikTok to see the collection unfold!