Welcome to Issue 5! 2026 is Here!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you got to spend some time with loved ones and eat your favorite holiday leftovers for days and days in your PJs! If you totally lost track of time, forgot what you even do outside the holidays, and are still getting back into your groove, join the freakin’ club!
I’m excited to share this month’s newsletter, and it feels good to see that we’re already on Issue 5! With that being said, let’s pause for a second.
Pause
I typically like to keep this newsletter lighthearted because I like this stuff to be a way to recharge and take a break from the heaviness of the world, but I would be remiss to say “Happy New Year” without taking a moment to acknowledge that 2026 is already off to a chaotic start. Not even a week into the new year, on January 3rd, the US bombed Venezuela and kidnapped its president, Nicolás Maduro. Whatever anyone thinks of Maduro, good or bad, these acts of violent US intervention are unacceptable. On January 7th in Minneapolis, an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good a few blocks away from her home, and a few blocks away from where George Floyd was wrongfully murdered in 2020 by police. While Renee was a white woman with US citizenship, I would also like to point out that this would have been wrong regardless of the color of her skin and regardless of her citizenship status.
These acts of violence perpetrated by the US government as well as the belligerent, unwanted presence of armed forces and militarization (where it is not, nor should be, normal) to instill fear and terror, and to fabricate distorted narratives of “justice” and “public safety,” are completely unacceptable. The outcomes are more violence and harm than good. I am appalled to hear these stories, and ashamed to see our country continue to operate in this way. I worry for the safety of our communities locally and globally and wish for 2026 to bring opportunities to create positive change and recognize that this is not the way.
While making space to acknowledge the chaos and reflect on how it impacts our collective wellness and safety, while some are even finding ways to stand up against it, I hope we can still find ways of exercising the practice of finding joy, whether that’s through art, connection, or literally anything else that may bring us peace in these chaotic times.
SAVE THE DATE! February 6th, 2026: Assemble’s 6×6 Show in Pittsburgh – Open to all ages, proceeds go to STEAM programming
Okay, WHEW! *exhales* okay. I know that was a lot. Still reading? Good. Now, I want to plug something FUN and COOL and AWESOME – Assemble is having their 4th annual 6×6 show here in Pittsburgh, and participation is open to all ages!
This year’s theme is Alchemy: How do you practice change every day? How do you transform the world around you?
You can participate in this neat community project by heading over to their website to register, then stopping by their space to pick up a canvas! You’ll have the option to pick a blank canvas or transform a canvas with last year’s artwork into something new – hence the alchemy!!!
I too will be participating, and have picked up a lovely canvas that has already been painted on by a participant from last year:
I wonder what it will become! Thank you to Jude, who did this first layer! I’ll be adding onto it!
Join me if you are in the area! All artwork will be sold for $30 each and all proceeds will go towards supporting Assemble’s STEAM educational programming.
DROP OFF DEADLINE: January 23rd; GALLERY SHOW: February 6th
Assemble is a nonprofit organization and community space for arts and technology education located in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. Their mission is to build confidence through making by creating approachable opportunities for learners of all ages to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) based activities. (Photo by Assemble)
Sign up for RANDOM STICKERS!
I have sheets of vinyl adhesive paper to make stickers with! I’m going to be in the process of experimenting with these soon, and would like to send yinz some stickers because I think it would be fun! If you are interested in receiving some via carrier pigeon, please fill out the form linked below with a mailing address that works for you!
Pet Portrait Discounts
Use the code PETLUVR26 to get 26% off on your first pet portrait in 2026! You can also share this code with others who may also be interested in getting a pet portrait of their own! Click here to head on over to my pet portrait page and get started!
I was so happy to have had the chance to work on my first 16×16” pet portrait in 2025, with sweet sweet Molly Dog. I’m working on someone else whose name rhymes with Juicy (teehee), and I’d love to work on more! Thank you to anyone who has expressed interest in booking with me, it means a lot!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
Save 25% off on Meteorological Tees (Printed by Commonwealth Press)
Over the past month, I’ve gotten to work with Commonwealth Press to print these sick t-shirts with my art! Thank you CWP!!
I’m excited about this because Commonwealth Press is a small union print shop based in Pittsburgh, PA. They are a local gem that offers all of their full-time employees paid vacation, health benefits, disability, and matching retirement. They donate to charities, schools, and causes right here in the Pittsburgh community, sponsor community events, support local art and music, and put oodles of care into what they do. I am proud to have gotten my inventory from them, and would like to gradually continue this trajectory of building my own art business with these ideals in mind: working with local vendors, small vendors, and vendors that value humanity and foster community. My goal in 2026 is to put greater intention into aligning with these ideals as I continue to grow my store.
Use the code SAVE25 to save 25% off on Meteorological Graphic Tees at my Etsy store! You can find ‘em here!
Playing with Acrylic Gouache
So I’ve been trying something new recently, and that is
GCOAUHE…
I’m sorry… let me try that again.
CGUOUEG…
CHUGEAHGOU…?
*cough*
GOUACHE
GOUACHE!!!!
More specifically Acrylic Gouache.
My first attempt – working on this late into the night brought me much joy. Would highly recommend trying it if you have the opportunity!
It’s a word that I constantly misspell, and I picked it up at the art store without really knowing that gouache comes in two different forms: Regular and Acrylic.
Plain ole gouache is water-soluble, and has a lot of similarities to watercolors, though it is more opaque. It can be diluted with water to allow for more translucent layers, and can be “revived” when water is reapplied to a dry layer. Acrylic-based gouache on the other hand, is mixed with an acrylic-based binder rather than the gum arabic that is used in regular gouache. This makes it water resistant upon drying! The pigment can still be diluted with water while it’s wet, but cannot be “revived” with water once it is dry.
I’ll have to give normal gouache a try sometime, but I’ve been enjoying the vibrant colors of my acrylic-based gouache as well as the satin feel to the texture when it dries. I got a CMYK set: five tubes with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, and White. With these primary colors and shades, you can mix up any color in between! It was a little intimidating at first, but I eventually started figuring it out. I appreciate the flexibility it offers in experimenting with a broader range of color palettes than if I had picked up pre-mixed colors.
Some small 3×3″ paintings inspired by Catnip!
Coloring Page of the Month
This month’s coloring page is based on a seamless pattern I’ve been working on, “Cats Outta Hell,” and I’ll be talking more about seamless patterns and my journey with this new interest in next month’s newsletter issue! For now, please enjoy these trouble-making cats ( ｡ •̀ ᴗ •́ ｡) ⋆⭒˚.⋆ If you color it in, be sure to send me your photo for the one and only TINY GALLERY!!!
That’s All Folks!
And that’s a wrap! If you’ve made it this far, you’ve reached the end of Issue 5 of my newsletter! I hope you enjoyed the ride ₊˚⊹♡ Thank you for reading! Stay safe out there, and continue to exercise the practice of finding joy and taking care of yourself. I’ll catch ya next time! See you in your inbox next month! ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜
