New Art: Sea Foam Green Beach House Illustration Inspired by Crystal Cove

After over a year in the making, I’m happy to finally share my latest digital illustration: Sea Foam Green Beach House! This piece is inspired by the iconic Shell Shack Beach Cottage at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, California, and more personally, by a single color that captured my imagination: seafoam green! That dreamy, breezy hue has always been a favorite of mine because of my love for pastels.

Touring a model home last year and getting inspired by all the seafoam green. My hair looks seafoam green too, but it’s not! 😂 Just platinum blonde catching the light.

This illustration took over 13,000 strokes and more than 23 hours of focused digital work to complete. With 8,760 hours in a year, that means I only spent about 0.3% of the year actively drawing it. I often contemplate...where do all the days go?!

The truth is, this year has been creatively challenging. There were long stretches where I felt mentally fogged, drained by a combination of personal stress and the collective emotional weight of things happening in the world. Some moments hit especially hard, like the tragic L.A. fires back in January. In times like those, it didn’t feel right, or even possible, to retreat into the dreamland I usually create in. I needed to be present in reality.

But as the seasons changed, as they always do, I found small windows to come back to this artwork. And now that the weather is warming again, I’m once more daydreaming in bright colors, sandy beaches, and ocean breezes.

This piece feels like a love letter to Southern California, my home state, especially the sun-soaked day trips to Newport and Laguna Beach. I remember admiring all the pretty beach houses, trying (and mostly failing) to surf (only twice!) but still falling in love with the feeling of chasing waves. That sense of chasing the next one is how I feel about life, too. If you didn’t catch the last wave, it’s okay. There’s always another one coming!

☀️ Shop the Collection → Sea Foam Green Beach House Cottage Style

This new artwork is available on art prints, beach towels, tote bags, postcards, and more. Perfect for bringing a little piece of coastal calm and color into your space.

Thanks for taking the time to explore my world and follow along with my work as an artist. I hope this piece brings you the same warmth and joy it gave me while making it.