I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where art belongs.
For years, mine has lived mostly on paper, canvas and, more recently, alongside the jewelry I make for Marie & Oakley. But somewhere along the way I started wondering what would happen if I stopped thinking quite so literally about what a painting had to be.
So I painted a pair of jeans.
Not the whole pair. Just one pocket.
And naturally, I painted a fish.
There’s something I love about taking something already worn and familiar and making it feel completely different. A little paint, a few imperfect brushstrokes, colors pulled from the coast, and suddenly an ordinary pair of denim becomes something no one else has.
That part matters to me.
The older I get, the less interested I am in making everything look perfectly polished or exactly like everyone else’s. I want things that feel collected. Personal. A little unexpected.
That has always been part of Marie & Oakley, even before I had the words for it. The gemstones are never exactly alike. The jewelry is made in small batches. My paintings have loose edges and visible brushstrokes. I’m drawn to things that show the hand behind them.
Painting clothing feels like another version of that.
It also feels a little like being a kid again. Sitting at my studio table with paint everywhere, trying something simply because I wanted to know what it might look like.
No big strategy. No collection plan.
At least not yet.
Just a fish on a pocket.
And I kind of love him.
Maybe wearable art becomes something more for Marie & Oakley. Maybe this pair of jeans is simply the beginning of another creative rabbit hole. Either way, I’m learning that some of my favorite ideas show up when I give myself permission to make something without knowing exactly where it’s going.
There’s a lot more painting outside the lines happening around here lately.
And I think I’m going to keep following it.
Much love from the coast,
Tracy
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