Cara Olsen
Cara Rosalie Olsen would actually consider herself a writer first and watercolorist second, having spent the first 4 years of artistic pursuit immersed in a Contemporary YA novel. However, since the birth of her daughter in 2017, and given that she works in hour-long nap-bursts, during which interruptions are common, painting is the form of art most forgiving to her days.
She doesn’t mind one bit.
So although it was her love of language that first drew her to sharing her work and thoughts on Instagram, as a result building an intimate community of sisterhood, eventually what began as the shovel with which Cara picked up the pieces of her life in the face of a complete physical and mental collapse, soon enough she found both healing as well as a client base for her watercolor works, and today runs a fully-fledged business.
With a leap of faith, Cara launched her shop in early 2018, naming it Rosalie Gwen Paperie – the “Rosalie” and “Gwen” being her own and daughter’s middle name, respectively. The shop itself is an ode to floral faffery, featuring a selection of stationery, gift-wrap, and fine art; though her main focus has been geared toward equipping fellow artists with the knowledge she herself would have loved access to when she set out 7 years ago to teach herself how to paint. This includes a variety of online classes, a watercolor supply guide, and most fun of all, designing unique color-guides, which focus on helping budding artists understand color through the art mixing paints. She is also routinely working on as many bridal bouquet commissions she can squeeze into a month.
Her love for all things floral is the inspiration behind everything Cara creates. There is no flower she isn’t apt to paint, finding honor in privilege in telling its story with a brush. Additionally, among nature is where her heart is at peace, and truly, it’s not a day at all unless she and her daughter have taken a lengthy stroll around their community collecting treasures. Perhaps most exciting of all, Cara is currently passing along her love for watercolor in the form of teaching workshops, helping students build both their confidence and creative pursuits.
Read more about Cara’s journey, inspiration, and techniques in our Artist Spotlight article coming soon!