Studio Newsletter | January 2026

Holy dang y’all…it’s 2026! I personally thought we’d be buzzing along in our own personal Jetson-style spaceships by now but life rarely pans out exactly as you think it will. (Thank goodness.)

December is the most rouge of all the months. Every year it whispers, “To hell with the schedules and routines the other months adhere to and to hell with your usual allotment of studio time.” And every year I reply, “December, studio output may be thinner but forward momentum will be had.” Then ole January comes in hot, doling out clean slates and reclaiming predictable calendars. Take that December!

Currently, the main focus in the studio is the book cover for the Illustrated Flora of East Texas, Vol. 2 project. The subject of the book, The Piney Woods region of East Texas, is a place I don’t have a whole lot of experience with. Tons of research and prelim drawings have been made and I’m now ready to begin the real deal.

BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) is publishing the book and I’ve worked with them on two previous book cover projects.

I did the cover for Flowering Plants of Trans-Pecos in 2018. Researching the landscapes of this far West Texas region introduced me to the Chihuahuan Desert which is now one of my favorite places on the planet. It also rekindled my love of the Sonoran Desert (I lived in Phoenix, AZ for ten years). This cover is the project that set me on my current landscape painting journey.

(Fun fact: I worked at BRIT as the Botanical Art Assistant and Press Coordinator from 2017-2019 and still sketch from their specimen collection on a semi-regular basis.)

Made progress on the “Backyard Birds” painting. It’s now officially on the back burner until the book cover is finished but it’s at a stage that I’m so excited to return to - spending time putting the details on each bird. Those future painting geek out sessions are a bright spot in my spirit.

ALTARS | GUIDES | AMULETS

Sometimes you feel compelled to sit down with a blob of clay and make something and you don’t know what that “something” is until you’re knee-deep in the process. Most recently, the “something” was this series of mythical talisman guides. Next steps: writing their stories and making their altar habitats.

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Blue skies for the New Year!

Rock Formations (I Wish Dad Could Tell Me About) | Original Painting

“Maybe at the end of it all, in one big flash, she’ll finally know.”

from $225.00

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Both Brown | Original Painting

“Their reach toward the sky was vastly different but their colors were the same.”

$225.00

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Volcano (June 24, 2022) | Original Painting

“Your power is fueled by fables.”

from $225.00

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Take Time | Original Painting

“A gift will unfold for those who take the time to know her.”

$225.00

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From the Top of the Canyon | Original Painting

“She could breathe fully from the top of the canyon.”

$225.00

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I always keep a 5.5”x5.5” square of matboard close when I’m making work to test paint colors or keep the paint marker tips clean. When a square fills up, it becomes the foundation for a small painting. Lolly emerged from this one.

Who will join Lolly in this painting? Not sure yet.

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Documenting my landscape through paintings and storytelling.

Hi, I’m Layla! I am a painter with a focus on southwestern landscapes and the author/illustrator of a children’s story series called The Lolly Stories. The exploration of home, nature, and storytelling are the major components of both my painting practice and illustrations.