LALATOWN LIFE

I don’t know why, but Spanish-style architecture makes my heart race.

Maybe it’s the balconies.
Maybe it’s the ironwork.
Maybe it’s the old windows with layers of history in them.

Or maybe I lived there in another life and forgot to leave a forwarding address.

I don’t know.

All I know is that when I see certain streets—warm walls, tiny architectural details, weathered corners, hanging lamps, balconies that somehow still feel elegant even when time has touched them—I feel something strangely familiar.

Like homesickness for a place that was never technically mine.

When I was in Puerto Rico, my phone camera never got to rest.

I took photos obsessively.

This corner.
That balcony.
That gate.
That palm tree.

Even the places that were imperfect.

A chipped wall.
A building needing repair.
A tired corner with too much sun.

And still, beautiful.

Maybe especially beautiful.

I wanted to keep them.

Not just as photos.

But in my own artistic language.

So I started drawing them—first as loose liquid pen sketches, then transforming them into my digital illustration world, where I could keep layering, reshaping, and reimagining them in my own way.

Even though much of my work becomes digital in the end, pen drawing is where I feel most honest.

When I hold a pen, I stop hesitating.

I don’t overthink in the same way.

I follow lines.

I get lost in windows.
In layered frames.
In little iron details that were technically built for security—but somehow still became art.

That fascinates me.

Someone designed those curves.
Someone cared enough to make protection beautiful.

That’s why I love balconies.

That’s why I love old architectural details.

And maybe that’s why this little brush set happened.

I turned those moments into illustrated brushes because I wanted to keep them close.

And maybe because I’m closing Act One of my life right now.

It’s not a peaceful transition.

Not at all.

But I don’t think that means it was all regret.

I don’t think that’s true.

Some chapters take a long time to understand.

Some homes take a long time to find.

And some places make your heart ache before you even arrive.

So yes.

I turned my little liquid pen drawings into a brush set.

And I’ll probably turn them into tea towels and tote bags next.

Because some places deserve to stay.

🌴

Beautiful Puerto Rico Brush Set is now available in my Etsy shop.