Basket of apples, please. Or maybe a baguette from the local bakery. Then we can settle in for a relaxing game of backgammon, cozy up with a book, or putter in the garden.

(I like your long ears and whiskers, btw.) 🐰🐰🐰

Fun, whimsical, playful: when you step into a Paige Spearin painting, you know you’re going to have a good time. Inspired by things she truly enjoys (travel, tennis, skiing, interior design, parties, flowers, bike riding), Paige works her magic with India ink, watercolor, gouache, and sometimes acrylic and oil.

An artist and surface designer based in Winnetka, Illinois, Paige specializes in creating fine art, illustration, textile design and custom stationery. After earning a BFA in Fibers from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2008, she began working with Lilly Pulitzer, where she was a print designer for over 16 years. She’s now self-employed, having established Paige Spearin Studio in 2019.

When I first saw her work, the loose lines and vibrant colors reminded me of Ludwig Bemelmans, who, as you probably know, wrote the Madeline children’s books. Then I read an interview with Paige at the Mestiza NY website, where she discussed how some of the scenes and activities from her life show up in her art:

I used to live in New York and my paintings have been inspired by walks in Central Park, dates at Bemelman’s Bar, JG Melon and La Grenouille. One of our favorite spots in Winnetka is a French restaurant called Pomeroy, which I have painted. I also love to ski, so I paint a lot of skiiers. When I had my children I started painting more animals and thinking about artwork for children too.

I do hope Paige publishes a picture book in the near future, as her joyful, gestural style would be perfect for the genre. Meanwhile, I’ll daydream about wandering into Bemelmans Bar in The Carlyle Hotel, spotting a few famous people and sighing over Ludwig’s mural of Central Park. 🙂

I like all the rabbits in her pieces (my second favorite animal after bears). It’s fun to see them engaging in human pastimes and I like imagining possible storylines for them. Since Paige is also a print designer, it’s interesting to examine the patterns and textures in her pictures (clothing, upholstery, wallpaper, china). These are fresh, upbeat and modern, while the overall feel of her outdoor scenes, with their charming sophistication, speaks to a dreamy sense of leisure and the good life. How wonderful to escape to faraway places flavored with the recreational delights of France or Italy!

Of course I’m partial to her food and drink paintings too. Even though I’m more of a tea shop person than a bar person, I find these depictions fascinating as I once aspired to be a bartender (tee totalers make the best ones). Besides, it’s nice to see the different bar settings, their colors, decor, and of course the people who are socializing there.

Paige has also created illustrations for two cookbooks, The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook by Meredith Hayden (Ten Speed Press, 2025), and All Things Yum: The Hamptons Summer Cookbook by Mary Waserstein (2018).

Do check out Paige Spearin’s Official Website to see more of her art and to purchase originals and prints. Also available: needlepoint canvases at Lycette, cool jumbo slouchy denim totes, bags, and mahjong gaming mats at Tigre de Tartán, and stationery items (invitations, photo mounts, gift tags, cards, placemats) at Dogwood Hill. Keep up with Paige’s latest news at her Instagram.

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