Taking Hermosa With Me
Hey, hello there, friend!
I have something personal to share, and it still feels strange to put it into words: after nearly twenty years, I’m preparing to leave Hermosa Beach. I don’t know exactly where I’m going yet, and there’s a lot I’m still figuring out. This change came sooner than I was ready for, but alongside everything I’m feeling, there’s a deep curiosity about what life, and my art, might be asking me to experience next.
When you move away from your country, one of the biggest challenges is finding a sense of belonging somewhere unfamiliar. When I left Brazil, I brought it with me in ways I still carry every day. Here in Hermosa, I slowly found my way by being myself, expressing what I saw and felt, and allowing this place to inspire me. Somewhere along the way, I built a life and a studio, became an artist, and found a community that made my dream possible.
I’ve spent years inviting people to see this place through my eyes. The ocean, the pier, the palms, the light, all of it found its way into my paintings. Hermosa shaped my work and the person I had to become to make it. And if you’ve collected a painting, come to a show, taken a class, or followed along through these emails, you’ve been part of that becoming.
Thank you for giving my work a place in your life.
The other day, sitting at the beach, I was thinking about how much our surroundings influence what we create. What would come out of me somewhere else? What colors would I notice? What would change in my paintings if my everyday view changed? I want to give myself the time to find out, to experience life and my art outside of Hermosa while continuing to run my business.
I’m calling this next chapter Finding Creative Sanctuaries: an experiment in living and creating in different places, staying long enough to feel what each environment brings out of me. My roots are in Brazil, and Hermosa is where I found my voice as an artist. Now I’m curious about how I can carry that Hermosa sunshine into the world. I may eventually come back to live here. I honestly don’t know, and giving myself room to discover that is part of the whole point.
Before I go, I want to find loving homes for the paintings that hold this chapter of my life. These works exist as they do because of my years here, and finding their people will help fund the space, time, and freedom to create what comes next. I’m also working on a farewell solo show, Love Letters to Hermosa, and I’ll share the details as soon as they’re confirmed.
There is still so much I want to celebrate with you before leaving.
Which brings me to something I’d like to ask: I’m recruiting you as my unofficial team for this transition. Maybe you know an inspiring place where I could stay and paint, a creative community I should meet, or someone who would love a piece of my work. Sharing my paintings, making an introduction, or sending me an idea could help build the next phase in a very real way.
If a place, a person, or a possibility came to mind while you were reading, please tell me.
You don’t need to have a whole plan. I certainly don’t have one yet either! But I wanted you to hear this from me now, while it’s still unfolding, because you’ve been part of the life I built here, and I would love to bring you into whatever comes next.
P.S. If you’re curious about what’s been going on in my inner world through all of this, I go deeper in my latest podcast episode ~ what I’m feeling, what I’m questioning, and how I’m learning to trust myself without knowing what comes next. [Listen here → DECODINGTHE FLOW PODCAST or WATCH IT HERE]
Color Your Life!
Drica Lobo
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