This painting started with YOU.
Earlier this year, I knew I had to paint Yosemite. It was my grandparents' park, the place where our family reunions happened, where I made memories I still carry with me. And when my National Park stickers went viral, so many of you asked me to paint it that I couldn't ignore the call any longer.
But I needed the right icon for this wild sanctuary. So I asked my community, you: a bear, a bobcat, a fox, an otter?
Otters won by a landslide... or maybe a belly slide???
And honestly? I may had been secretly hoping for otters.
Some of my favorite memories in Yosemite are floating the Merced River with my brothers and cousins, laughing, splashing, completely unaware of anything except the joy of that moment. What better way to capture the spirit of a place than through one of the most playful animals on earth?
But there's a deeper story here, one that matters on an ecosystem level...
River otters are native to Yosemite Valley. And for over 100 years, they were gone. Trapped out for their fur in the late 1800s, they vanished from this landscape entirely. But nature, when given even a sliver of a chance, is astonishingly resilient. After water quality protections and conservation efforts took hold in other parts of California, something quietly remarkable happened.
The otters came back. Naturally. No reintroduction program. No human hand guiding them home. Just nature, finding a way with a little help.
That gives me hope. Real, bone-deep hope that we might still turn this Earth ship around.
"Remember to Romp" was born from that story, from your voices, your love for one of the country's most beloved national parks, and from a river of resilience and joy.
Set beneath the unmistakable sweep of Half Dome, this original watercolor captures a romp of river otters. Did you know a group of otters is called a 'romp'? And romp is the perfect word for a group of them, because have you ever watched otters? They don't just exist. They delight. They tumble and chase and spiral through the water like joy itself has taken animal form. Watching them feels like a gentle nudge from the universe: slow down, soften up, and for goodness' sake, go play.
This painting holds two things at once. It's a tribute to the quiet resilience of a species finding its way home, the hope that achievement embodies. And it's a love letter to every person who has ever stood on the banks of the Merced River, laughed until their sides hurt, and felt wild and free and completely alive.
If you've floated that river, picnicked on its banks, or simply dreamed of it, this piece was painted for you.
Why You'll Love It
🦦 A Comeback Worth Celebrating — Celebrating one of nature's most heartwarming resilience stories, and this painting honors every step of that journey.
🏔️ Hidden Details to Discover — Look closer. Tucked within the fluid brushstrokes and layered color is a hidden element that rewards the curious eye and speaks to the otter's history in Yosemite.
🌊 An Everyday Permission Slip — In a world that prizes productivity above all else, Remember to Romp hangs as a daily reminder to play, to rest, and to be a little wild.
🎨 Original, One-of-a-Kind — This is not a print. This is THE painting, the only one in the world, yours forever.
♻️ Sustainably Created — Painted on FSC-certified paper using vegan brushes and non-toxic paints, shipped in sustainable packaging. Ten percent of profits are donated to wildlife conservation, because art that loves the planet should give back to it.
🎁 A Meaningful Gift — For the Yosemite lover, the otter obsessive, the conservation champion, or anyone in your life who needs a reminder that joy is not a luxury. It's a birthright.
Perfect For:
• Nature lovers, wildlife advocates, and national park devotees
• Those who believe in conservation and the resilience of wild places
• Living rooms, reading nooks, and anywhere you want to feel the pull of something wilder
• Anyone who has ever felt the Merced River move through them and never quite got it out of their soul
• The friend, the partner, the parent who needs a reminder that play matters
This is more than a watercolor. It is a romp of otters reclaiming their river, Half Dome standing witness, and a quiet voice asking you the most important question of the day: when did you last stop to play?
May it make you smile every single time you walk past it.
Bring "Remember to Romp" home today, and let the otters remind you what matters. 💜
