How I Draw Home

Drawing Home: The Art of Belonging

I see the world in its little things—

a butterfly gliding across a path,

the afternoon light spilling through a window,

the faint scent of flowers on a summer evening.

Intricate line drawing of Hawaii, featuring detailed sketches of landscapes, iconic landmarks, and cultural motifs, ready for painting

In this first exploration of Home, I want to look closely—at the details both around us and within us—that give a space its heartbeat.

What’s in your space?

What matters to you?

And what makes it truly, unmistakably… home?

Is it the old wooden box where the mail lands every evening?

The mixing bowl you pull down every Saturday morning for waffles?

The chipped mug you can’t quite part with because you just love the colors?

From garden gates to spindly city balconies, I love drawing Home in all its small, telling details.

Whimsical sketch of San Francisco, featuring iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Painted Ladies, and a sailboat, capturing the city's charm in a detailed, artistic style.

“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home—a space to laugh, love, rest, and return to.”

How it happens

When I begin a “Tiny World” illustration, it starts with a single line—a tangle, for those of you who tangle too. From that first mark, I start building a community: one building, then another, then a garden box tucked in between. Tiny windows appear, then all the details, trees, pets (mine often sneak in, Try to spot my dog Nori), and sometimes my own family, peeking from a doorway.

Little by little, the world grows. A magical illustrated map takes shape.

When a drawing is inspired by a real place, I pour over maps and photographs. I search for what makes that place unique—how the streets bend, where the markets are, the way one building looks next to another. I want my illustrated cities to feel like their real life places but with the color and whimsical nature that I draw with. A place you could walk into and just belong.

Charming watercolor painting depicting a cozy cottage embraced by a vibrant array of giant flowers, creating a whimsical and enchanting scene.

The Difference Between Them

I have two main illustrated map series: my City Series (Paris, London, San Francisco) and my Tiny Worlds—wholly imagined places born from my sketchbook. In my mind, they’re all connected in a “Tiny World Universe.”

From a sparkling Winter Wonderland to a bustling Summer Camp, and soon a deep, leafy Woodland, they all meet in the same neighborhood: Flora Lane. Tiny homes hide among flowers there. People and animals live, work, and play in its cozy corners.

No matter which series I am drawing each house I draw holds a small piece of me. The act of arranging them, adding warm light in the windows, placing a cat on the porch or a bicycle at the curb—it feels like setting a stage for a story. It’s my way of pouring love into paper and pigment.

“Little by little, the tiny world grows until it becomes a magical illustrated map.”

Whimsical watercolor capturing the charming and colorful doors of Santa Fe, New Mexico, under a serene moonlit sky.

The Soul of Home

In nearly all my illustrations, home runs like an invisible thread.

Home—or the idea of it—is something we carry inside: the moments, the memories, the love. Shelter is a universal need, but the place you carve out in the world becomes something more. It becomes a part of who you are. Regardless of the world and all its problems, people need spaces to come to, set their heavy loads down and belong.

Home lives in the coziness and familiarity of neighborhoods where people work and play. It blooms in the gardens on windowsills of apartments, in the shade of backyard trees, in the objects that hold our stories. Through my work, I try to capture that feeling—what it means to truly belong somewhere.

And I believe with all my heart that everyone deserves a safe place to call home. A space to laugh, love, rest, eat, gather, create, study, breathe, venture out into the world—and return to, again and again

So—what’s in your space?

What little details would you slip into a drawing to make a house feel like your home?

Share them in the comments. I can’t wait to weave more of your stories into the next piece in this series. Plus I’m hopeful that soon I can add a how to draw home series on here!