Inspiring Women – Chloe Welch: Joy, Creativity And The Art Of Everyday Kindness

Ahoy, sailors! Today we have the pleasure of welcoming an artist with a truly unique talent and a visual universe filled with warmth, tenderness, and joy. Beyond her beautiful illustrations and greeting card designs, Chloe Welch is also a dedicated and joyful mother of three, bringing a sense of love and authenticity into everything she creates. Chloe, from the entire Don Fisher crew, we’re sending you the warmest welcome aboard!

Before we dive into your creative world, we’d love to get to know you a little better. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey? How did your passion for illustration and greeting card design first begin, was it something you always dreamed of pursuing, or did it naturally grow over time?

Thank you for the welcome! I’ve loved creating for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t originally set out to become an illustrator. In college, I studied art education with the goal of becoming an art teacher, and I absolutely loved it. After graduating, I taught junior high art for a year before a series of life changes shifted my path. We moved to a new state, my husband began dental school, and I welcomed my first daughter, all during the COVID pandemic.

Like many people during that time, I immersed myself in my hobbies. I spent my days painting, drawing, and sharing my work on Instagram as a way to stay connected to my identity as an artist while stepping away from teaching to focus on my young family. I never expected much to come from posting my work online, but over time a few small opportunities began to appear, followed by larger clients and projects, and my illustration career gradually grew from there.

You’re a mom of three and a full-time illustrator at the same time. This will surely interest our crew a lot: How do you manage to balance motherhood with your creative life? In what ways do your children influence the way you draw and the stories you want to tell?

I feel really lucky that motherhood and illustration entered my life at the exact same time. Because of that, all I’ve ever known is finding ways to do both simultaneously. Creating has been a wonderful reprieve from the work of motherhood and a really important way to stay connected to myself.

Of course, life is so full and busy, and it can be hard to balance everything, I think everyone feels this! One lesson that has really impacted me from art school is that limitations actually make us more creative. Endless time, unlimited supplies, and a blank schedule can actually make it harder to create. Motherhood naturally brings constraints, but I find that those constraints can actually be strengths. As an artist, problem-solving and finding creative solutions are already part of my skill set, so I try to view the challenges of making art with young children as a creative challenge rather than an obstacle.

A quick fifteen-minute sketching session, working after my children are asleep, or even creating alongside them with their art supplies has helped me keep art feeling loose and free from pressure.

Another thought that brings me comfort is that I have my entire lifetime ahead of me to create. It can feel like this stage lasts forever, but kids grow so fast and things change all the time. There will always be seasons of abundance and seasons of rest. I think it’s important not to force anything and to go with the pace of the season you’re in. I try to approach my creative future with an abundance mindset: there will always be more opportunities, more ideas, more time, and more work to create. If one opportunity passes by today, another will come tomorrow. I ask myself, “What can I make today, even if it’s small?” I think the consistency of showing up is the most important thing.

Your greeting cards are beautiful and special because they feel made with so much care and attention to every detail. What motivated you to specialize in greeting cards, and what do you hope people feel when they receive one of your creations

Thank you so much! I really love making cards and spend a lot of time with each design to get it just right. My style and the way I work lend themselves well to greeting card design. I like cheerful, eye-catching designs, bright colors, and handwritten text. I also love running the business side of things and find that my strengths are a pretty even split between creative thinking and the more logistical, organized structure of running a business. Selling greeting cards is a perfect fit for me!

I love the idea of sending cards in today’s digital world. When we live so much of our life online, it is really meaningful and refreshing to receive an actual card in the mail. I hope people see my work and immediately think of someone who would enjoy receiving that card.

You recently published your first illustrated book, You’re the Actual Best. How was the experience of working on such an important project? What has it meant for you and your creative career?

I was so honored to work with Compendium on such a sweet and meaningful story. It was both an exciting and intimidating project, and one that pushed me creatively in many ways.

The early stages of the project were especially enjoyable, filled with brainstorming, sketching, and exploration. I loved developing the main characters, deciding who they would be, what they would look like, and what they would wear! As the story and characters began to take shape, one of my favorite parts of the process was adding color and watching the pencil sketches come to life.

Each spread presented a new creative challenge as I worked to create illustrations that supported and enriched the text. Some spreads came together quickly, while others required many revisions and problem-solving along the way. I’m grateful that I didn’t have to do it alone and had the benefit of thoughtful feedback and collaboration with my client throughout the process.

As anyone who has illustrated a book knows, it is a tremendous amount of work! Breaking the project into smaller, manageable pieces helped me make steady progress over time and made such a large undertaking feel achievable.

In the end, seeing all of the pieces come together was incredibly rewarding. Opening the package containing the finished book was one of the most exciting moments of the entire experience, a tangible reminder of many months of hard work, creativity, and collaboration brought to life!

We’ve also seen you painting large-scale murals, something very different from drawing cards or book illustrations. Tell us about that experience,  what do you enjoy about working in such a large and public format?

Yes! I was recently selected to paint a mural for my city’s Spring Fest event, where I served as the live muralist, creating a design centered around the city of North Augusta. At first, mural painting and illustrating greeting cards may seem like very different kinds of work, but both are rooted in the same foundation: drawing. Whether I’m painting with a brush on a large wall or drawing digitally on my iPad, the creative process feels surprisingly similar.

I did plenty of research beforehand to make sure I had the right paints, brushes, and supplies, but beyond that, it felt very much like the work I already do every day. The biggest difference was the scale and the fact that I was creating in public.

One of my favorite parts of the experience was painting live. Most of my illustration work happens alone in my studio, so it was incredibly fun to create in such a public setting. Throughout the day, friends and community members stopped by to watch the mural take shape, and it was exciting to share that process in real time. I think there’s something special about seeing how art is made, and it seemed that others enjoyed watching the work unfold just as much as I enjoyed creating it.



Your style is very distinctive: joyful, delicate, and full of charming little details. Could you share with our audience which artists or illustrators have influenced you the most throughout your career?

Thank you so much! There are so many artists and illustrators I deeply admire. Louise Lockhart of The Printed Peanut is especially inspiring to me, both in art style and in the way she’s built a thoughtful, product-based creative business. I also love the work of Christian Robinson and have spent many library trips with my kids pouring over his beautiful books. Carson Ellis is another favorite, her work is so distinctive and her books are absolutely delightful. I’m drawn to any artist that uses color and shape in interesting ways.



It’s clear that you work both analog and digitally. What are your favorite techniques? How do you combine hand-drawn elements with digital work in your creative process?

I love sketching in a sketchbook with pencil or pen for quick, carefree drawing. When I have more time, I enjoy working with gouache or colored pencil, though these days I primarily work on my iPad. Even when working digitally, I always aim to maintain a handmade, hand-drawn quality through texture, linework, and intentional imperfections, as I’m personally drawn to artwork where you can still see the artist’s hand in it. I also love the flexibility of digital work, especially the ability to quickly explore color variations and carry a portable workspace that lets me create in short bursts throughout the day.



To wrap up this wonderful interview, Chloe: What advice would you give to a young illustrator who is just starting out and dreams of building an authentic and joyful path like yours?

Keep showing up and giving yourself permission to try new things. Even if your time is limited, creativity doesn’t require long, uninterrupted hours to be meaningful, small pockets of time truly add up. Approach your work with a playful heart, and create from a place of abundance rather than pressure. Remember that the act of making something is rewarding in itself. The creative process is the real gift! If recognition, opportunities, or income come from your work, those things are a wonderful bonus. In my experience, those opportunities often grow naturally when you create work that feels authentic to you, because people are drawn to genuine joy and authenticity.



We are incredibly grateful to Chloe for anchoring her ship with us today and sharing her warm and joyful creative journey. Her dedication to creating art that spreads tenderness, color, and connection,  while navigating motherhood with three little ones,  is truly inspiring. Chloe reminds us that creativity can be both deeply personal and a beautiful way to bring joy to others.

To our fellow sailors, don’t miss Chloe’s delightful work on Instagram and keep an eye out for her greeting cards, books, and murals. We can’t wait to see what she creates next!

Until next time, keep smiling and stay inspired!

Interview conducted by Agostino Lo nardo, part of Don Fisher’s crew.