I’m Emily Veldman, a Los Angeles–based artist and illustrator creating colorful, narrative-driven work across painting, sculpture, and mixed media. My practice is rooted in the experience of living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and much of my art is an attempt to build visual sanctuaries—spaces of comfort, color, and control in contrast to the internal chaos that anxiety can create.

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I construct imagined worlds filled with personified animals, domestic vignettes, and whimsical textures. Yarn becomes furniture. Felt becomes food. Embroidery becomes story. These materials — soft, familiar, and accessible—let me reimagine ordinary life through a more joyful, playful lens. In doing so, I can both manage and reinterpret my mental health challenges, transforming them into something gentle and even humorous.

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My use of bright color, layered patterns, and sculptural elements invites viewers into spaces that are at once fantastical and emotionally grounded. These pieces aren’t just about escapism—they’re about creating alternate realities where anxiety doesn’t dictate the terms. Through this work, I hope to offer viewers their own small moment of calm or delight, and maybe even a sense of recognition or relief.

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Ultimately, my work is about care: care for self, care for others, and care for the imaginative inner worlds that help keep us afloat.