If I haven’t convinced you of anything else so far, I hope you’ve at least embraced the idea that a little indulgence is good for you. If spoiling yourself can also benefit an independent artist, even better! Maybe I’m a little bit of a capitalist after all.

I stumbled across artist Shann Spishak’s miniature French rooms on Etsy, and I fell instantly in love with her style. When I was working on Les Stone Cold Killers, her interiors helped me to daydream about adventure and intrigue in Paris.

While an actual apartment in Paris might still be out of my budget, I love that I can have the next best thing and support a talented artist. I’ve got a couple of Shann’s little rooms hanging up in the Sea Shanti, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you here. I hope they’ll brighten your day as much as they do mine.

Matisse et Musique
Paris Please
Provence Hutch
Clawfeet and Cognac by Shann Spishak
Clawfeet and Cognac

P.S.

Here’s a sneak peek from Les Stone Cold Killers that showcases the studio apartment of an artist who, sadly, can’t match Shann’s brilliant Parisian masterpieces (though I’d love to see her interpretation of the scene):

When the door creaked open, the rakish young man from the bistro squinted back at them through the gloom of the windowless passageway. By the time his eyes adjusted and widened in surprise, Sparks had already gotten a foot across the threshold.

She took advantage of his shock to push fiercely at the door and snake her way into the brightly lit room with Perilous in tow. The afternoon sun poured through the garret’s skylight, illuminating a small, cluttered artist’s studio.

Large canvases were propped against every wall. Mediocre cityscapes of Paris—at night and by day, in summer and winter—were in abundance as were more inspired portraits of the girl from the plane, staring forlornly at the viewer with those moss-green, moping angel eyes.

In the center of the room was the moping angel herself, her mouth agape and her face flushed.