Designing With Energy: Inside the Creative Mind of Kirsten Sadlier

Nov 18

This week on Highly Affected By Her Surroundings, Nicole sits down with artist Kirsten Sadlier, a creative whose work carries a feeling you cannot manufacture. Her art lives between two coasts and blends movement, emotion, and intuition into surfboards, large scale abstracts, sketch art, and a wallpaper collection that reads like a love letter to the places she has lived.

Kirsten shares the story of growing up in her grandparents’ frame shop, stepping away from a career in lifestyle brands, and returning to art when the creative pull became too strong to ignore. She talks openly about how ADHD fuels her process, why she only paints when she is grounded and in a good mood, and how she collaborates with designers on commissions that feel deeply personal.

Nicole and Kirsten explore
• The California and Florida influence behind her work
• How sketch art became one of her most meaningful collections
• What it looks like to partner with designers and homeowners
• Why galleries often feel intimidating and how she creates a more welcoming path into original art
• How wallpaper became a natural extension of her artistic language
• Her belief that human made art will always matter, especially as AI becomes more common
• The mountain side residency she is manifesting next

Kirsten’s perspective is a reminder that art holds energy. It carries stories, places, memories, and emotion into the homes we design. Her work reflects the beauty of trusting your intuition, embracing the movement of a creative mind, and honoring the seasons that shape your artistry.