art that made me feel alive in 2025 (Patreon)

edited 12/30/25: added more video and movies

here it is, the (non-exhaustive) list of artists who have inspired me throughout 2025. I've included a mix of mediums (youtube, writing, art, music, film) and often the categories aren't fixed as many of these artists are multidisciplinary. in reviewing this list I've detected a common thread of playfulness and curiosity, energies I want to explore more in my own life moving forward. forewarning, i mention my back injury recovery multiple times, during which I could do very little and needed a lot of art to keep me company. onward!

sandi hester / if you've been here for any amount of time, you know that i looove sandi's art. she's a big inspiration in my pivot to traditional art and learning how to create expressively and loosely. her joyous personality is a comforting treat that shines through in everything she does and watching her videos always makes me want to pick up my supplies to make art.

annie fugere foster / i found annie's channel toward the end of 2025, but have already learned so much from what she shares. seeing her work and hearing her thought processes always makes me want to pick up my paints and try new techniques. she's been a huge inspiration for my experimentation with acrylic paints as of late!

beigeflannel / i'm so glad i stumbled across this channel, i love her creative and whimsical approach to home decor and making things. she's all about sharing process, creating objects that reflect her personality and put a smile on her face and i think that's just lovely!

soupandcats / inika's art makes me feel so alive! another huge inspiration for me experimenting with traditional art, inika's paintings and drawings explode with energy and color that reveal a true love for life, it's genuinely delightful!

flowlotl / the world through monica's eyes feels so reverent and emotionally full. her videos reflect her ability to observe and notice the beauty in everyday life. the editing in her videos is incredibly playful and thoughtful, packed with little details that reflect her care, so much so that her videos feel more like short films and are always a real treat to watch.

littletinyegg / kristen's art and videos feel so tactile, calm, and warm. I always feel more comforted after watching her videos, in which she shares reflections on life and creativity that feel grounded with an immediacy that's tied to the natural world.

kathleen illustrated / each of kathleen's videos feels like an open invitation to get silly and creative! her creations fully reflect her fun personality and never fail to cheer me up.

anna howard / anna's videos give me new ways to think and reflect on life, always encouraging me to look at problems from new angles and seek creative solutions. packed with questions and ideas, I've listened to the same video multiple times and always come away with something new.

ymlovely / minnie's videos feel like love letters to life, full of sweet and gentle whimsy, a sweet treat perfectly balanced with bits of salt to reflect the wholeness of life in its joys and sorrows.

kendra gaylord / kendra has an amazing ability to make me watch entire videos on subjects that I didn't know I could be interested in. she explores architecture and history through a humorous, modern lens that opens my eyes to the beauty that surrounds us in the buildings and structures we inhabit.

ashley norton / similar to kendra, ashley can get me invested in topics that I didn't even know existed. she lends honest curiosity and weight to the topics she covers and dives past the surface level of reactionary commentary to get at grains of truth about humanity. she's also just incredibly funny.

(aka I go on a lot of walks, listen to full albums and feel entirely moved)

Third Eye Blind by Third Eye Blind / something about this album makes me feel nostalgic in such a beautiful way. time flows by with ease, warm and longing.

Sugar Water by Maude Latour / absolute pop perfection, the brightness and romance of summer transmuted and bottled into songs.

Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay / a true journey of an album, a series of songs that feel like a continual opening into one another.

I Love My Computer by Ninajirachi / this album contains one of my favorite listening experiences from this summer, in which I powerwalked around the park in 90F weather during a rare bout of rain, sweat pouring from my body. it was some of the most intense movement I'd done post-injury and the sensation of my body regaining physical ability felt nearly transcendent.

I don't know why I feel ok right now, but it's nice by City Girl / wonderful album to put on to accompany many of life's daily activities. it's been a lovely balm on several walks, painting and drawing sessions, writing, and staring at the sky. the album title says it all.

(regrettably, this section is very short, because I don't track the movies I watch and am limited by my own recency bias; i'd like to be better about this in 2026)

phantom thread by paul thomas anderson / I wasn't expecting this movie to make me laugh as much as it did, but there's so much genuine humor tucked into a story about grief, control, and vulnerability.

some like it hot by billy wilder / i didn't know what to expect going into this one and ended up having an absolute romp of a time! delightfully funny, monroe's acting is so expressive and personable, her performance fully draws you in to the exuberant story of the film.

portrait of a lady on fire / gorgeously shot, slow and meditative, intense and beautiful, the entire movie feels like a painting.

girls by lena dunham / this one came to me at a very specific time in my life (aka glued to the couch while recovering from a herniated disc). i binge-watched the entire show in a matter of weeks and felt wholly sucked into its world of chaotic characters with a lot of heart.

completely forgot to include writing in this list (my bad my bad), so I'll squeeze in some of my favorites here at the end:

Jessica Defino

Haley Nahman

Heather Havrilesky

father_karine

Henrik Karlsson

Rayne Fisher-Quann

whew, that's all for now! hope you find some new art to enjoy. I'd love to know what art made you feel alive this year, please comment down below if you'd like to share. :D

✧ vicki