For local emerging artist Kristen Rheaume, (known as Wonderfully Written Co. on Instagram) becoming an artist was something that happened by circumstance. As a new mother and a pediatric nurse practitioner in the uncertain year of 2020, going back to work without the assistance of day care was simply not an option. “With a two-month-old at home, I had to make the difficult decision to stay home with him,” she explains. 

Throughout the beginning of that year, when her son was napping, she began to dabble in watercolors and digital art on her iPad. “It really just spiraled from there,” laughs Rheaume. Soon after posting her work on Instagram as @wonderfullywrittenco, she was flooded with inquiries about how to purchase her work. “After that I decided to get into wholesale selling to local stores,” she says. Today, Rheaume has her coastal inspired work in over 60 stores across New England.

Evident in her work, the Cape is a major influence for Rheaume, although she does paint other areas by request. Inspired by her summer memories of visiting her grandparents in Chatham, most of her work is of the places that hold special meaning for her, such as the Chatham Squire, Chatham Candy Manor, and Lighthouse Beach where she got engaged. “I just recently painted Wychmere Beach Club where I got married,” shares Rheaume. “I have loved sharing my work with other local brides that have gotten engaged or married at different venues across the Cape.”