Raphaella Vaisseau in her new working space at Trackside Studios
By Andrew Patterson
Raphaella Vaisseau’s art is a pure expression of her heart and love of life. She puts the art in heart.
I won’t lie; it’s difficult seeing the emotion attached to such loss as experienced with Hurricane Helene. The storm may be months behind us, but the devastation remains—like a nail pulled from a wooden fence, the gaping hole painful and clear to see. Rebuilding takes a community; so thank you for being ours.
We transform darkness either when we bring light into it or, as in Raphaella’s case, by maintaining our own light while surrounded by darkness.
Just look at some names of her exquisitely vibrant, post-storm acrylic paintings: Thriving, Holding Light, Optimism and Resilience. This isn’t just art; it’s pain changed into beauty.
Raphaella Vaisseau with new works and holding a print of an original work lost in the flood
Sitting in a corner of the gallery, Raphaella has a smile that emanates light and eyes that sparkle even in the depth of her heartfelt emotion. She’s an inspiration on chasing what you want and figuring out how to make it happen.
Incredibly, at age five, Raphaella’s kindergarten teacher told her she was an artist and gave her the class wall to paint a mural. But her parents’ discouraging words (“artists don’t make any money”) denied her the support to explore that talent.
Later, as a hippie in Minnesota, she found great joy in creating mandalas and giving them to friends and strangers alike. Mandalas can symbolize spiritual growth and help people realize their desires. Perhaps the drawings reignited her inner child, because seeing an incredible painting (which she still owns to this day) she wondered, “What would my mandalas look like in watercolor?” So began her painting.
Raphaella’s life-long success is rooted in following the breadcrumbs of her soul. Seeing a glass artist at an art fair in the ‘80s with a line of people holding $400 pieces changed her life. “I was shocked,” she says, “and waited in that long line to ask, ‘What’s different about you that you don’t have starving artist’s mentality?’”
Determined to shatter her parents’ mindset, she spent the summer volunteering with the glass artist, absorbing the feeling of abundance to earn through creativity. Within six months, she launched a watercolor greeting card business—blending her love for color and words into something meaningful and profitable.
I admire Raphaella’s constant desire to master new skills. Like in the ’90s when she was at an Ashland, OR farmers market selling her cards. Making $30 the first day next to a guy that sold $300, she studied every factor—location, competition, crowd dynamics—and became the top seller by season’s end.
Or when she ignored a gallery manager in Sausalito saying, “The owner has enough artists,” found the owner and exhibited in her first gallery.
The final crumb on her journey led her to Asheville, and within six weeks her art had a home in Riverview Station. Not without trepidation, though, about the area’s history of flooding.
As the storm approached in 2024, many artists, craftspeople and entrepreneurs used the previous flood mark (4 feet) as the benchmark of what to save. The water would rise 19 more feet.
The loss of livelihood means Raphaella has no idea what the future holds. But she has friends supporting her with wisdom so that, even while she is in the clutches of traumatic loss, she can embrace their words: You’re on your path to whatever is next; just be careful of your language and watch how you look at this and label this.
She’s already embedded that advice. Just look at how she names her art. Raphaella isn’t just an artist; she’s an inspiration in learning how to follow your heart and become your best self.
Andrew’s book, My Journey Beyond the Summit, is available on Amazon. To connect or nominate somebody that Andrew should feature, reach out on ap@andrew365.com. Learn more about Raphaella Vaisseau and support her work at HeartfulArt.com.
