A Birmingham artist strives to bring dreams alive on canvas and beyond.
For Emily Judith Bailey, art was always a natural part of life, surfacing in pretty paintings offered as gifts to close friends or fanciful doodles with an intricacy that caught onlookers by surprise. Never considering her hobby could become her career, though, Emily opted for a public relations degree, and art remained a relaxing pastime.
In early 2015, the recent college graduate experienced her first wave of wedding season in the South, as many friends embarked on the journey of marriage. “I wanted to make my wedding gifts more personal and special,” she explains.
“I hand-painted Bible verses, quotes, or the couple’s last name on stained birchwood—something they could display at their wedding or even in their future home.” Soon orders started rolling in from friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers.
Born and raised in Fairhope, Alabama, a quaint town on the Gulf Coast that she calls “an artist’s dream,” Emily decided to test her work with an unofficial booth at the city’s Arts and Crafts Festival in March 2016. “It was an unexpected success,” she says. Garnering momentum from the show, she resolved to use her business growth to mature as an artist.
She began experimenting with methods and styles, gravitating toward acrylics and falling in love with texture—from heavy gloss to modeling paste to coarse finishes. “My floral style blended with my love for abstract painting, and I ended up with pieces that had a little bit of a quirky vibe,” she explains. Eventually, she found a niche in uniquely rendered florals.
These botanical beauties became bestsellers, and after receiving several commissions for canvas recreations of bridal bouquets, the artist realized she had established something of a signature collection. Emily has since moved further into the wedding industry, designing invitations that include her whimsical hand lettering, as well as pen-and-ink drawings of charming churches and even first homes.
“Without the unique cultural emphasis on weddings here in the South, I’m not sure EJA would have had the same trajectory,” she says. “It’s the personal aspect that I love so much—preserving a memory through a work of art.”
