We recently connected with Ovi Paulter and have shared our conversation below.

Ovi , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Floral Sessions with Ovi, a free, monthly painting gathering I host in Glen Rock, NJ. After seven years of slowly finding my way back from burnout and emotional exhaustion, I realized how much the simple act of painting flowers had restored me. It wasn’t about getting it perfect—it was about pausing, breathing, and creating something gentle in the midst of life’s noise.

Over time, I saw that so many women around me were also carrying quiet heaviness. That’s when I opened the circle. I began inviting others to paint with me. I provide all the supplies and guide everyone through non-toxic floral oil painting—not to turn anyone into an artist, but to create a space. A space for beauty, for rest, for remembering who we are beneath the overwhelm.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Ovi, a floral oil painter, teacher, wife, and mom of three teenagers living in Bergen County, NJ. I didn’t come to art through a traditional path—I came to it through burnout. Seven years ago, during an incredibly hard season of life, I was stretched thin from work, motherhood, and simply surviving. I felt completely disconnected from myself. Picking up a paintbrush was an act of desperation, but it became a lifeline.

Over time, I gravitated toward painting flowers. It gave me a clear connection to my memories of summers spent in Lithuania, in my grandmother’s garden—those quiet, golden moments became my anchor. Painting helped me reconnect with beauty, breath, and who I was beneath the overwhelm.

Now, I share that same space with others through Floral Sessions with Ovi—a free, monthly non-toxic oil painting gathering held in Glen Rock, NJ. I provide all the supplies and gently guide women through beginner-friendly sessions designed not to create professional artists, but to offer a soft place to land.

I work with women who are carrying too much, feeling lost, or simply in need of a quiet moment for themselves. What sets me apart is that I’ve lived this path—I know what it’s like to feel like you’re fading in the midst of a busy life. My sessions are rooted in real-life healing, not performance. I’m most proud of creating something that offers women a chance to breathe, connect, and remember who they are—through the quiet beauty of painting flowers.

For those who aren’t local to New Jersey, I’ll be offering the same gentle painting club on YouTube starting in June, so anyone can join from wherever they are.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My resilience story began long before I ever picked up a paintbrush. I moved from Lithuania to the U.S. after marrying my American husband, carrying with me the quiet weight of childhood trauma. I built a life—became a wife, a mother of three, held down a full-time job—but inside, I was still carrying pain I hadn’t had space to process.

Painting became my way through. I started with no plan, just a longing to feel something gentle. Over time, I found myself drawn to florals, each brushstroke connecting me to memories of my grandmother’s garden in Lithuania—one of the few places that had ever felt peaceful. That practice became a kind of healing.

I didn’t push through. I rooted down. That’s how Floral Sessions with Ovi was born: not from ambition, but from restoration. It’s my offering to women who are quietly holding too much—an invitation to breathe, to create, and to return to themselves.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is what happens the moment I sit down to paint. It stirs something deep in my soul—like a quiet homecoming. Often, I find myself transported back to my childhood summers spent in my grandpa’s garden. The flowers, the sunlight, the stillness—it all comes back to me through the brush.

That connection to memory and joy is what makes painting feel sacred. It’s not just about the final image—it’s about returning to something soft and true inside myself. That’s the reward: getting to feel that every time I create, and knowing that feeling can ripple out to others through my work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Www..instagram.com/ovipaulterart

Image Credits

@soulportraitsabina