Finding Voice, Owning Space, Making It Visible
Nathalie Gordon
Katie Brightside
Johanna Azul
Daisy Carlene
Stella Lightheart
Deborah Blum
March is Women’s History Month — and we invite you to join us as we reflect on the women who have shaped culture, challenged systems, and created new ways of seeing the world. At The Artist Tree, we believe art isn’t just something you look at. It’s something you actively experience.
When we first imagined The Artist Tree, it wasn’t about opening stores. It was about opening space where art could live out loud. Art and cannabis have always belonged in the same conversation. Both invite reflection. Both challenge perception. Both have historically existed on the margins. We built The Artist Tree to bring the intersection of art and cannabis into the light in community spaces that feel welcoming and a little unexpected.
This March, in honor of Women’s History Month, we’re proud to spotlight women artists currently on view at The Artist Tree. Their work is bold, introspective, playful, and deeply personal. It implores you to look closer and consider what it means to claim your voice — and then use it.
When you visit our locations this March, you’ll experience the powerful voices of several women artists we’re featuring in honor of Women’s History Month. These voices weren’t handed to each artist, but were built, through discipline, self-awareness, and self-trust.
At our West Hollywood, Laguna, Dixon, and El Sobrante locations Artist Tree curator Katie Brightside brings her own work to the walls alongside a thoughtful mix of women artists.
An international illustrator, fine artist, muralist, and designer, Katie curates art exhibits at 10 of our 12 locations — shaping the creative direction across The Artist Tree with her signature, story-driven touch.
As the founder and creative director of Welcome to the Brightside, Katie’s work spans illustration, murals, wallpaper, art installation, curation, fashion design, publishing, interiors, and event production — all guided by her instinct for translating emotion into cohesive, multidimensional experiences. Her philosophy on personal growth is refreshingly grounded:
“Focus on what you can do this minute with the time you have. Minutes compound. Hours add up. Progress happens whether it takes days or months. Worry and external stress will never complete the to-do list. Learn to drown out the noise of everything else and give your full attention to the task at hand.”
On view at The Artist Tree Hawthorne, Johanna Azul builds worlds you don’t just look at — you step into. Her work is narrative-driven and immersive, unfolding like a stage set mid-scene, where every detail feels intentional and alive.
Her piece, The Girl Behind Bars, The Boy Reaching High, and Momma with a Belt, featured in the Hawthorne location’s retail showroom, reimagines Romeo and Juliet’s balcony moment in present-day Los Angeles — a classic love story retold with a modern twist. In her own words, her practice is rooted in a commitment to growth — choosing evolution over perfection, and letting each body of work stretch her somewhere new.
“I ask myself often, “What if I tried this?” That question will lead you to explore ideas and develop a quick drawing or note. Don’t be a perfectionist; you must be disciplined and finish what you’ve started even if it’s not up to your standards. If you don’t like something about your work, make a mental note and don’t do it again OR ask yourself, “What can I do next time to make this better?” Accept your skill level with joy and pride; it’s always better to keep moving forward and push yourself.”
For Nathalie Gordon, whose work is currently on display in Fresno, her voice shines through the boldness of her images. Her photography is hyperrealistic and vivid — combining high flash, sharp edge, and high-sheen finishes to create portraits that feel both striking and intimate. There’s a confidence in the composition, but also an honesty in how she captures her subjects — polished, yet undeniably real.
Her advice to young women artists reflects that same ongoing evolution:
“The advice I would give to young women artists finding their voice is to keep ‘speaking’. Stay curious and passionate about your craft and your voice will start to make itself known and shine through. I still don’t think I’ve found my voice fully but it’s out there and trying to make itself known to me.”
At our Koreatown location, Deborah Blum brings a storyteller’s eye to the canvas. Her work reflects a lifelong relationship with Los Angeles — its light, its architecture, and its quiet intersections. That perspective lives inside her series, Los Angeles: Sun and Shadow. In it she captures what she calls the city’s “buoyancy and joy.”
Before focusing on painting, Blum worked for years as a documentary filmmaker, writing and directing shows for Discovery and the History Channel. She has written two books based on true stories and developed ideas that became feature films. That narrative instinct — knowing what to include, what to leave out, and how to frame a moment — is evident in her paintings.
She describes discovering her strengths with clarity:
“A long time ago I realized that I had a couple of gifts. 1) I had a good sense of composition and that gave me the courage to start a painting. 2) I valued simplicity and negative space and that gave me the knowledge of when to stop working on a piece.”
“...don’t be daunted if the outside world doesn’t recognize your talent right away, that’s to be expected.”
Sometimes the biggest breakthrough isn’t about skill. It’s about moving instinctually.
At our Koreatown location, Stella Robinson Lightheart speaks to that shift — one rooted not in technique, but in trust:
“For me, finding my voice had less to do with technique and more to do with permission and confidence. Working without pressure allowed my instincts to surface.”
Stella’s work transforms emotion into luminous worlds of color and light. Her paintings act as portals — exploring identity and transformation through layered, cinematic compositions. Drawing from landscapes and myth shaped by life across three countries, her pieces feel both ethereal and grounded, capturing that quiet moment between endings and beginnings.
Daisy Carlene’s portrait, on display at The Artist Tree Hawthorne, features artist Erykah Badu crowned in vibrant, oversized florals, set against warm backdrops, punctuated by electric color. Daisy is known for her portraits of women, often pushing beyond the flat surface with physical elements that emerge into the real world, creating a true 3D effect. Garden of Erykah is not just something you see — it’s something that pulls you inside.
“It can be very easy to want to fit a certain mold but sometimes you’re not meant to conform and that is more than okay. You’re an artist, you were designed to break boundaries and take risks.”
At The Artist Tree, creating a space where art and cannabis retail can comfortably intersect is intentional. It’s part of our mission. When creativity lives in real-world environments — not just galleries or auction houses — it becomes part of daily life. It becomes communal.
Nathalie Gordon speaks to the importance of making art communal and accessible :
“I thought art was for the super wealthy buying old paintings at Sothebeys. It wasn’t till I was visiting the National Portrait Gallery in London — specifically the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize — that I could see that art was in fact open to all. From here I was able to just follow my eye and create from within.”
Access changes everything. It reframes who art is for — and who gets to participate.
For Stella Lightheart, collaborating with The Artist Tree wasn’t just another project — it was a turning point. She created the animated header on our website homepage, blending visual art and motion into something that conveys our artistic mission the moment you land on the site.
“Working with The Artist Tree to create animated works for their branding was a pivotal movement for me. In fact, it brought a sense of joy and confidence that still feels very reaffirming. Our collaboration not only helped me see that my instincts, particularly the blending of visual art and motion, had real value in the world…It was more than just validation: it was about recognizing that my way of working could live comfortably at the intersection of disciplines. That shift changed how I viewed my practice and what I feel is possible to make an impact as a working artist.”
Women’s History Month is about reflection — but it’s also about action. Visibility now, not someday.
All of our locations have new artwork installed in February 2026 and a totally fresh exhibit rolling out in June 2026. The women featured across our stores aren’t waiting for a moment — they’re building their voices in real time. Through discipline. Through risk. Through bold choices and work that speaks for itself.
We invite you to come experience it for yourself.
