U.K. Greeting Card Designer Uses Art to Evoke Emotion

As a child, Rhiannon Pettie disliked painting at school. While her friends were excited by the creativity and fun that pastel watercolors and vibrant tempera paints brought, she dreaded the thought of having to walk into that classroom, sit down, and paint that day’s lesson. 

“It was terrible,” she says. “I didn’t like to paint because I couldn’t paint ‘photo realistically.’ So, every time we had a painting task, I would do a basic, somewhat abstract silk painting. I just couldn’t get into whatever was assigned.” 

"Cards provide a way for someone to open up and help them to express themselves, or to write something inside that they might not be able to say in their day-to-day lives."

Rhiannon Pettie

But a lot has changed for Pettie since then: The child who grew up with a distaste for painting is now a respected and popular greeting card designer who makes her living with a paintbrush and computer — and whose work is featured on more than 100 greeting cards available across the 1-800-Flowers.com family of brands.

“It’s really funny,” she says with a laugh, “just how much I disliked painting then, and how much I love it now, without the pressure of being required to paint.” 

A blank canvas

Though not a fan of painting in her youth, Pettie was drawn to other arts as a child growing up in the U.K. “My mom is a big quilter, so my sisters and I have been surrounded by patterns and color and fabric our whole lives,” Pettie says. “I was always into other crafty things, like sewing and drawing and crochet.”

Despite her interest in these creative hobbies, Pettie took a more traditional route after graduation. She worked in the world of payroll for a number of years — a career she initially really enjoyed.

Eventually, though, her feelings toward her job changed.

“I knew I needed to get back to some sort of art and try to be creative again,” she says.

Pettie took some local art classes and tried her hand at printmaking and some other creative pursuits, but nothing felt right. Then, one day, she picked up a paintbrush, and something clicked. She finally knew what she’d been missing, she says. And she’s been painting regularly ever since.

Her chance encounter

Once Pettie reignited her spark for art, she had to figure out what to do with it — and if she could make a career out of it.

She decided to upload some of her samples to a website where artists could put their designs on display for potential clients. While exploring the site, she came across a want ad for greeting card designs.

“It wasn’t something I’d ever considered before, but I felt it was something I could give it a go at,” Pettie says.

The poster liked some of her initial designs, and the two of them quickly formed a partnership. 

“Designing cards is something that started by chance but has also now become something I really love and am so passionate about,” she says.

Bringing art to life

Today, Pettie and her husband, Gary, live in Surrey — or “Leafy Surrey,” as the locals call it — a bustling and densely wooded area on the outskirts of London.

For Pettie, life in such a bucolic area provides countless opportunities to refill her creative cup — or break up the logjam when her creativity is feeling blocked.

“If I’m thinking about a nature-based theme, I might go visit some local gardens and sketch in the greenhouses there. For a more cozy vibe, I might sit outside and draw some trees and leaves, and try to think about how I can capture those shapes in a different way,” she says. “As I’m working and getting inspired, a collection will develop.”

She also looks at all her new designs and tries to make sure there’s something within each that makes them distinctly her. 

“There’s a certain orangey red I tend to always use, so I try to make sure that’s included somewhere. And if there are elements from previous cards that worked well, I might bring those in as well,” Pettie says. “It is a really fun and rewarding process bringing it all together.”

Creating with purpose

One of the joys of being a greeting card designer, according to Pettie, is she knows her work is helping to bring happiness into the world — and other people’s lives.

“I always want to create art that evokes a feeling, whether that’s bringing joy to someone, or acceptance or encouragement,” Petite says. “I try to create something that’s appealing but that can also connect to people’s fun or loving side. I definitely want to bring a smile if I can.”

And even more importantly, Pettie says, she wants her cards to inspire the giver as well as the receiver.

“Cards help people share a moment,” she explains. “They provide a way for someone to open up and help them to express themselves, or to write something inside that they might not be able to say in their day-to-day lives.

“The relationship that people have with cards is quite special. The illustration helps to open the door and allows someone to write what they really mean, which can be very touching.”