Rising Stars: Meet Malia Stillwell of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Malia Stillwell.

Hi Malia , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Malia Rose Fine Art began during a season of transition in 2020 as my family built a home while raising a newborn and toddler, all while living with my in-laws. When we finally moved in, the bright light and tall walls I had loved when designing the house felt unfinished when trying to make it more like “home.” Unable to find artwork that captured the warmth and character I wanted, I began creating my own pieces for our spaces.

What started as a personal creative outlet quickly became a grounding practice. I’m drawn to abstraction for its ability to tell a story through layers, texture, and movement. I love even more that the story it tells is different for each collector. While my background in marketing and design shapes my eye for composition, painting gives me the freedom to create more intuitively.
As I continued painting, the work resonated with collectors and interior designers seeking timeless, expressive pieces that feel personal and lived-in. Today, I create from my home studio in Atlanta, where I live with my husband, TJ, our children, Nolan and Parker, and our oversized doodle, Tucker. Motherhood continues to inspire my work, reminding me to find beauty in the imperfect, layered moments that make a house feel like home.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been bumps along the way. The biggest challenge has been balancing motherhood and creating, especially with very limited time and a strong desire to be fully present in both.

There’s often a push and pull between wanting to show up well as a mom and also feeling deeply called to create, and I don’t always feel like I get the balance right. Motherhood has a way of removing any illusion of perfection… it’s messy, unpredictable, and constantly shifting.

Over time, I’ve realized that same tension shows up in my work. The layering, imperfection, and process of building something slowly all mirror what I’m living every day. In a way, the challenge of trying to hold everything at once has made the work feel more honest and raw, and my hope is that collectors can connect with that emotion and experience the pieces in a more personal way.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an abstract artist with work that is rooted in layering, texture, and imperfection. I primarily create pieces that are less about a literal subject and more about capturing a feeling or a sense of place.

When creating, I’m drawn to earth tones, neutrals, and grounded color palettes, and my work naturally reflects that. There’s a softness in the palette, but also a richness of texture and depth, which helps the work feel rooted like it can settle into a space rather than simply hang on a wall.

Recently I’ve been exploring some western-inspired collections with a focus on horses, open landscapes, and that sense of raw freedom that feels both grounded and untamed. It’s a slight departure from purely abstract work, but still very much connected to the looseness and imperfection that defines my process.

What sets my work apart is that it comes directly from lived experience and is shaped by motherhood, the tension of holding multiple roles, and the search for calm in a very full life. My hope is that the balance of chaos and stillness shows up in the work in a way that feels layered, raw and relatable.

I’m most proud of creating work that resonates in real spaces and homes with pieces that people live with day to day and feel a sense of grounding and connection through.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always creating in some form whether it was making art, observing the designs around me, or trying to make things feel a certain way long before I had the language for it.

I grew up in Athens, Georgia, which is such a fun creative town, and my dad was a residential designer so I was constantly around conversations about homes, spaces, and how people live. A true tell of my personality as a kid was the fact that I had a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, which pretty much says it all about me being a 40-year-old in a 7-year-old’s body. I had a slightly comical obsession with design, making life feel more beautiful, and desperately wanting themed parties for every holiday and occasion.

Perfectionism was a big part of my childhood… my mom still tells stories about how I would spend hours on a piece of art only to rip it up if the final detail wasn’t exactly right. That need for things to be “just right” made it hard to create freely for a long time. In a strange way, motherhood and the chaos of this current season of life have healed that. There isn’t space for perfection anymore, and that shift has been really freeing for the kid in me (and for my art.)

Pricing:

• $145-$3,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maliarosefineart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maliarosefineart/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@maliarosefineart