"Remember: You Aren't For Everyone" (fine art print from the "Maxims" series)

ABOUT THIS LISTING This is an unframed archival fine art print on Moab's Natural Rag paper. The print measures roughly 8.25x11 inches and comes with a printed and signed certificate of authenticity. (Please note that only the first listing photo shows the print. The other photos show the original watercolor painting and embellished gouache mat. The print is derived from a high-resolution scan of the painting shown in the listing photos, including the border design on the mat.) This piece is one of ten intricate watercolor paintings Bryana created in 2025 for a series of illustrated proverbs called "Maxims." This series was created as part of the Tales From The Mandalina Tree, and exists thanks to the support of Bryana's subscribers over on Patreon. ABOUT THIS PAINTING This outlandish scene of unbothered urban houseboating and herpetological joy is my attempt to illustrate a maxim I need to hear perhaps more often than most. Failing to live up to other people’s expectations can feel awful, but it’s one of the experiences I’ve been learning to embrace as I age. Because the thing is, being a person who pleases everyone is almost like being no person at all. No one who lives with authenticity and commitment to any set of values can possibly keep from disappointing at least a few other humans. And life—I feel it more and more—is so short. It springs upon us with its parade of intensities and is soon past. And in that short flash of time, I want to be a whole person and not only a shadow. In this piece, I wanted to play with an image contrasting staid and moneyed parochialism with brash, unembarrassed subsistence living. In my painting’s old blue city, the stuffy people are going by in their coats with turned-up noses and decorum while an uproariously polka-dotted houseboat floats past with orange juice in glasses, with geckos on deck, without apology, with underwear flapping on the line. I don’t personally have any geckos, and I don’t hang my laundry off my house, but I do know how all-thumbs and out-of-place the wealthy can make one feel without even meaning to. It’s a reality of adulthood that came as a surprise to me, actually: that there are many folks who don’t see wealth as a result of good fortune but as an essential signifier of moral worth. In this illustration, I enjoyed playfully exploring some of my feelings about those confused people, and painting a lot of reptiles and amphibians. SHIPPING INFORMATION Shipping is free within the United States for orders of at least $50, and international shipping options are available at checkout. © 2026 Bryana Joy The artist retains all copyrights.