Scent From My Desk: The layers you don’t see

Oct 18, 2026, 11:02 PM•ouithepeople

I went to an event at a print house recently and came home thinking about perfume.

Among the works I saw was a print of Amy Sherald’s As Soft as She Is… I’ve admired her work for years. You may know her portrait of Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery.

Look at the pink behind her. The red bow. That yellow. And then look at the rows of color beside the print.

Amy Sherald portrait print on a drying rack: a woman in a spotted coat, red bow blouse and yellow skirt against pink, beside numbered color swatches.

Amy Sherald, As Soft as She Is… with color swatches from my visit. Artwork © Amy Sherald.

Seventy colors go into this screenprint.

What stayed with me was the care behind them. I learned how closely Amy guided the colors as her painting was translated into print. Each one had to be right. Together, those layers held on to the depth and painterly feeling of the original.

You see the whole image first. Then you begin to notice how much is happening inside it.

It made me think about formulating fragrance. A little warmth. Something bright. A softness that comes through later. Each note changes how you experience the others. A small adjustment can change the feeling of the whole thing.

Layer by layer, a story takes shape.

That’s what I’m working toward when I make a perfume: taking a feeling and finding a way to put it into a bottle. Something with enough depth that you can keep coming back to it and finding more.

And then it lands on your skin.

The story I’ve been working on becomes part of your day. You bring your own memories to it. Your own mood. Your own life. That’s the part that makes it yours.

I wanted to share this little glimpse of the work behind the work. The color swatches beside the finished image. All those careful choices, coming together as something you can feel.

What’s something you’ve seen lately that stayed with you? I’d love to hear.

Scent from my desk,
Karen

OUI the People
Dock 72 BROOKLYN, New York 11205
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