The creative approach

“Reina”

Home » Arts & Entertainment

Posted November 18, 2025 | By JoAnn Guidry / Photos courtesy of the artist

Ocala artist Stacie Rae Pedrick didn’t grow up with horses to inspire her paintings. But she did have her unicorns.

“I was one of those kids who just drew all over everything and I was obsessed with unicorns,” shared Pedrick, who grew up in Homosassa Springs. “Beginning when I was 8, my mother would drive me every Saturday morning to take art classes. I just kept on drawing and painting unicorns.”

In fact, it was a commissioned painting of a unicorn that was Pedrick’s first sale.

“Not only did I take art classes, I also took dance lessons and, to pay for both, my mother would take commission orders from people. I was 10 when I sold my first commissioned painting of a unicorn,” explained Pedrick, who graduated from Crystal River High School. “Then somewhere along the way, I came to see horses as just unicorns without horns and started painting them.”

When going to college for a fine art degree wasn’t financially feasible, Pedrick pivoted to a graphic design career.

“I moved to Ocala and began working for Campaign Graphics and slowly worked my way to head graphic designer. My claim to fame while there was designing the ‘Choose Life’ license plate in 1997,” said Pedrick, who has been married to husband Len for 27 years. “Later, I managed my own commercial art and marketing business. I retired in 2017 and refocused on painting. Know the expression ‘Like riding a bicycle?’ Well, going back to painting was not like that for me.”

Pedrick turned to the online art community, taking more than 400 courses to awaken her creative talents. Her resume of mediums includes oil, acrylic, pastels, color and drawing pencils, charcoal and figurine painting. She also holds international certifications in creative and artistic coaching.

“I was so happy to be back pushing paint around on a canvas again just for my own enjoyment. I paint whatever sparks something in me, from landscapes to animals,” noted Pedrick. “I generally just jump right into a painting, or I might first sketch with a brush. I love acrylic because it’s so versatile and quick drying. Sometimes I fight with a painting and sometimes it just flows.”

Amid her creative joy, Pedrick would suffer unexpected sorrow when her father, Gary, was diagnosed with spinal cord cancer. He died on July 19, 2022, at 68.

“We were very close, and I didn’t handle his death very well,” shared Pedrick “I started taking online art therapy courses to deal with the loss. It helped me to put that grief, that emotion on canvas. I decided to help others in similar situations.”

Pedrick became a certified therapeutic arts coach and founded Art Approach LLC in early 2024, joined the Marion Cultural Alliance that summer and soon submitted her first artwork for public exhibit. She was recently a featured artist in the MCA Art in Business initiative, with her work displayed at Reveille Wealth Management.

“I founded Art Approach to help others discover the transformative power of art therapy,” said Pedrick. “I also started a Tiny Art Swap Shop through the Free Little Art Gallery, which is part of a nationwide community. People can take one small piece of art and hopefully leave others in a box located at my house. We are also currently showcasing our painted miniatures on the Art Approach Holiday Tree at the Appleton Museum of Art through Jan. 11, 2026.”

And as for those unicorns, Pedrick hasn’t forgotten about them. One of her current paintings is “Reina,” a colorful acrylic mixed-media fairy tale horse.

“Reina means queen so, instead of a crown, I just recently added a horn and made her a unicorn,” said Pedrick. “I still love unicorns.”

To learn more, go to artapproachocala.com