Sol Cotti Brings Warmth and Wanderlust to NPR’s Life Kit

A woman reclines in a blue hammock, drink in hand, reaching up to hold the sun between her fingertips as a plane draws a line across the sky. It’s an image about what solo travel feels like after you’ve already figured out the logistics.

The piece accompanies “You Owe It to Yourself to Go on a Solo Trip. Here’s How to Plan One” by Amelia Edelman for NPR’s Life Kit.

Two circles organize the composition. The sun, glowing at the horizon, sits between the woman’s raised fingertips. Down by her hip, a lemon wedge perches on the rim of her glass. One is vast and the other is intimate, but they carry equal visual weight.

The figure herself is classic Cotti. Grounded, unhurried, taking up space without apology. The body language is the kind of sprawl that only happens when no one is watching, which is exactly the point of the article.

Cotti works digitally but the image doesn’t feel digital. A visible grain runs across the color fields. Like the soft noise of a risograph print or a slightly overinked silk screen. The foliage layered behind the figure has a cut-paper flatness, and the linework stays loose enough to feel drawn. It makes the image feel warm in the way the subject demands.