How a Beaufort artist got her paintings on ‘Law & Order: SVU’
Across the street from Kayla DeVito’s Beaufort home, the marsh swells with water covering the dry pluff mud and oyster beds.
Every day, the self-taught artist watches as the undertones of the Lowcountry landscape completely change. A bright pink morning sky could quickly shift to dark gray with an impending spring storm. Green palm fronds darken and deepen as the sun lowers in the sky. A backlight makes everything a little bit yellow.
She calls it a “treat to the senses.”
The shifting hues that fill DeVito’s windows have been the inspiration for her oil paintings. Since ordering her first $12 set of paint in 2021, her moody Lowcountry landscapes have garnered a significant following, capturing the attention of more than 47,000 followers on social media.
But this week, her work will appear on the big screen for millions to see.
One of her original oil paintings and two prints are part of the set design on Thursday’s episode of ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,’ the popular NBC series centering around two New York City police detectives who investigate sex crimes, child abuse and domestic violence. The art will likely appear on one of the characters’ walls, DeVito said.
“I’m not sure how many are actually going to end up on TV,” DeVito said, “but either way, it’s just cool experience. I’m thrilled.”
It all started with a simple direct message from one of the show’s set designers, who discovered her artwork in an online home decor group, DeVito said. At first, she assumed it was a scam, but after some digging, she found out the ask was legitimate.
Still, it doesn’t feel real, DeVito said.
For years, her life was defined by crisis. She lives with late-stage Lyme disease, a chronic illness that can make even driving a challenge some days, she said. Her mother is also battling breast cancer for the fourth time, she said.
In 2020, her family decided to pour their savings into Amidst the Alders — a Beaufort retail storefront that has since closed — on the very day that the national COVID-19 emergency was declared. Left with a store filled with unsold inventory and the weight of uncertainty, DeVito was struggling.
But instead, she decided to live differently.
She was always creative, but feared the pencil. Drawing was too analytical, detailed and measured, she said. She decided to experiment with moving paint around a canvas, watching videos online to learn more about technique. The process was freeing and joyful, not rigid.
Her passion soon became profitable. At her first art show in Beaufort, she sold all 46 paintings on display, she said. Now, she is able to paint full-time to support her family.
“Anytime I’m packing up artwork, I’m just very grateful,” DeVito said. “I live in that gratitude. For every single sale, I’m extremely grateful, whether it’s a $20 sale or a $2,000 sale, it doesn’t matter. I’m grateful the same, regardless.”
“If you have ever felt an inkling to create something, you are a creative person,” DeVito said. “And you need art, just like eating or breathing, or exercising. You need that outlet ... If you have ever felt the calling to create, please do it. Don’t ignore it like I did for so many years.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 2:36 PM.
