The Sweet Origin of ‘Love Is…’ Hides a Heartbreaking Story
Los Angeles, CA – The iconic “Love Is…” cartoon, once plastered on bubblegum wrappers, t-shirts, and countless other products, began not as a marketing ploy, but as a shy artist’s silent confession of love. The tender drawings, depicting a freckled girl and dark-haired boy navigating the complexities of affection, captured a generation’s romantic ideals – yet the real-life romance that inspired them was marked by decades of hidden pain.
The story behind the globally recognized cartoon reveals a poignant narrative of unrequited love, artistic ownership disputes, and a legacy elaborate by personal sacrifice. While the simple images continue to evoke nostalgia, the truth of their creation and the fate of their creator, Kim Grove, is only now coming to light, raising questions about artistic credit and the enduring power of first love.
In the late 1960s,a young Kim Grove,immersed in the era’s burgeoning counterculture,embarked on a journey of self-finding. The talented artist traveled extensively, experiencing Australia, Europe, and the United States before ultimately settling in California. It was there, at a Los Angeles ski club, that she encountered Roberto Casali, an Italian-American engineer who instantly captivated her.
Overwhelmed by her feelings and too shy to directly approach him, grove began to express her burgeoning affection through a series of small, intimate drawings. Using napkins as her canvas,she sketched scenes of a girl resembling herself and a boy mirroring Casali,portraying them in various scenarios on the ski slopes. beneath each drawing, she penned the now-famous phrase: “Love is…”
“I started making these little drawings to express my feelings,” Grove later recalled. “First I drew a girl – myself. Then a boy, who caused those feelings.” These napkin sketches weren’t intended for public consumption; they were a private language of longing, a visual diary of a love unspoken.
