aloha!  just wanted to share a few sweet things i’ve seen here in hawaii.  been spending some good time with friends old and new.  enjoying the natural beauty of these islands and the ocean swims.  wishing you a healthy happy new year!  much aloha

i’m excited to be a part of this year’s Portland Big 200 art show.  200 artists, 2000 works of amazing art by Portland’s local artists.  yay!  what’s cool is the art will be hung at random.  buyers will not find out who made the piece until after they’ve purchased it.  dope.

hoping you all find a piece of art that moves you. there will be plenty to chose from  ♥

some fun little sketches. pencil and acrylic on 8 by 8 wood. 

after destroying her, she came back like this.  i like her.  she looks tuff and calm. acrylic on wood.

Acrylic painting on wood.

See the painting above?  I completely destroyed it.  It looks nothing like this anymore and I’ll be starting over on this commission piece of four this week.  What I learned was this

~ It’s o.k. that I destroyed it.  It’s actually a good lesson.  Next time i’ll trust myself to let my work sit for a while before i go back in.

Lately i’ve been experimenting with new techniques.  I’ve been playing with acrylic wash.  These are simple sketches on wood with acrylic paint washed over.  Feels like watercolor.  Acrylics are definitely fun to experiment with.  Its been a while and i’m loving the runny drippy mess that is coming through. njoy!

Peace all ~

This post is about trusting ourselves and our ability to make healthy life changes.

It has been quite a while since I’ve shared what I’ve been up to.   Quite a lot has happened since my last post.  What I really want to share is this; In the midst of the internship with the kiddies this summer, I made a huge leap of faith.

I quit my job!

Yes I did.  And I honestly cannot describe how amazing it has been.  Now, for all of you thinking or considering doing the same thing, when you are ready, DO IT.  don’t let anything stop you because sooner or later you will anyway, and we already know there is nothing worse than waking up every day going to a place that does not suit your souls desire.  Taking one step toward your true self, the universe will open up its arms in salute and support of your faith in it.

I know it will be hard & that I will still have to do things, work jobs that aren’t my thing.  But if you are an artist, a creative person, working in an office that is so stuffy when you see your co-workers in the hallway and smile at them you feel bad for smiling because they aren’t able to receive or reflect their light back to you in the environment you share every day,  get out!  Anything is better.  Make moves and watch what happens.

Several months ago before any of these changes occurred, I put this horoscope on the back of my Vision Book,

“Pisces: Your values and sense of self-worth, resources, assets, finances and possessions shift unexpectedly, fluctuate radically until they reach a balance and equilibrium.  Your skills increase, your wounds will heal, recognition occurs, and brilliance from the Raincloud of Knowable Things becomes available.  The magnetic center is revealed.  The rollercoaster stops.  Keywords: “Build it (in the mansion and on the internet).  They will come.”

If your soul depends on a change as mine did, DO it.  It will be the best thing you ever gift yourself.  No matter what happens next keep the faith and keep going towards your heart.

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e.e. cummings, 1955

oil on wood suheir sun phoenix rising ~  peace and light and may we step closer to our true self every day.

one minute poses. two handed sketches of model repeated over and over.  ink on paper.  love this practice!

the face.

playing with shape and form.

This drawing intensive course I took last week with artist Arvie Smith was by far the highlight of my summer thus far.  He is such an incredible instructor and we knocked out so much work in one week of drawing that our class became really close by the end of the week.  For me, there is nothing else in this world that pulls me into my work so effortlessly as a life drawing class does.  It completely centers me.  I find myself here in between these lines and negative space.  And drawing the model in less than a minute with two hands was an incredible high.  I loved it!  More please.