1. Everything is small, apartments, clothing, food portions, etc.
​2. Not all beaches are created equal.
3. Traffic is insane
​4. The people are very happy and kind to each other generally.
5. Drivers stop at on ramps on the freeway, and are not great mergers.
​6. There are no sheriffs, or highway patrol, so driving is treacherous, chains, ropes, trash  on the freeways, beware.
7. The smell of kiawe bar-b-ques is amazing.
​8. The palm trees are the best of anywhere I've been.
9. The land is a true melting pot of cultures.
10. Friends and neighbors just walk in your place.
​11. Some people trash their yards, and sometimes keep every car they've ever owned parked outside.
12. Island people come alive after dark, parks are filled with sports at night.
13. It's like a foreign land.
14. Most of all the license plates on Oahu start with an S or an R, and I can't explain it.
15. You see more rainbows here than anywhere.
16. Everything grows faster, hair, nails, fungus, mold, etc.
17. Tourists get 2nd degree sunburns daily at the beach.
18. No one that lives here shops at all the designer stores at Ala Moana Mall.
19. Gas is really cheap, I have no idea why.
20. Sometimes there is a 2 hour wait at the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki, go before 4pm.
21. Street vendors can't sell anything, they just take a donation.
22. Lanikai residents are really pissed off at all the people that go to the beach there now, and have destroyed their quiet neighborhood. I would be too.
​23. Don't leave anything of value in your rental car and go to the beach in Makaha.
24. Be prepared to wake to several rooster's crowing at dawn when out in the country.
​25. And finally........it truly is paradise and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 So Art is new to me again, it happens every few years. That's a good thing. So many times artists forget to breathe, you get so busy making art you forget to enjoy looking and making. Here is what I did....

1. I went to the lagoon.
2. started using my crockpot a lot.
3. looked at art all over the place
4. took a lot of nature island pics
5. took time to settle down on the island

It gave me a fresh perspective, a new approach. I bought new supplies dug around a basket of my old supplies, learned something new about Japanese technique, and started a course in Reiki the Universal healing energy. 

New eyes are always helpful for new art. You have to trust your judgments....be brave. Bravery is an integral part of being an artist. If you have a beautifully painted background, pastel watercolor washes, and you want to take it somewhere else, but in itself it is almost enough. You really love it the way it is, but know for it to say something you need to add to it. THAT moment you must be brave, you have to take steps that teeter on the unknown, that could possibly screw up that beautiful watercolor ground you are working on. A lot of people cannot take that step, it is a bold move that's needed....you must be brave at that moment.

I really love being brave with a paintbrush in my hand, I love the rush you get when you take a glob of orange paint and splash it as a shock to the senses across a white page of paper. You feel alive. You feel empowered, you feel the ART...YOU are the Art, it's coming from your bravery.  Your abilities to step out there and have your voice heard, seen, and convey your innermost thoughts happen at that very moment, it's a courageous move.

Be brave, take a step off the cliff and just create what feels right to you, be intuitive.

I posted new original pieces in The Shop, please have a peek.
www.theorganicgallery.com

​xxx deb

"I'm just busy" 8 x 8 is an acrylic and ink, marker on a wood cradle.

I think if I looked inside my head this is what I would see. Haaa No really.

​I really like little pieces like this, you can tuck them here and there and they bring a little splash of interest and color to a room. This is from my "lil bitties" collection. They are priced lower but have details and drama just like a larger piece.

Perfect for living on an island, they ship cost effectively. You really have to think about that when you are an artist on an island. Sometimes it does make me think, gawd we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as far away from land that you can get.

Floating in the middle of no-where. You know the first  thing that goes in a shipping strike is toilet paper, that is so hilarious to me. Where does all the trash go when you're on an island? You start thinking alternatively when you live on an island doing the what-if's, what-if this, what that.....but to run out of toilet paper...oh no!

I'm going to be doing a few more small pieces and dig some out of my portfolios, offering them here in The Shop.

 much alohas from the islands...D