These quaint places are slowly disappearing from the landscape of Hawaii. We're documenting the vanishing feel of a vintage Hawaii, and making the giclees available to all who would like a remembrance of old Hawaii in their homes.

My husband loves photography, I'm an artist.....match made in heaven.

We take drives around our island looking for a feeling. We first moved to Hawaii way back when you could rent a beach ohana for $250,  yep it was a long time ago. It was a time when you left your keys in the car, doors were never locked, neighbors always walked right in the front door, and Sundays, guitars, and bar-b-q was just the thing that happened. 

The giclees are printed from original works that were created in watercolor, and pen & ink, and come matted and signed. 

We hope you love our collection of "Haleiwa Homegrown" prints in the shop at.....http://www.theorganicgallery.com/shop

​Mahalo...Deb & Greg Haugen

 
When I first went to Bali, Indonesia I had no idea what to expect. Something exotic, hot, amazing landscapes? What I came away with, is so much more.
Landing in Denpasar it hits you smack dab in the face,  you understand now you're in for an adventure.....one you'll never forget. 

I sat and watched the travelers arriving, all of their long journeys showed on their faces. Glad to be on the ground finally, and still with an air of excitement. I met Kandy our guide there, and his daughter and as we went careening thru the night I knew I was going to love it here when he said, "Welcome Home to Bali". Laughing, the music blasted, the windows down blowing nights sweet breezes as we talked. We ended up chanting a Hindi mantra we all knew, his daughter loved singing kirtan too!. I knew right off we would be fast friends.

A Craftours experience always includes a fantastic hotel room, and I was not disappointed, arriving to rose pedals in my dream of a bathtub after traveling for over 22 hrs. I was in the town of Ubud, in the uplands of Bali, Indonesia, is known as a center for traditional crafts and dance. The surrounding Ubud District’s rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, are among Bali’s most famous landscapes. .Ubud is one of those places where a holiday of a few days can easily turn into a stay of weeks, months or even years. The size of the town's expat community attests to this, and so do the many novels and films that have been set here, creative responses to the seductive nature of this most cultured of all Balinese towns. This is a place where traditional Balinese culture imbues every waking moment, where colourful offerings adorn the streets and where the hypnotic strains of gamelan (Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments) are an ever-present soundtrack to everyday life. It's also somewhere that is relentlessly on trend – a showcase of sustainable design, mindfulness, culinary inventiveness and the very best that global tourism has to offer. Come here for relaxation, for rejuvenation and to have what may well be the most magical holiday of your life. I could actually live here, the vibrancy of life is intoxicating.

Here's a few pages from my sketchbook, Ubud and all of Bali really draws me in. I LOVE it so much. XXX Deb

.....So excited to announce my "Urban Sketch Tuscany" tour. This coming April 18-28 2020, we will be exploring Tuscany, Florence, San Gimignano, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Montecatini Terme,  and Rome. This is a fantastic opportunity to create a new form of Art in your life, and add to your creative skills list, all the while soaking up the wonderful Tuscan environment. Urban Sketching is a creative new activity to learn, and enhance your everyday creative life!  Details click the link.....

​https://www.craftours.com/trips/?page=tuscany-sketching-0420

A lot of people have negative messages playing in their minds about art and drawing, we're going to change that.!  We'll flip the switch on those negative thoughts,  and show you how to begin a sketching practice, how to "see" so you can interpret the experience in a beautiful new way. You'll learn how to start the practice of daily drawing, all it takes is 15-20 min. each and everyday to re-program the negative messages of "I just can't draw" that you have playing in your head. It's time to see the new you in all your creative glory, add to your skills, and truly enjoy something you will cherish for the rest of your life. Remember when you were a child and drawing was an important?  Something happened....You probably started school, and the mean child next to you commented on your drawing, "That doesn't look like a cat"....from then on you doubted your abilities. You use to enjoy drawing, and drew with abandonment, creating fanciful monsters and people in all colors. Something happened, something negative flipped your creative switch, well this class will help you to get that childlike enthusiasm back, and that carefree attitude back into your creative life.  It's going to be fun, no stress, and we're going to laugh a lot, enjoying la dolce vida! ( the sweet life)

We'll explore materials, and begin with simple drawings in a gorgeous chandelier-ed classroom in beautiful Tuscany.  After our first class we'll go exploring, stop to enjoy pizza in this quaint Italian city to then re-group and lay our sketchbooks down in the piazza near our hotel to talk about what we saw, and how we approached it. Urban sketching is a sharing experience, and we provide a safe and non-judgmental way of learning from each other. Suggestions of course, come with questions, and we learn with each attempt in this new art form for us. The doors of understanding come as we practice, shop, eat, and drink wine! Haaa can it get any better than that? 

For those of you that will continue onto Rome with us, I'm so glad to be able to introduce you to a well known Italian artist who an "urban sketch" teacher, for a special 2 hour class. You will have the chance for one on one questions with her also. Maybe she'll show us some secret spots to draw in Rome? This is a real treat to be able to have a class from a local Italian artist. Very excited about this...

All in all this trip is an amazing opportunity to soak up the good life in Italy, experience it's people, places, food and wine,  all the while making lifelong friends,  learning and growing your creative skills with beginning instructions for Urban Sketching and Watercolor washes. Any questions feel free to ask...Ciao,  buona fortuna..........xxx Deb Haugen