Make peace with where you are.

The midst of a battlefield is no place to find peace

If you don’t have something nice to say — you already know the rest.

We are all connected — collectively (in our groups, tribes, countries, and throughout the world) and individually (the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone, etc.).

When one part of us is in pain, either physical or psychic, it’s hard to keep the rest of us on an even keel.

We know we’re supposed to focus on what we want and ignore the pain associated with what we don’t want.

That’s hard — that’s why it’s called work.

Most things worthwhile require focus, time, and effort (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual).

Start right where you are. What will help you feel better right now?

Venting might feel good in the short term, but it won’t take you very far.

Truth, when it’s a truth we don’t want or like, doesn’t take us down the path of feeling good either.

Both collectively and individually, we must find ways to distract ourselves from the pain long enough to find our good and our common ground.

Demonizing or Deifying does us no favors.

Ostrich-like behavior won’t last forever, but if "sticking your head in the sand" helps to you find a calm center, go find a beach and chill out!

Take care of YOU. Do what it takes (speaking to myself too) to feel better.

The paths to happiness, peace, and love all begin with one step and require millions more to follow.

A few steps may stray off the path from time to time; course correction will get us where we want to go.

Be vigilant. Stay focused on what you want. Trust that you are on your way and take one more step.

The pendulum always swings — sometimes it’s got a long arc.

I paint the negative spaces to enhance the positive. Even when I’m focused on the positive, I am aware of the impact the negative spaces have.

We can’t paint one thing without impacting another.

Darker darks create lighter lights.

Go paint! Even if you don’t feel like it or don’t know what to paint, go paint! Go enhance the light.

Attitude follows Action.

What are you waiting for?

Go paint!

Communication is tricky. Even when you know what you want to say, and you think you’re being clear, you can be misunderstood.

It’s harder when you’re not exactly sure what you’re trying to say.

Imagine trying to say something with pictures alone.

Can you feel the level of difficulty mounting?

Such is the case of my latest imagery, the BlockHeads.

The BlockHeads came to me in a dream. They woke me up and got me out of bed so I could sketch them.

On my way back to bed, I thought, “there is NO way I would have forgotten what they look like. I did NOT have to get out of bed for this!”

By morning, I’d completely forgotten them.

Three days later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw them peering at me from my midnight drawing.

I was smitten, but had no idea of what to do with them or why they’d chosen me as their artist. They don’t feel silly and frivolous, but what are they trying to tell me?

Two days before the entry date of the Hawaii Watercolor Society's Open Exhibit, I awoke “knowing" I was to create a 3-D pyramid featuring the BlockHeads.

I was psyched! I’d never thought of painting anything 3-D before and this was the first time I could enter something 3-D into an HWS Exhibit without breaking rules.

It took two days for me to finish and photograph it for entry.

To hedge my bets on getting something into the show, I entered two additional, paintings: “Anuenue Ali`i Wahine”, and a portrait of my artist friend Ron Kent titled, “Whole World”.

I was surprised when the pyramid was the only painting accepted.

Yes, it's a bit crude, yet it feels fresh and alive.

But what do the BlockHeads mean?

And why do they have six eyes?

I believe the BlockHeads represent all of us. When all of the eyes are all looking in the same direction, we are Hyper-focused on the task at hand.

Omni-focus happens when we’re “out of focus”, or focusing on more than one thing. This happens to all of us. We might be brushing our teeth, going to the bathroom, or even sleeping, when suddenly an idea pops into our head.

My artist friend Holly says the top set of eyes is for looking up to the heavens for guidance, the middle set of eyes sees this plane of existence, and the bottom set of eyes is for introspection.

Whatever their initial reason for entering my dreams, the BlockHeads are here to stay. They insert themselves into my journal and dreams weekly.

Please let me know if they show up in yours!

There’s a playful spirit to the work that I do … my painting, my writing, and my teaching, all have an element of play.

This painting was started using my Hide-N-Seek painting technique. It's still hiding.

I used to look down on play as being frivolous. Not any more. Now I see play as a necessary, integral part of life.

All animals play. Many of us keep pets to remind us to play because we forget how.

One of the reasons I teach the Hide-N-Seek Painting Technique is to remind you how to play while you create.

Painting is a journey of discovery.

Come on that journey with me; take me on that journey with YOU!

Hide-N-Seek is for you if you are willing to open to more of your “inner child”.

The more you look at your painting, the more you will see.

It’s a portal through which the inner wisdom of your heart can touch you.

You matter! You count!

What you have to paint is needed by you and by the world today
— RIGHT NOW!

When you take the time to get in touch with your inner playful self, you are actually helping the rest of us to do the same.

Paint with me!

Express your self on paper in this safest of places, knowing that you’re being loved throughout the entire process.

If it feels scary, that’s okay. Excitement might be a better way to parse that feeling.

It’s time for you to Pay Attention to your Heart,
to the core of who you are.

Pay more attention to yourself than you pay to the outside world — even for just a day or two!

YOU MATTER!

And when you pay attention to you, to your Core Self, you give more of yourself to the world, enriching it and all of us.

You Matter. If you stay hidden, the rest of us don’t, won’t, and can’t know you.

Are you curious?

Curiosity is the “carrot of inspiration”
Goals are the “stick of motivation”

We have entered the twilight of 2016.

Earlier this year, I declared this to be our second chance of feeling“Sweet Sixteen”. It’s an opportunity to experience the enthusiasm of looking at life with fresh “16-year-old eyes”.

It's still not quite finished, but it's shaping up nicely. You can see where it's headed.

Autumn is the time of year to gather the bounty of the current year. We figure out what we’ve done, what more we want to do, and what more we can do with our dwindling hours of daylight.

How’s 2016 been for you?

What more do you want to be, do, say, or have in 2016?

Have you done what you set out to do at the onset?

There’s still time for some course correction.

Most paintings have a story to tell. Sometimes we know those stores at the outset. Other times we learn the stories as the paintings progress.

My inspiration for Anuenue Ali`i Wahine came to me in a dream which I recorded in my journal.

Learning the stories behind the painting requires the art of listening.

Listening to what?

Listening to that still small voice within us all — the one that we don’t always hear, but that is always there.

Listen to your paintings.

Yes, it’s perfectly okay to ask your painting for direction. And when you do, be sure to listen for the answers — and then follow the directions given.

This is the "under painting" of Anuenue (rainbow) Ali`i (royalty or goddes) Wahine (woman) —right after the texture has been removed.

Yes, it's okay to NOT follow the directions too.

Think of painting as a co-creative act. You are not alone at your easel or table. You are working with the forces of creation that surround us at all times.

Getting closer, but not yet complete.

Painting is an interactive sport. Smile while you paint and when asking your questions. Be playful about your painting. Make it a game.

If you’ve ever watched someone start a painting, you have an inkling of what it means to really want to paint something.

Did you know that you are the most important tool in your toolbox?

Your painting comes through you: through your eyes, through your hands, through the filter that is YOU.

You cannot get it wrong.

Each brush stroke informs the next. You learn and relearn as you paint.

When one stroke or subject becomes easy (and it will), challenge yourself to do something different. Change your strokes or your subject matter.

I added more layers of "rainbow",  more dark hair, and gave her skin more highlights & depth before considering her complete. Anuenue Ali`i Wahine (Royal Rainbow Woman in Hawaiian)

When you're out in nature, look more closely at the world around you. What colors do you see?

If you squint your eyes, does your vision change?

Can you see red-violets in the shadows of the leaves, or orange in the dying parts of the red plants?

While the colors fade as the leaves and flowers whither and die, we can still see the beauty they once held for us. We just need look more slowly.

Beauty surrounds us when we look through our eyes with LOVE.