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

The story of how I came to create a 3-D pyramid painting of the BlockHeads. Read on to find out why I have six eyes and if you do too!

Curiosity is the Carrot of Inspiration — allow it to draw you into your painting to find out what it has to share with you.

Paintings start with our urge to paint, followed by an inkling, a germ of an idea. Give it some thought and, if you’re lucky, or in a good frame of mind, your idea grows. Sometimes paintings begin with something seen on a walk.

My students are often surprised to hear me tell them that I’m not sure what I’m doing, or what I’m going to do next when I paint.

This usually happens when I’m starting a new painting, or working on one in front of class.

What they might not realize is that I hope I never really know what I’m doing next!

I don’t want to know exactly how something is going to turn out. Where is the excitement, the fun, the thrill of adventure, if that happens?

One of the things I love about painting is that I continually see the world through “new eyes.” When we look at things through the lens of curiosity, we learn more about the world in which we live.

When I first visited the Waikiki Aquarium with my Lotus Aqua Art Escape class in April, I was unprepared for the way the octopus there grabbed my attention. He still has me in his grips! 

Sometimes life feels too full! How can that be? Each day holds the same number of hours and the same number of molecules of air. 

Is life too full or am I too empty? Does that sound like a contradiction? I think not. I think I just hit that nail on the head! My energy is gone.

The cure? Spend less time doing; spend more time being.

I took just one painting class in college — oil painting. I loved it, but had more fun working in clay, and spent many semesters up to my elbows in “mud.” 

Years after graduating, when I decided to paint again, I dug out my old oils. They still held magic.

If you have trouble finding time to paint, you are in good company!

Last week I participated in the monthly meeting of the Hawaii Watercolor Society. Nine fabulous painters and all-around, great people surrounded me — these are some of my favorite people on the island. As we discussed the organization’s events and the year ahead, I kept hearing the same refrain:

“When will I find time to paint?”

Watercolor works best when applied in swift, bold strokes (most of the time). But it’s important to slow down in between the brush strokes! Wow, this might be the first time I have said that in this way. Some of us have a natural tendency to stop and ponder our work between our strokes. Others might misinterpret my sense of urgency in applying the paint to include the entire painting process.

The paintings and giclées hanging in my studio tell the story of my painting life. Their lineage feels especially important because I just finished a new coconut painting.

Without fail, my paintings help me to know what to focus on in my life, or what is going on in the world around me. They act as a messenger from my inner self to my conscious self. I can understand if that sounds a little weird to you. Once upon a time it would have sounded odd to me, too. Experience has proven it to me.