Lisa and I met at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Art Kiosk a few months ago. She was drawn to my colorful pet prints and commissioned an original watercolor painting of her two pups — and shared their story.

Lisa adopted Bingley, a 4-year-old chihuahua-miniature pinscher with heartworm was from the “Dumb Friends League” in 2017. She and her family nursed him back to health and in return, they received all his love. His tail wagged non-stop. He loved to walk and was friendly to everyone he met.

each painting begins when I turn your photos Into a drawing

Unfortunately, on one of their walks, Bingley met an unfriendly dog that attacked and killed him.

They’d only had Bingley for 11 months. His loss was devastating, yet Lisa still feels his presence in her life.

While grieving for Bingley, friends suggested she get another dog — not to replace Bingley, but to help her heal.

You decide whether you want your pet in rainbow colors or in more traditional colors

When the head of the “Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue” heard her story, she brought Simon from New Mexico to Colorado to meet Lisa.

Simon is Lisa’s new best friend — he sticks close, as though he’s pasted to her side.

Simon adjusted to the family quickly, however, he barked at and shied away from other people and dogs. After 10 months, he’s more friendly with people, but not with other dogs.

Simon is probably a Tibetan Spaniel/Pomeranian mix. Tibetan Spaniels have a history of being companions to Tibetan monks as well as alert dogs, so some of his behavior might be genetic.

Simon prefers being with people. When Lisa gets home from work or an outing, he greets her at the door with barking and his very own welcome home dance. Lisa feels badly leaving him alone and quietly asks Bingley to be Simon's angel, to keep him company.

Your original pet portrait comes to you in a mat, ready for a frame. A forever reminder of the love you share.

When Lisa’s son was young, he had a stuffed dog called Barker. Barker looks a lot like Bingley. Barker is one of Simon's favorite toys. Perhaps Bingley is heeding Lisa’s request.

In honor of Bingley and Simon, now through the month of November, order a pet portrait with the faces of two pets, for the price of one (email Patrice@artofaloha.com with your questions):

https://www.artofaloha.com/hawaiian-style-pets/custom-pet-portrait

I didn’t come to watercolor willingly, with open arms. I came to it more than 20 years after my best friend suggested I try it because she liked the way it looked and thought I would too.

This is an early image of my painting “Ever More” in progress. enjoy watching it unfold.

I embraced watercolor when I moved to Honolulu. I lived in a tiny garage apartment, lovingly referred to as the cottage. I was an oil painter then and figured the fumes in that small a space would “kill” me — or significantly shorten my life.

You see, I was afraid of watercolor.

I’d heard “horror stories” about how hard it is to control. I’d heard, “It’s too unforgiving and you can’t make mistakes because you can’t paint over them.”

Of course, now that I know the joys of watercolor and understand how to work with it, I LOVE to paint with watercolor.

Now I joke that all of the horrible watercolor myths were started by an adept watercolor artist who didn’t want the share the wisdom the medium has to offer.

Let’s break it down, watercolor is “unforgiving”.

We’re talking about paint, not a separate physical person. Yet, one of my top ten tips for making watercolor more fun is to “make friends with watercolor.”

What’s going on here? What exactly are we talking about? Who is unforgiving? And with whom are you supposed to make friends?

No matter what you do or what medium you use, YOU are the main ingredient!

If you perceive watercolor as unforgiving, perhaps the lens needs to be turned around, pointing at the painter, rather than the paint.

Watercolor is paint. It has no power to forgive or to not forgive. Myth debunked.

Clearly, we knew that already so let’s dig deeper.

Are we saying one can’t make mistakes or that mistakes made with watercolor unforgivable or impossible to repair?

If that were true, no one would ever touch the stuff!

Everyone Everywhere Makes Mistakes!

Mistakes and “failures” line the path of growth, change, and success!

If you’re not looking for growth or change, stay away from watercolor.

If, however, you’re looking for a challenge and a partner in growth and change, Watercolor is your best friend.

To put this to rest, mistakes made with watercolor can be rectified. Depending upon how quickly the “mistake” is noticed, we either fix it before it’s dried or we figure out how to work it into the painting.

Either way, we’ve learned something new in the process.

Watercolor is a fun, fast painting medium, filled with as much beauty and joy as you allow yourself to feel. (Step into Your Next Space of Allowing!)

read about this image here: https://www.artofaloha.com/palm-frond-series/ever-more

Have you ever stopped yourself from doing or saying something you really want to do or say?

We all do so on occasion and sometimes we feel like we’re stopping ourselves All-The-Time.

Stopping ourselves, blocking our intuition, or our desires, is a learned habit.

The blocking started off with good intentions, yet somehow “STOP! Look Both ways before you cross the street!” became shorthand to simply “STOP!”

Habits, especially habits of thought, are often hard to break. It’s easier when we have a replacement habit or thought.

Earlier this year, as I was emerging from grieving my Dad’s death, a thought popped into my head:

“Step into Your Next Space of Allowing”

At the time, it felt monumental in importance, but I didn’t know what to do with it so I began to sketch it out. For something so simple, it took forever for me to “get it right”. It’s been a fun project and I have no idea where it might lead.

It’s grown to become my new go-to thought when I’m faced with a new thing I want to try, a new painting I want to start, anything new I’m afraid to say, etc.

We all fall into habits that we'd rather not fall into — and eventually we get ourselves out of them. Sometimes a reminder helps. That's what this “Step into” phrase has become — a gentle, loving reminder.

Life is about change — in EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY

No, we don’t always like the changes we have to make or accept the changes we feel being thrust upon us, by anyone — even by our own body.

Still, accepting and allowing change is a lot easier in the long run than resisting change often is.

This postcard-sized magnet is available now — read on :-)

I like the phrase so much that I created a postcard-sized magnet. It’s simple, straight forward, and tickles my fancy.

I ordered extras, so if you want one as a reminder, for yourself or as a gift, please send me a check or money order for $5/magnet and I’ll ship it right out to you! (PO Box 61707, Honolulu, HI 96839-1707)

I was once asked to give a two-minute talk to the Professional Women's Network on O‘ahu and decided to answer the above two questions as best I could. This is my answer.

I paint because I have an overwhelming need to feel connected to the world around me, to the people in it, and to the world within me — my inner self.

Some people connect through words, some through music, some by moving through space. I’m a visual connector in this world.

I long to bring others into connection with themselves through my paintings.

Paintings often tell stories. Some stories are evident right away, others unravel like mysteries, slowly unfolding the longer you look at them.

I paint both kinds of stories and include a "key" to understanding my ideas on the back of the painting/print.

It isn't essential for you to know what I am thinking about when I paint, but you might find it interesting. My thoughts are often helpful to understanding the title ... but not always.

Okay, so why should you care?

We live in an incredibly lush, beautiful, and BUSY world and sometimes we’re too busy to take the time to enjoy nature.

During the busy times, and during the quiet times, having one of my paintings or prints in your home or office can remind you of YOUR connection to something larger in life than your daily grind.

It’s always my intention to paint the energy, the life force, of my subject matter so that you will feel it when you look at my imagery.

My hope is that this feeling will help you connect with your inner self; and remind you of all that you are, and of all that you have to offer to the world.

Diamond Head changes color with the seasons. Sometimes it’s green, other times it’s quite brown. “Plumeria Skies” brings together two iconic images of Hawaii — Diamond Head and the Plumeria flowers long used in lei.