An Unexpected Loss...

Hi friends, I am writing today about a personal as well as community loss. A dear friend and incredibly skilled amigurami artist passed away a few days ago and upon learning of her death today I have surprised myself with how deep a loss I feel in knowing she is gone.

Did I mention that I never actually met her in person?

Chelle, aka @poenut35, was a sharp witted and bright spirited fellow artist/crafter that I met through Instagram in 2016. She had posted some really beautifully worked wearable crochet items, and since that is one art form I have not had the patience to learn, I managed to finagle a trade for a portrait drawing for an absolutely gorgeous pair of white crochet shorts. 

Upon which I learned she had recently had her breast removed due to cancer...

I hadn't realized until then that's why she was rockin' (and I genuinely mean rockin'!) that cute ultra short pixie haircut.  

Anyway, long story short, Chelle trusted me with a few photos of herself revealing her scar and her remaining breast and allowed me to create one of the most meaningful pieces of artwork I have ever created to this day. 

Chelle told me that my portrait made her feel beautiful in a time when she was questioning her own beauty and I will forever be so grateful that I could help someone realize how incredible they already are.

I was feeling so full of emotion and sadness that I felt I wanted to share this loss with others in the artistic community as an example of how much we can touch each other in small and big ways through our artwork. But more importantly, today, I want to make sure we all remember Chelle and the encouragement and joy she brought so many others.

I made a short video just after I had learned the news because I felt compelled to share her story with my artistic family at large. Forgive the vertical orientation, I made it firstly to share on my Instagram Story and then I felt that I wanted to share here on my blog too. 

Thank you as always for allowing me to share what's deep in my heart, friends. I know we have all suffered loss so we can all appreciate the need for connection after doing so. xo

Art Studio Tour + My Art Collection

Welcome to my Art Studio Tour! Yay! I have been wanting to show you all my tiny house abode for so long, but you know we artists like to have everything just right before we're ready to show 'n tell....

Today I am going to share with you all the details about my art making area as well as my tiny desk and art I've collected from other artists. Then next week I will have another vid sharing more about my tiny house bungalow life and the super quaint town of Kaimuki, O'ahu where I live and work. (Update: Here’s my tiny house + outdoor bathroom)

And if you missed the quickie 2 Minute tour of my entire spot from last week, have a peek right here.

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originally published May 23, 2018

2 Minute Tiny House Art Studio Tour

Welcome to my tiny house art studio bungalow! I love my little sunny Hawai'i home and I have done so much to create the perfect, most efficient, most inspiring art making space I can! Come on in and have a looksy, and if you'd like a more detailed tour, check out these link because I have two more videos detailing my painting station and the rest of my tiny house living :)

Painting Station + Art Collection here

Bungalow + Outdoor Bathroom here

If you didn't see the pics I posted last time, check those out here. 

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originally published May 16, 2018

New Studio Tour Sneak Peek

Oh my gosh I cannot believe it has taken me this long to do a proper studio tour! Ha! What can I say, it takes a while for me to perfect my little work space nest ;) 

Today I am only sharing a few photos of my bungalow so you'll have to tune in Wednesday for the 2 minute quickie tour and then I'll have detailed vids of my art setup as well as my living space, lanai, and outdoor bathroom (which is beyond amazing!) coming out in the following weeks. 

This where the magic happens! I prefer a standing easel for pretty much all my art-making.

I'm literally sitting on my ergonomic chair sitting at this desk typing right now...

I built this elevated bed myself!! Can't wait to show you how I did it!

So that's most of the inside area - tune in the next three Wednesdays for the detailed tour inside and out!

**Or pop your email down below to get the tour delivered to your inbox all neat 'n tidy:)**

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originally published May 14, 2018

Figure Drawing Sketchbook Tour

Welcome to my sketchbooks friends! I love peeking through other artists' sketchbooks so today I am bringing you on a lil journey through mine. 

These are my home made sketchbooks featuring my favorite multi-colored textured toned paper and either charcoal or pastel with white chalk pencils. I love switching up the tones between the paper and utensils so much! Learn all about awesome alternatives to black here that can really punch up your artwork too. 

So enjoy today's little tour of a bunch of my live figure drawing sketches. I've included a  voiceover on technique as well as my personal drawing choices. Hope  you feel inspired!!

I actually have a number of these drawings available for sale here, and you can view a lot of the collection here. 

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If you would like to make your own fab sketchbook featuring your own fave art paper click here.

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originally published May 9, 2018

Artist Vlog :: Nude Figure Modeling + New Art + Epic Hawaii Hike

Hi friends! It's been a while since I've just sat down and given you the skinny on all the latest Nest happenings so join me today as I get overly excited and bubbly about trying new things;)

If you like hearing about the less-glamorous but more intimate sides of being a working artist, jump on my Birds of a Feather newsletter here or at the the end of this blog post post to get my monthly letter all about my personal happenings I only share in the Nest. 

I don't want to say another word and spoil the show - enjoy!!

If you want to see more epic Hawai'i hike photos check out my blog post from earlier this week here. 

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originally published May 2, 2018

Epic Hawaii Hike :: Lanipo Ridge

Wow friends, my mind is still swimming from the amazing hike I had the other day with one of my closest girls, Baila. We hiked to an extremely high point where the Lanipo Mau'umae finger ridge meets what we refer to as the Mother Mountain, which is the main ridge that runs from the south to north shore. 

Since O'ahu was formed by a series of active volcanoes,  the ridge hikes are comprised of the pyroclastic flow which created steep and narrow mountains all over the island. From what I understand many trails were used by native Hawai'ians and Polynesians for centuries, then used by the US army for lookouts, infrastructure, and training, and now mostly used by hikers.

The Hawai'ian government keeps a lot of land untouched and even sanctions dozens of hikes all over the island that will take you to another world, yet will start less than 20-30 minutes from your own home. Hiking out here is beyond incredible. 

Ripe strawberry guava along the way - yummm!!

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Oh the ferns..... 

To sum it up, this was a 6.6 mile (7.5 hours) there-and-back hike. The pinnacle reached the mother mountain and we were gifted a view of around 75-80% of the island. I have never had a view like that in my life so far and since I had been feeling a little studio rut lately, it was just what I needed to gain a little clarity. 

Overlooking the Ka'au Crater just behind me and a gorgeous waterfall cutting through the ridgeline

[UPDATE: I featured this hike on my YouTube Studio Vlog right here with some amazing footage I took at the peak. ]

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originally published May 30, 2018

Applying Gold Leaf :: My First Time!

Aloha fellow artistas and gold-lovas! I am super psyched to bring you a tutorial featuring my first time using the most exciting accent of them all: gold leaf!!

I was a little wary of filming myself using a brand new (to me) art medium, but I figured any screw-ups might help someone else learn, so why not, right? You won't believe how surprised I was to have the gold leaf turn out PERFECTLY on the very first try! Hooray!!

So check out this fun tutorial and you can literally be gilding like a pro in no time at all!! Fan-freakin-tastic!!!!

Optional:

• Pencil
• Talcum Powder

Supplies:

• Mona Lisa Metal Leaf Kit
• Large stiff but soft brush
• Paint brush(es)
• Painting surface

You can snag some gold leaf here using my special Dick Blick affiliate link and anything in your checkout basket goes to helping support my YouTube channel - Yay!

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originally published April 25, 2018

Photo Shoot with Jan Galvan

On a foggy afternoon high on the Lanipo ridge I was fortunate enough to have a photoshoot with the very talented portraitist Jan Galvan who was on island all the way from Washington DC in order to shoot a wedding. He was very interested in exploring unique spots on the island and I was happy to oblige with a short foray onto my favorite hike. 

You can see more of Jan's work here.

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originally published April 23, 2018

Yasmine Portrait Drawing

HI friends! It's so lovely to be able to make art simply for the sake of capturing beauty, and sometimes I get so caught up in other things that I forget to make time to just enjoy the process for myself. 

I don't think I've done a portrait drawing in months just for fun so here's a super casual lil vid featuring my drawing of Yasmine set to some really fun French-style remix music by a lady who is generous enough to let YouTubers use her tunes for our vids, Dyalla Swain. 

Hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed relaxing and drawing!

Is there anything you'd like me to discuss in an upcoming vid? Feel free to drop me a comment here or on the YouTube comments:)

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originally published April 18, 2018