Smiling Kanoe

Can dogs really smile? I think they can.

Cute cats ... and crazy allergies

I didn't post yesterday cuz I've been busy decontaminating my home of pet dander, dust, and troublesome mildew! As I write this, my cat has made her way to my now-ultraclean and bleached pillow and is making herself comfortable on it. What's a girl to do?

Earth ... in living color

Colored in my Illustration Friday submission this morning. Still needs work but I need to rush off. Toodles!

Illustration Friday - Signs

I struggle with the idea that our ability to turn things around as a human race is still possible. The ecological changes that have occurred in the short time we've been on earth is a sign of things to come. This concept is not an original one ... but as I doodled tonight, this is what I created.

Greek village

I've been trying to learn Modern Greek for years and have finally gotten to the point I could probably converse well enough to order "two more beers, please." I have a fascination with Greece that is beyond my comprehension. Maybe I'll live out my dream to live there for awhile and paint to my heart's content!

From the garden

A quick painting of flowers that grow near my mailbox. These white flowers are the last thing I see as I pull out of my driveway each morning.

Camellia

I've discovered this weekend that we are all teachers in our own way. I spent the past two days helping with a teacher's workshop/camping trip, educating educators about native plants and animals, ecology and about watersheds. We also helped restore endangered bird habitat by planting 500 mamane trees! I had a blast and seems like the teachers did too! I guess we all have a responsibility to share what we know with others ... and perhaps make this world a better place for it. :)

`A`ali`i ... a native Hawaiian plant

'A'ali'i is one of the more ubiquitious plants in Hawaii. It's papery fruit hang in clusters, making it perfect for leis. I just like the way they look.

Plumeria

I'm buku tired tonight. So, am sharing a colored pencil drawing I did awhile back. Plumerias grow in my back yard and when they're in full bloom, their perfume wafts into my bedroom at night.

Citrus 3

A quick painting ... looser ... less retentive ... more fun ...

I've been tagged!

Aloha everyone! And thanks Anita. I'm assuming the entire Everyday Matters group has been tagged so I'll share 7 pieces of info about myself here. If you're a visitor and haven't been tagged yet, feel free to join in and share info about yourself to the group.

1. I bought a box of spiderman bandaids ... for myself.
2. Meeting YoYo Ma was one of the greatest highlights of my life.
3. I've lived in Hawaii all my life.
4. I don't surf and I don't dance the hula ... so stop asking me! *grin*
5. I named my first car, The Bullet. It was a 1987 silver Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan.
6. I'm a Godmother, x 3!
7. I think Star Wars is the greatest movie of all time and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it. :)

Airports, airports, and more airports

I spent an inordinate amount of time at airports recently. Besides the multiple connecting flights, overbooked flight, and changed flights, I had a wonderful 3-day work trip to Molokai. Got to spend quality time with my Nature Conservancy friends and of course take in the beauty of the island. I miss living there and if I'm ever given the choice, you might find me living there again. These are sketches that kept me from being bored to tears.

Things

Sketched this while watching "The Lake House" on DVD. Nice, but not as good as "Notting Hill" (more about the merits of Notting Hill another time). These are things that were laying on my coffee table. Don't ask my why I have a bottle of Nutella on my coffee table. It's a long story.

Citrus 2

This is my artcard accompaniment to my Illustration Friday submission. I had a lot of fun with the still life setup ... until I ate it for lunch.

Illustration Friday - Citrus

There is only one thing that I must have every day. Coffee (no surprise there). There is one thing that I must have at least every other day. Oranges (go figure). This is my first Illustration Friday submission. I tried not to take the topic too literally, but it takes time to rewire my brain!

A moment of silence ...

A moment of silence for my pen that left me too soon. She was a good friend, one that accompanied me on my daily drawing jaunts and performed at her peak irregardless of treatment. She passed in an accident that involved the jaws of a pet dog. May she rest in peace.

Heliconia

This lone heliconia flower was the last of the season in my heliconia patch. After seeing how intricate and beautiful they are, I feel badly that I left them neglected in the corner of my lot. I'm making a point to weed and thin them tomorrow.

Quick sketch

A quick 5 min sketch of my David sculpture that I bought in Rome in 1983. The last real figure drawing I did was of my art teacher that same year. I wish I had it to show you. It was NOT pretty. It really scared me off until recently. Observing the incredible figure illustrators online has spurred me to get over my fear and practice.

Neighbor

I have to admit, I tend to like different art forms and will jump from one medium to another so as not to get bored or take myself too seriously. This is my cat who has a cat door but "pretends" to prefer to stay indoors and watch her friends from the window. In real life, her friends are the strays in the neighborhood that she invites into my house when I'm traveling ... to the dismay of housesitters ... and me!

Shell study

Been swamped so didn't get to draw yesterday except for a doodle but I did want to share this shell I did with colored pencil on drafting film a long time ago. It was actually my first. I loved the way the mylar took the waxiness of the colored pencil. I perhaps over-stretched the abilities of the film to take multiple layers of color but I like the results.

Hiking shoes

Tried a better paper this time: Strathmore Bristol Vellum. Sure beats my old sketch pad. It took graphite really well. I switched to slightly harder pencils this time around to reduce some of the grain and show more detail. This paper seems like it would work well for looser drawings, which I might try next time. So, this is my finished hiking shoes ... and my inside-out socks.

Hiking shoes ... progress

Got a bit further this afternoon. Sometimes when I'm on a roll, it's hard to stop. Gonna have to take the pup for a walk and get back to work. I had a crazy busy week and gonna have to put in some extra time. FYI - For work, I manage a team of incredibly dedicated botanists who protect the rarest of the rarest plants in Hawaii, the ones that number fewer than 50 in the wild! Many have fewer than 10! That means the entire species is on the brink of extinction. Most people don't realize this, but in Hawaii, 42% of all federally endangered plants are found here! That keeps us conservation biologists mighty busy.

Hiking shoes ... draft

First my pack, now my shoes ... I've never really shared with family and friends my creative process before but I've gotten positive feedback about showing the progress with my pack drawing, below. So, I've decided to go ahead and do another larger piece. This is a pair of my low-cut hiking shoes as it sits on my floor just as I pulled them off my feet yesterday.

Reeds Bay

A quick sketch of Reed's Bay, where the oama run and families picnic on the coral beach. In real life, the pier goes on and on and on across the horizon ... I didn't want to break the expansive feeling of the ocean so cut the pier short (there I go playing God again). :)

My favorite pack ... Ms. Kelty (Done!)

This is my final drawing. Gosh, that was a lot of fun to draw! Creating art is a great way to memorialize something or someone, isn't it? As I look at my drawing, I remember all those times I've thrown, uh, dropped my pack over a barbed wire fence, used it as a pillow while sleeping in a cave with bats flying about, plopped it in unidentifiable but pretty smelly goop, practically submerged it in the bogs of Maui, and filled it to its max with cool plant specimens. Yes, it's my reliable Ms. Kelty.

My favorite pack ... Ms. Kelty (almost done)

Still incomplete but this is about all I can do tonight. Have a great night everyone! I'm outta here!

My favorite pack ... Ms. Kelty (getting started)

I think my dog ate my blank artcards. I can't find them. It's not like my house is so huge that they would disappear into a black hole. Alas, that means I needed to pull out my old sketch pad instead. This is my tried and true I-can't-live-without-it pack ... my Kelty Redwing. Ok, all you field crazies out there. Admit it. I know you have one like this ... complete with mud smears, dead leaves and maybe some live critters in the side pockets. .... (Note to colleagues: yes, yes ... I practice strict phytosanitation. Note to everyone else: We can't afford to spread weeds and nonnative creatures in natural areas so we always use super clean gear and clothes. I needed to say it or I'll hear about it at the office!).

Apple 2

... and eaten.