Travels through O'ahu :: Adventures + Artwork

Welcome back to my second home of O'ahu! I'm so thrilled to have just had the opportunity to spend 7 whole weeks camping, hiking, beaching, painting, and visiting friends on the beloved island I decided to leave just one year ago.

What can I say..? I didn't move away from Hawai'i because I didn't like it!

Visiting close friends and adventuring through the island is such a blissful existence. If you haven’t put it on your list yet, maybe a few more photos will help seal the deal..

Did you enjoy coming along for the ride? Here's my travel + art vlog from the vanlifing I did on Maui and Big Island last year. You can also see more of my life while I lived on island, including where I worked and my awesome bungalow with the fully outdoor bathroom! And if you're wondering why I ever left this slice of paradise, I made a video of that too!

12.20.2020

Holiday Vlog 2020

I really hope you are able to find some peace and happiness during this Holiday season, even though most of us won't be able to spend them with the folks we love the most. If you find yourself with a little extra solo time (yep, even more than 2020 has already given us) then consider investing some love into your art biz or art practice. The best thing we can do for ourselves in any situation is to never stop learning:)

So enjoy this quickie vlog while I take my own kind of holiday, and look below for a pile of links to help you brush up on your knowledge during some down time this week.

References:

How to Set Up an Online Art Store

Complete Guide to Oil Painting

Hand Drawing Workshop

How to Clean + Organize Your Art Studio

How to Write an Artist Statement

How to Write an Artist CV

11.22.2020

A Special Hawai’i BDay Treat!

‘To My Wonderful Mama on her 70th Trip Around the Sun, I would never have been able to behold scenes like this had you not given me the courage to explore. I love you more than anything, Caleigh ❤️’

I created an extra special island care package for a big milestone for my fave person: my mom just turned 70!!

I painted this little seascape for her in gouache (above) and also got this amazing silver and precious inlaid stone pendant that my twinzie Emsy (@emsyvision) created with her own two beautiful slender little hands this past summer during her first apprenticeship with a metalsmith jeweler. I am so floored by her incredible craftsmanship that I had to pick up a few pieces for myself too, which I promise to share as well!

I also scored a few other tiny treats including this gorgeous tiny hand painted bowl and some of the best coffee chocolate I have ever tasted in my life!

I was thrilled to hear it arrived right on time on the big day and was a welcome surprise during these quiet says around the house. In this Birdie’s opinion, care packages are just as much fun to send as to receive… I just love imaging the look of surprise and excitement pulling each little piece from the tissue.

11.18.2020

Back on Da 'Aina

I’m back on O’ahu until December and I couldn’t be more excited! Since I’m working totally from home these days, I figured I could just as easily get things done from friend’s houses or camp spots as I can in my quiet lil Florida studio so this Bird just decided to fly back to the island she loves the most:)

Up, up, up!!!

Plein air sketching dream-come-true!

Waking up to the sun while listening to the waves crash just outside your cozy bed is a feeling that absolutely never gets old.

Can’t beat these mobile office views!

Using a Resin Mold for the First Time

My first time using a resin mold and I’m sharing the experience with you! Since I already had collected and pressed plenty of lovely ferns and leaves, I decided to mainly focus on casting the resin with dried plants, which is one of my favorite ways to accent my 3D layered resin paintings in general anyway. Using this resin mold for some of the extras was just a bonus in every way!

If I can ever find an excuse to collect and dry more ferns I am more than happy to do so!

I hope you enjoy learning about how to use a resin mold today, I was really delightfully surprised at just how easy and straightforward it turned out to be:)

Snag some original layered resin art from my Shop!

My fave resin brand: https://www.artresin.com

And the silicone mold I just found on EBay; there are about a thousand different brand-new molds all ready to ship from China on there if you look around.

How to Pour Layered Resin Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmP_I9gEvM&t=415s
5.29.2020

Surprise Art of Me!

Whoa I am so floored! @jetheadedgypsy just surprise painted me doing my favorite thing, painting!

The original photo of me was taken by my girlie Jae @paintinghawaii when we were out doing a lil plein air painting at Makapu’u Beach on O’ahu so the layers upon layers of women painters that made this art possible is truly heartwarming.

Thanks so much to Dané @jetheadedgypsy for making my week by surprising me like this! I’m so very honored.

Can’t wait to go back out for some more artsy adventures on da ‘aina one day!

2.5.2020

Big Island Hawai'i Adventures!

Wow I am still floored by all the differing ecosystems coexisting so closely on a tropical island! It’s so weird to drive from arid desert, to grassy plains, to lava fields, to rocky coast back to thick jungle all in a matter of hours, especially when all you’re expecting is palm trees and lush mountains! If you didn’t catch the island hopping vlog already, tune in for a real treat too:)

Not to mention the surreal nature of playing on both black and green sand beaches!

And, did I mention this particular black sand beach was a nude one...? So you know, when in Rome…

I’ll have to admit, the opportunity for some plein air painting in the buff was too good to pass up. What a fantastic day!

One of the wildest things we did wasn’t splashing in our birthday suits, believe it or not, it was actually exploring some lava tubes! Lava tubes are basically places where the the igneous rock has broken away forming long underground caves. The temp became 10 degrees cooler the second you enter, and quite damp regardless of how dry that area of the island is. I didn’t go far at all because I only had sandals, but apparently they go back for miles and miles until you are literally crawling! Somehow spelunking does not feel like my forte though....

Make sure you check out my Maui blog too for some of the most phenomenal waterfalls ever!

11.21.2019

Livin' in a Van on Maui

So um, van-lifing around Maui is my new favorite thing...

From sleeping under the biggest rose gold full moons, to guerrilla bathing in a state park stream, to chasing more waterfalls than we ever thought possible... following Hana Road along all of East Maui has been one of the most delightful road trips of my life. If you didn’t already see the island hopping vlog I made, get ready to plan your next vacay…

My friend Steff from O’ahu (yep, different than Stephanie from Charleston - not confusing at all I know) and I rented a really nice n roomy minivan (although I am calling them adventure vans more and more these days), but weren’t quite sure what we were going to do before we arrived. With my blow-up mattress, sunscreen, and some citronella incense in tow, along with the perfect temperament for adventure, we wound up happening upon the most delightful places to eat, sleep, and play which gave us the most fulfilling, yet totally relaxing island tour ever.

There has been so much beauty to see and so much delicious fruit to consume in countless little adorable ‘honor-system’ roadside fruit stands in between mind-blowing photo ops around every twist and turn… I think we may have actually discovered heaven on earth!

And I can’t help but share these epic waterfall shots Steff snapped of me too..

Make sure to take a peek at my Big Island pics too for awesome green sand and lava tube adventures too!

11.19.2019

Maui + Big Island Vanlife Vlog

Whew! What a beautiful whirlwind those ten days were! Sleeping outside every night under the stars with the biggest rose gold glowing moon you’ve ever seen, letting the wind whip through our hair as we were cruising the winding hairpin turns presenting us with spectacular waterfalls, elementally intense craggy coastlines, the greenest jungle vines, and the lushest rolling patchwork hills you can imagine.

Woo Hoo enjoy this vanlife adventure including the amazing Road to Hana, an orchid painting timelapse from the farm we stayed on, and even a visit to the black sand nude beach!! Plus make sure to pop back over next week when I’ll be posting more of my very best pics from this sunny, nature-filled vacay :)

Check lots more Maui pics here

..And Big Island pics here!

11.16.2019

Update Vlog to 'Leaving Hawai'i' Vid

Aloha friends, it has been a crazy last few weeks for me for sure! Between Halloween, packing, and trying to see all my friends and fave local bands as much as possible while I’m still on island. Since my studio is a total wreck as I’m packing things up I decided to do a lil YouTube live update today on how things are going.

Because if you think it’s difficult to move to another city or state, try moving 6000 miles from the middle of the ocean in which everything you save must be shipped or lugged onto an airplane! Yikes!

The exciting news is that I’m heading to Big Island and Maui in the nest few weeks too so if you don’t follow me on Instagram you definitely should because it’s about to get even more beautiful on my feed and story:)

Find me here! @caleighbirdart