Choose My Next Paintings - YOU Decide!

November 05, 2022 in Artist Diary, Gouache, Landscapes

Hey artists, want to have input on some beautiful autumn paintings for me to create??

⚡️For the next 24 hours I am running a poll where YOU get to decide the two autumn paintings I paint in gouache in my new sketchbook. I took these photos on a recent hike here in Tennessee and the colors were just so glowing in each one I'm having a hard time choosing myself which ones to recreate🍂

I’m running the poll on YouTube (on my Community Tab) and Instagram (in my Stories and Reels), but you can also vote just by commenting on this blog post below - whichever way you prefer!

Your choices are…

Now vote below and tune into my Mid November YouTube video to see which two pictures got turned into gouache landscapes in my supa cute new blue sketchbook! Yay!

Yay, thanks! I can’t wait to see what y’all decide!

11.5.2022

Shenandoah Campout Adventure

May 12, 2021 in Adventure

Last week I treated myself to six glorious nights camping out in Vaughn the Adventure Van including four night in Shenandoah National Park. My awesome adventure buddy Baila joined me for three days and nights of hiking, exploring, eating delicious food, and living it up with the most tame wildlife ever!

While Virginia is well known for its bears, we didn’t see any on this trip (although I have here before!). We did see lots of deer up close, a snake, some rabbits, and birds galore!!

Our favorite hike, called Bearfence Trail, actually turned out to be the most rock-scrambliest hike I’ve done since Hawai’i. It felt so wonderful to stretch to workout all those good climbing muscles again!

Venkman and Amaris also had a lot to catch up on, and really appreciated being included on a few adventures!

Those 360 views on the top of our hikes were truly spectacular! We also loved relaxing to the sun setting over the entire Shenandoah Valley, just sitting in the van like a cozy sofa.

And the wouldn’t you know it, but the two friends I met up with in Shenandoah were actually friends I made in Hawai’i! Baila was my neighbor and hiking buddy in Palolo, and my other friend Scott (who came out for one afternoon with his girl) was someone I actually got a job for at my beloved Coffee Talk. What a small world - I head over to Virginia to hang out with friends from da’ aina - ha!

It did rain little bit, bet we were well prepared. And it did get pretty cold on out last night, but nothing our giggles couldn’t keep us warm in. All in all, it was a pretty epic way to spend a week!

5.12.2021

Chattanooga Hike Trip

March 25, 2021 in Adventure

Ooohwheeee it felt good to get out and hit the trails again! I hadn’t been able to get out on any kind of elevation since leaving Hawai’i in December and I was missing it in a big way!

There’s a couple, Kristen and Kyle, that I’ve known for over 15 years now and they just moved to Chattanooga last year who I’ve been dying to visit! Now that the weather is finally a bit more bearable for a tropical bird such as myself, I was super psyched to make my way over there and spend a few days exploring that cute town and the local hikes on Signal Mountain.

One thing that’s really nice about Tennessee is that spring comes on in a big way around here. The winter does make things quite grey, but that only makes the greens growing in even brighter and more delightful to behold. Now I really can’t wait for the cherry blossom trees in April!

Signal Mountain is covered in trails and in three hours we didn’t even do half of them. Just another excuse to come back to Chattanooga! I think I’m going to look into campout spots too because it’s getting to be perfect Vaughn the Adventure Van weather for sure!

I’ll always have a piece of my heart on Pele’s ridge’s on O’ahu, but I am extremely grateful to be living in an area where I can finally begin to realize my dream career as a full time artist that is also flush with outdoor adventure areas.

As pretty as it is out here, you better watch out…there’s all kinda weirdos creeping around these trails!

3.25.2021

YouTube Break This Week

March 14, 2021 in Adventure, Artist Diary

Aloha friends, no YouTube video today. I’m treating myself to the week off for a little hiking adventure. It’s the first few days in a row I’ve had off since getting back from Hawaii in December between packing up my life in Florida, moving to Tennessee, and immediately starting this tremendously busy new job. You know this wanderlust-spirited Birdie has to get out every couple of months or I start to go a little stir crazy in the Nest.

Luckily I have friends in Chattanooga and in Asheville who have been showing me a great time this week hitting the trails on these beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

Hope you find a way to relax and enjoy a little nature this week yourself! I’ll be back with next week for all your best fine art tutorials and art biz advice :)

3.14.2021

My Artist Residency During the Coronavirus

April 19, 2020 in Vanlife, YouTube Videos, Studio, Adventure

What a time to be alive right?!

I've recently returned from a five week artist residency on a small farm in rural Tennessee, and while I had a wonderful time with the miniature donkeys and generous chickens, it was a very strange feeling knowing that the Coronavirus was just beginning its unprecedented infiltration of the entire world.

Camp Wonder Wander, hosted by artist and entrepreneur Val Sloan, provides a quiet and beautiful space for artists, writers, and musicians to come and focus on their craft in a an environment not bogged down with the complications and distractions of normal everyday life.

As part of the artist residency, we help out with the animals and find ways to add to the enchanted experience of the next residents by leaving a piece of ourselves here in the form of whatever art we choose. I decided to entirely repaint the shared bathroom with a potted plant mural. (See the full mural vid here. )

Even through the current state of affairs I had a really wonderful stay and was able to explore many different art forms in a short amount of time. It was also really delightful to watch spring come in everywhere throughout the rolling hills of Tennessee.

4.19.2020

Camping on Top of a Mountain!

October 16, 2019 in Adventure, Aloha

23 intense hours on a ridge including one wild whipping windy wet night on the edge of an insane precipice of the Ko’olau mountains!

On my most extreme adventure to date with my twinsie Emsy we decided to hike the Mau’umae ridge to the Ko’olau summit, camp for the night, then turn right and hike the hairpin mother mountain to the next ridge offshoot, Wiliwilinui, which we had staged a car at the end of.

We made it about halfway through our journey and had to turn back at the Lanipo peak because the trail ceased to exist. We tried busting through the vegetation for a few minutes to see if we could pick back up on the ridge on the other side, but considering that’s how hikers disappear we decided to play it safe and go back the way we came. Good thing that only added two hours to our plan that day, for a total of just under 9 hours hiking in two days.

We started our journey on Wednesday with the warm afternoon sun hiking up into the white-out clouds, then as evening approached and got chillier we reached the summit where the wind is always stronger. We were able to get the tent set up and change into warm clothes before snuggling in while feeling our tent get whipped around like there was a full grown man jostling it from the outside.

We didn’t want to carry too much weight in our packs so we opted for multiple clothing layers rather than blankets or sleeping bags. Unfortunately the tarp under our tent didn’t quite keep the rain from seeping in the bottom so about mid-way through the night we both found ourselves with chilly wet pants. We half-slept til morning with the rain luckily abating and the sun welcoming us with a view looking down upon practically the entire island.

After a light breakfast we set off to climb the Ko’olau range, which has been a personal goal of mine, and let me tell you that is one skinny ridge line! Whew! The trail is mostly directly on the tippy top of the ridge with plenty of it being less that 1 foot wide. There are lots of bushes of ferns surrounding the trail which give you a sense of security, however the rooting can be deceitful. Certain areas can look like a good place for your foot but can really be disguising a hole that could send you straight down the side of the mountain under the shrubs should you place your weight in the wrong position. Needless to say this Birdie had no problem utilizing her 3 points of contact continuously. As we made our way back to the car on Thursday the sun was really blazing by noon and those last two hours sent us shimmying to get back into the shade.

All in all the journey was muddy and brutal and super intense in all of the most wonderful ways and I am so grateful to have shared this experience with my adventure sister Emsy ...because who doesn’t love to torture themselves with a good challenge, right?!

10.16.2019

Solo Hike on Kapalama Ridge

August 07, 2019 in Adventure, Aloha

I enjoyed a super epic 7.5 mile solo ridge hike for the first time in a hot minute. It was beyond exhausting and quite muddy, and conquering three false peaks before hitting the cloudy apex definitely brought the tiniest bit of frustration… but pushing yourself uphill in both the sun and the rain through sheer will and determination, simply for the glory of the challenge, is very nourishing to the soul and psyche. I’m grateful for every day I get to spend in this beautiful environment

8.7.2019

Plein Air Ridge Painting

June 27, 2019 in Aloha, Adventure, Sketchbook

I spent a marvelous day last week relaxing and painting on the gorgeous Aiea ridgeline here on O’ahu accompanied by one of my closest sister artists, Zee, who also created the beautiful bouquet tattoo on my leg and the Celtic knot on my finger. It was a truly special and rejuvenating day… one of my favorite things about Zee is that we create art whenever we are together:)

6.26.2019

Nude Hiking :: Part 2 (NSFW)

February 27, 2019 in Aloha, Adventure, Artist Diary, Inspiration

This may seem an odd place to share this adventure, but I have come to look at my blog as a bit of a journal so sharing this incredible experience with fellow art lovers like you seems somehow fitting….

Hopefully you caught this very special blog post from a few weeks ago featuring myself and two of my favorite sister artists hiking a super high ridge line on the Westside of O’ahu. All of the ethereal photos in that post were by my fellow nude hiker and professional photographer friend Stephanie Stein, but today I wanted to share the other photos from that epic day - the ones we snapped on our cell phones while eating lunch, taking photos, and just generally frolicking around.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this was one of the best, most invigorating, and somehow transformative hikes any of us have ever experienced. To quote Emsy as she was climbing ever higher to stand proudly on teeny ledges jutting out over the valley below, “I’ve never been so naked in my whole life!”

In this artist’s humble opinion, being comfortably naked is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Too often in modern consumerist society we are told about all the imperfections that buying random products can solve without being lauded for who we are naturally.

I mean, it makes sense. It’s hard to sell bullshit to people who are content.

So that’s why it’s ever more important to find joys in our own ways in our own bodies. It’s hard to feel sub par within your body when it makes you feel powerful and exhilarated!

So if you can, try and find an unusual place to be naked soon! Whether you try a naked hike like us, decide to find a secret beach where you can sun your buns, or just sip some tea and read next Sunday’s paper in the buff in your backyard, taking a little time to be naked in nature will make you feel like a whole new person. Would love to hear your experiences in the comments!

PS. If you’re curious, we hiked in regular clothes until we felt nicely secluded then disrobed and continued on. We also learned that at least shorts are needed on the way back down or else one must be prepared for a very grass-tickled bottom during steep descent areas ;)

2.27.2019

Epic Hawaii Hike :: Lanipo Ridge

May 03, 2018 in Artist Diary, Adventure, Aloha

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.