Oahu trip part 4 - Chinatown

Day 2 of the Paintout was in Chinatown. It's become kind of an arts district with lots of galleries in the neighborhood. The hard thing about painting plein aire here was all the noise and big busses that would come by and block our view. Not to mention the smog. Still, artists are pretty typical in Chinatown, though maybe not this many at one time...

Oahu trip part 3

After Kailua (morning) it was a mad dash to Makapuu Beach, a body surfer's haven.



























Here's Lynne again with Jan Bushart, PAPOH prez, down in front of some crashing waves.

I love that Oahu has so many islands off of it. That's Rabbit Island in the distance.

Oahu Part 2

The point of our trip was to paint with PAPOH (Plein Air Painters of Hawaii) and AHA (Association of Hawaiian Artists?--I think). First day was at Kailua Beach. Arthur and I perched ourselves under the closest tree cover to the beach. If you click on the photo you can see that I used the sand as a convenient brush holder.

Here's a painting start by Mark Brown of Oahu. He also teaches on the island, there was a small contingent of his students who were a part of the paint out.
And here's my friend, Lynne Boyer, painting her fave, the ocean. (I miss those gentle Oahu waves too, now that I'm back in the land of Kehena Beach where the swells are 6-7 feet at times and it loves to grab your ankles and pull you back out to sea... thanks to the full moon action.)

Arthur of course had time to start another painting.


A group of local girls came to practice their hula while we painted.

Oahu trip part 1

Some people can be so creative, even in their gardens. We saw this in Lanikai, where we were staying. Just a neighbor's house.

We spent the first day running errands, picking up supplies (like mineral spirits, something you can't fly with). Then we passed the time doing a little sightseeing...





We went to the Hawaii State Art Museum. The only free museum.

It was great, they showcased contemporary island artists.

Making assumptions

It's amazing to me sometimes how people just make an assumption with no information other than what they see at that moment... I was spraying the plants outside our gallery when a woman came walking by and told me to water it, very directly, like an order. I just had and was now just spritzing it for a little more moisture (even though Hilo is a very humid place, it's a pretty warm day today). Anyway, I guess she was just trying to be helpful, but it seemed a rather rude way to do it... am I being overly sensitive?

The Small Show

Here's the beginning of our Small Show... we decided to make more affordable art for these tough economic times.

Follow Your Bliss

These are words to live by. Arthur and I went on a painting trip to Oahu and we stayed with his grandfather's 81 year old friend. It was the first time I spent any time on that island off the tourist track. I have a new appreciation for an island that is the most developed of all the islands, yet still with so many unspoiled areas and so much beauty. I'll load photos later. I didn't realise there were so many small islands off it, many that you can canoe to. Swimming is an option to some but there are shallow waters with coral all around so a kayak would be better.

I titled this entry Follow Your Bliss, wise words that I first heard from Joseph Campbell, the philosopher from the Bill Moyer series on Myths. That is because the 81 year old friend used these as her parting words to us after a very productive week of painting, seeing lots of art at galleries and museums, not to mention an infusion of culture, and making contacts.

Then, yesterday a man came into the Arthur Johnsen Gallery (it was my once a week shift) and started telling me about his life. I guess he didn't really start by telling me about his life, I kind of pulled it out of him as he was going through the gallery and talking to me about different things. What struck me was how happy he seemed. At first he told me he used to grow roses. I found out that he had actually studied oceanography. That he actually had a Ph.D and even had been a college professor. But he didn't like the pressure of the academic life, of always having to publish papers (or lose your job), not to mention that he didn't enjoy teaching that much. So, even though he had all this training, he was able to put it all aside to pursue something he would rather do. Why spend the rest of your life doing something you don't enjoy. He figured he cut his losses. So he grew roses for twenty years. I don't think I met anyone so content as this man.