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  • Some progress shots of the recent painting class I took

    Some progress shots of the recent painting class I took

    Hi!! I recently signed up for a month’s access to some acrylic painting tutorials! I hope I can make at least 3 of them before my subscription runs out. Wish me luck! I’ve listed more information about the painting class below.

    The first painting coincided with Mother’s Day, so it’s alrady been gifted ๐Ÿ–ค But I took some progress shots along the way so I could have proof that I actually made it. I’ll share them here.

    Starting the underpainting in 5 different tones. The class called for Copic markers, but I used acrylic paints in Naples Yellow & Burnt Sienna, as well as Acrylic Ink in Sepia.
    Underpaint is complete! I love it already.
    A “ground” wash of Burnt Sienna was added before the colors went on. I took a pretty long break here becuase I was really afraid of ruining all the hard work.
    Beautiful Blues
    Vibrant greens.
    The completed piece!

    This class is offered on JimMusil.com I still have the rest of the month to access even more classes on his site, so I’m hoping to paint a few more to really learn these skills.

    The end goal is to make some paintings of the views I love so much from my hikes!

  • Art I made for Mod Gala 2026 Celestial Concerto

    Art I made for Mod Gala 2026 Celestial Concerto

    I was very lucky to be invited again๐Ÿ˜ธ to be a participating artist in Capitol Modern’s annual fundraiser, Mod Gala. The theme this year was Celestial Concerto. We had 2 assignments. One being collectable cards that would be sold at the event in a blind envelope called “Particles”. The other, called “Parsecs”, would be paintings completed LIVE that evening. All proceeds from the sales were donated.

    I had intentions of creating a ‘before’ post. Like, a sneak peek of things I was working on leading up to the event. I also had intentions of putting together a nice outfit, maybe embroider some sparkles, or paint some planets…. Then, my 19 year old cat passed away. I’ll save the details for another post… dedicated to her. At least, that’s the intention. ๐Ÿ–ค

    Below are some photos of collectable cards I was working on. The constellation cards feature the สปลŒlelo names for commonly recognized western constellations. And I also created sun, moon and star linoleum stamps to make some Tarot inspired cards. I used gold and black, and added gems and rhinestones for extra zing.โญ The ones I finished at the event turned out pretty awesome and I hope some of them sold!

    Some early drafts of my Celestial ‘particles’

    Collectable artist trading card featuring: Nฤhiku - สปลŒlelo name for the Big Dipper.
    Collectable artist trading card featuring: Hลkลซlei - a wreath of stars.  Also associated with the constellation Auriga
    Collectable artist trading card featuring: Heiheionakeiki - the modern สปลŒlelo name for the western constellation Orion.

    I did spend a lot of time trying to brush on my painting skills. You can peek at some of my practice paintings in the card photos above. And I think it paid off. I’m mostly happy of the paintings I was able to create live at the event.

    ‘Parsecs’ created live at the event:

    An acrylic painting of a full moon over water with surreal stars sitting atop the waves.
    An acrylic painting of a crescent moon hanging over a mountain range personified, with surreal stars glistening in the hairs of the mountain maiden.
    An acylic painting of the Moon and Venus in quiet meditation over cotton candy clouds.

    The center painting above, the Mountain Maiden caught in her moon-gaze… it SOLD! Woohoo! I’m happy that I was able to “mint” my own donation currency that night. I think the 3rd painting had a good chance of selling too, but I finished it as the event ended.

    I WILL be exploring these themes again in the future – for sure!

    Thanks again to the peeps at Capitol Modern for including me!! It really helped push me to make things during my hard times. Next time, I will try a lot harder on my outfit ๐Ÿ–ค I really missed the all black with sparklies opportunity that I had that night. Also, I wlil document and share more! Like, in general. That needs to be a goal of mine. More intentions, lol. Subscribe to follow along!

    Cheerio!

  • Shop update! New art prints available

    Shop update! New art prints available

    I haven’t posted in some time, so I thought I’d send a quick shop update. I’ve added some recent work (and old favorites) as art prints available from Gelato.com ๐Ÿ–ค Thanks for looking at what I have available. And, if you like something, please click a like or leave a comment! Mahalo ฤ nui!

    On a side note… I’m finding it increasingly hard to post anything on Instagram or Facebook. I really can’t stand spending my time and efforts on platforms that fund wars. I’ll be spending more of that drive towards buildling my own site, and creating more stuff! Bluesky is a good option too, have you checked it out yet?

    I’m planning to finish some sewing projects in the near future too. I think adding those for sale on the site will really help drive some traffic and stats for my page. It’s still so new ~ but I have hope to build a little audience and sales for my small business.

    Shop update photo featuring 2 hand embroidered and beaded zipper pouches.