1987: Kailua, Hawaii.
I grew up in paradise. I grew up surrounded by beautiful rainbows, tropical jungles, vibrant flowers and a deep reverence for nature modeled by my parents and indigenous Hawaiian culture all around me. This is the foundation of how I see the world. As I start to peel back more and more layers discovering who I am, I’m struck with how color and vibrancy are at the top of what lights me up. It’s how I looked at the world as a child and how I still long to feel about the world as an adult.
Over the past year I have made the deliberate choice to love myself unconditionally especially as a young mother with too much on her plate. This exercise in self-love has inspired me to explore painting landscapes with more freedom, more creativity and also, more fear. Fear of looking weird, fear of feeling exposed, fear of not knowing how my inner soul will be received. What I've learned is that, this is my favorite part to see in other artists. I love to see the vulnerability and the unique vision some of my heroes like Kahlo, Dalí, and Van Gogh all have.
I hope my paintings inspire you to connect with your inner child, inner artist and most of all as a reminder to love yourself unconditionally.
