Day #17, 30x30, Dreaming Again!

As the challenge continues, I find myself drawn more and more into the multitudinous shapes of the leaves on this island of Kauai. So many of them are palmate, meaning like a hand, and they come in all sizes from half an inch to several feet long. I could spend a long time here, drawing them.

Day #16, View to Hanalei

Much quieter here in our Hawaiian hale this afternoon. None of yesterday's drama. Just a quiet appreciation for the view from here.

Day #15, 30x30, Talk about blessings!

I'm straying again from my theme of Botanical Dreams, for good reason. This morning our family traveled to one of our favorite beaches to explore. I stopped in front of the crashing waves and offered a short prayer for the day: for protection, for grace and for generosity and walked off towards the lava rocks.

I stopped to put on my Keens, knowing the danger of lava cuts. As I bent to pull on my sandal, a man appeared and began to warn us of the 40 foot waves. My mind took in the information, but as it did, a huge wave flipped me over and dragged me out. There was nothing I could do, but shout for help.

My sister and the gentleman had to wait for the water to go out before they could reach down and pull me to safety. My next thought was for my daughter and her boyfriend who had gone on ahead. I asked the man, who appeared ocean savvy, to go with my husband and find them. Which they did.

But the story wasn't over. My leg was fairly cut up from the lava and my husband also scraped his foot, trying to help. We stopped at a local store for band-aids and Neosporin. My sister, who was still in shock from the incident (as was I) ran in without her wallet. When she got to the cash register, she discovered she'd forgotten her wallet. Another protector emerged in the Australian woman behind her in line, who simply said; "I'll get it." Amy promised to pay it forward.

After two such incidents of grace what can one do but be thankful?

Day #14, 30x30, Still Sailing

After a day trip to the south shore of Kauai to visit family (and a delicious meal from my chef cousin), I decided it was time to keep it simple on the 30x30 challenge. A night of aloha can mean a morning of, well, you know! Sometime during the evening, my cousin Mike mentioned that on a clear day, he could see to Oahu. His remark stuck in my mind and manifested in these sailboats that I remember from the Honolulu harbor.

Day #13, 30x30, Immersed in Blue

I'm fascinated by the way a location alters my approach to collage. The light, landscape and colors all change my choice of images and composition. While this is obvious for a landscape or plein air painter, because so much of my work is studio based, my recent changes in location brought this to my awareness. I began this collage sitting on the airplane, taking pages from the Hawaiian airline magazine. I ripped, folded and politely answered the unspoken question from the passenger seated next to me. A lover and collector of art, he was very understanding.

Yesterday, I made reference to days #9, #10 and #11 of the 30paintingsin30days. For my own vacation sanity, I've decided to create a new page in my portfolio just for the 30x30 challenge. You'll find them there...soon!