Mele Kalikimaka

Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe, Healthy, & Happy New Year!
Mahalo Nui Loa!

Mele Kalikimaka,

Marionette

Winter Fine Art Festival at NTBG

National Tropical Botanical Garden and Women Artists of Kauai Winter Fine Art Festival, Saturday, December 19, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Southshore Visitors Center Meadow

Visit the Gardens during December’s ‘Ohana Day and be treated to a unique display and sale of one of a kind, gallery quality art pieces, reproductions, gift items and ornaments created by some of Kauai’s most talented fine artists. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit NTBG.

This fun, family event will also feature live music by guitarist, Dr. Matthew Miller, harpist, Anela, and blues musician, Blue Dux. Savage Shrimp and Pohaku Shave Ice will be selling their tasty treats, and NTBG’s volunteer craft group, Oshibana, will be offering their hand-crafted products for purchase.

A Toys for Tots drop off box, provided by the Women Artists of Kauai, will be available under the tents. Bring a brand new, unwrapped toy, and the first twenty donations will receive a special “Holiday Mahalo Gift” from the artists.

Participating artists include Helen Turner, Rocky Riedel, Dava Shepherd, Aweepano Vivian Satow, Robin McCoy, Marionette, Anna Skaradzinska, Schar Freeman, Emily Miller, Lilian de Mello, Patrice Pendarvis, Jana Viles, and Leslie Tribolet.

Admission to the event is free. Please park in the Visitors Center parking lot. The festival will be located on the front lawn immediately to the left (west) of the main entrance gate. NTBG’s Southshore Visitors Center is located across from Spouting Horn in Poipu, at 4425 Lawai Road.

For more information contact the National Tropical Botanical Garden Shouthshore Visitors Center at (808)742-2433. Visit their websites www.womenartistsofkauai.org and www.ntbg.org .

Holiday Fine Art Festival and Fundraiser

Women Artists of Kauai Holiday Fine Art Festival and Fundraiser, Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hanapepe United Church of Christ

Celebrate the beginning of the holiday season with a Fine Art Festival and Fundraiser for Nana's House featuring the Women Artists of Kauai. Highlights of the festival include live Hawaiian style music by Kenny Kealoulu Keliihoomalu, painting demonstrations, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, reproductions, gift items, and ornaments. We will also have Face Painting by Aunty Steph! A portion of the proceeds will go directly to Nana's House which is a family support center provided by Child and Family Service, serving West Kauai.

Participating artists include Robin McCoy, Rocky Riedel, Aweepano Vivian Satow, Dava Shepherd, Anna Skaradzinska, Helen Turner, Jana Viles, Schar Freeman, and Marionette. Gallery quality work will be available for sale in a variety of styles and mediums including paintings, photography, jewelry, glass, clay, mixed media and more.

Admission to this fun, family event is free. The festival will be located at the Hanapepe United Church of Christ Fellowship Hall which is right next to the Hanapepe library and across the main highway from the Hanapepe fire station.

For more information contact Marionette at 808.631.9173 or visit the Women Artists of Kauai website.

Silk Painting Class

On Saturday, October 31, 2009, I had the most enjoyable silk painting class! Above are photos of my students' creations (mine is the koi painting). Enjoy their step-by-step progress! If you are visiting Kauai and would like to take a silk painting class, please check out my schedule at www.kauaiartclasses.blogspot.com .

Aloha,
Marionette

Celebrate International Artist Day

October 25th is "International Artist Day" and to celebrate, I am having a 20% off sale at my ArtFire shop now through October 25, 2009. You don't need to be a registered member to purchase anything. My 5x7 prints are on sale for $8 each (regularly $10) and my 8x10 prints are on sale for $14.40 each (regularly $18). There are 29 paintings to choose from!

Aloha and Have a Warm and Sunny Day!
Marionette

Facebook Art Competition Entries

Feeding Time Original Watercolor with Pen & Ink

Autumn in Paradise Original Watercolor with Pen & Ink

I was recently invited to participate in The First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge and Competition on Facebook by my good friend and amazing artist, Jean Levert Hood. I knew this would be a challenge for me since we don't really have an "Autumn" here on Kauai. So, I decided to interpret this challenge in my own way. I painted "Feeding Time" using fall colors like yellow, orange, and violet, and "Autumn in Paradise" is my version of a quaint little beach cottage that one may visit during the fall months. We do have pumpkins here on Kauai and plenty of chickens!

More about this event: We invite you to enter the excitement and the artistic adventure of October's autumn season of colors. Art works may be representational, impressionistic or abstract. Capture your chosen subject with the media of your choice.

All paintings MUST BE NEW & ORIGINAL WORKS of ART painted during the month of October, 2009. They also must be created without the aid of a teacher and not done in a workshop or any usage of someone else's photographs or magazine/book photographs. They must be totally of your own idea & concept from beginning to completion.

You will have till October 31st to post your entries, although you may post each piece as completed throughout the month. ONLY three (3) submissions per artist.

It's totally free to enter and they have some fabulous prizes lined up. You do need to be on Facebook in order to participate. You can find me on Facebook at http://artist.to/Marionette .

Happy Autumn and Happy Painting,
Marionette

One Hour Pastel Demonstration

Aloha! This is a little painting demo that I would like to share from my September newsletter.
This painting of my secret fishing spot on Kauai was done using one of my reference photos, and it took me roughly an hour to create once I had my supplies set up. Speaking of supplies, this is what I recommend: Pastels - I suggest using the highest quality (meaning highest priced) soft pastels that you can afford. I used Rembrandt pastels in this demo, but I also often use the lesser expensive Faber-Castell brand. Paper - I use a hard-to-find Hahnemuhle velour paper because I love the soft/fuzzy texture that allows multiple layers of pastel. The final painting will be a little fuzzy, but I like this effect! Soft Pastel Pencils - I use Gioconda pencils for fine details as well as a very soft (6B) charcoal pencil.


Next, I cut and tape my paper down to a masonite board using masking tape and overlap the edges of the paper by about 1/4". I then study my photo and start picking out my main colors and place them on a plate or container for easy access, and I am ready to start my next work of art!


I paint with my pastels very similar to how I paint with acrylics. Since they are opaque and take layering very well, I start by blocking in the main areas of the painting with the desired color. I don't worry about details at all in this stage. I just want to get the main design of the painting worked out. Once this is done, I can start layering in more of the details.

As the painting comes closer to being complete, I get out the pencils and add the final details. Next, I add my signature and then a few light coats of a fixative spray and I'm all PAU (means finished in Hawaiian)! Hope you have enjoyed this demo.

Prints (5"x7") of this painting can be purchased online at my Etsy Gallery for $10 each plus s/h. If you are interested in purchasing the original painting, please call me at (808) 631-9173 or send an Email to Marionette@kauai-artist.net.

Two More Calendar Choices!

I just updated my CafePress Art Gallery with two more 2010 calendars filled with my original art!
Please visit my Kauai Art Gallery at http://www.cafepress.com/KauaiArt.

Aloha,
Marionette

Landscapes of Kauai - 2010 Wall Calendar

I just finished putting together my new 2010 Wall Calendar featuring twelve of my landscape paintings of Kauai! Watercolor, acrylic, and pastel mediums were all used for this calendar. I hope you enjoy these scenic views of my home island! Here's a sneak peak of a few pages:


This calendar is available at my CafePress shop for $19.99. They make great gifts for those who love and dream of Kauai.

My high-quality calendar is printed on thick 100lb cover weight paper and adds impact to any room.

• Each page measures 11" x 8.5"
• Measures 11" x 17" when hung on wall
• Full bleed dynamic color
• 100 lb cover weight high gloss paper, wire-o bound
• January 2010 - December 2010, 2011 preview, US holidays marked

www.cafepress.com/KauaiArt

Help me Help Hawaii's Libraries

During the month of September 2009, I will be donating 20% of my sales on Etsy to "Friends of the Library of Hawaii". Due to lack of funding, many of Hawaii's libraries are in danger of closing up. For more info, please visit http://www.friendsofthelibraryofhawaii.org/ . So far I've raised $16.80!

Mahalo & Aloha,
Marionette
www.kauai-artist.net

2009 Kauai County Farm Fair

Last week we enjoyed the 2009 Kauai Farm Fair! My favorite things were the petting zoo (of course), the pony rides, the orchid show, the prizes for fruits and vegetables, the games, and (last but not least) the food! It's a small fair, but always a good time for all! Please enjoy these two videos. The first one is my "virtual" petting zoo from me to you. The second video highlights some of the more exotic fruits and veggies of Kauai. Enjoy and have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Breadfruit

If you have visited Hawaii before, you may recall seeing these green soccer-ball-like fruits hanging from the trees. They are called breadfruit, but in Hawaiian they are referred to as 'ulu. With a breadfruit tree growing in our backyard, we are fortunate to enjoy this delicacy whenever it gets ripe.

There are many ways to cook a breadfruit. When peeled it can be boiled like a potato, microwaved, baked, broiled or even thrown on top of an open fire! One of our favorite ways to prepare breadfruit is to boil it and then drizzle a little oil and shoyu (soy sauce). If you like a little kick, add a few drops of tabasco. Another way to prepare 'ulu is featured in the following step-by-step video below that we put together. This 'ulu and bacalao (salted cod fish) salad recipe is commonly cooked by those descended from the Puerto Rican immigrants that live in Hawaii. He learned this recipe from his mother and often cooks this for family parties.

For more info on breadfruit, there is a great article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit and one more specifically on 'ulu in Hawaii: http://www.canoeplants.com/ulu.html .

I hope you have enjoyed this article and can cook up some of your own breadfruit recipes some day!

Aloha,
Marionette
www.kauai-artist.net

Silk Painting Techniques

Silk Painting Techniques

A Silk Painting Tutorial from my August 2009 Newsletter

Silk Painting is definitely one of my favorite classes to teach. It's really easy to do once you know a little about the necessary materials and techniques. It's also a lot of fun!

First, the silk fabric (8mm Habotai China silk scarves with hemmed edges) needs to be stretched on a frame before painting. I use heavy duty stretcher bars that are a little larger than the silk I am stretching and attach the silk with push pins. There are a variety of stretching techniques out there, so you'll just need to find one that works for you.

Once the fabric is taut (like a drum) then slip your design underneath the fabric on top of some magazines so that it is resting against the silk fabric. Using a vanishing fabric marker (often used in quilting), trace your design directly onto the silk.

Next, comes the application of the resist. The resist is essential to "fence in" your design so that the paint doesn't flow outside. It is often referred to as the "Serti Technique" in many silk painting books. There are many resists out there for silk painting, but I prefer to use a thick fabric paint made by Scribbles. The paint is applied directly using a small tip to achieve nice lines. Dry thoroughly with a hair drier before proceeding.

The silk paints I use are made by Dye-Na-Flow and they are wonderful! They are heat set by using an iron once the painting is complete (with silk dyes one has to steam set the paint). I use old watercolor or sumi-e brushes to apply the paint and blend and layer much like watercolor painting.

Once the paint is dry in my main design, I then wet the entire background with water and apply the paint (two or three colors) in an abstract way creating designs, patterns and drips. Next, I use my "secret weapon" to create even more interesting designs - Hawaiian salt. Although, any coarse salt will do including kosher or rock salt. Next, just kick back, relax with a cup of coffee, and wait for the background to dry naturally so the salt has a chance to work it's magic! The salt makes really wonderful designs by attracting or pulling the pigment in the paint across the wet silk.

Next, dry your creation and remove it from the frame. Brush off any extra salt, rinse it in cold water and let the painting dry. To set the paint, just iron on the back with a medium heat iron.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. To get some real hands on experience in silk painting, feel free to sign up for a class or two at Painting Paradise!

An Art Video

Just Listed - Two New Original Watercolors

Pink and Red Hibiscus Original Watercolor with Pen and Ink Painting

Cute Cottage Original Watercolor with Pen and Ink Painting

For more Original Art from Kauai, please visit my Etsy Shop at
www.kauaiartist.etsy.com!

Aloha and Have a Warm and Sunny Day,
Marionette

Watercolors at Lawai Beach Resort

I just started teaching watercolors at Lawai Beach Resort, an amazing tropical location! If you would like more info, please visit: www.kauaiartclasses.blogspot.com. Aloha!

It's Kauai Coffee Time!

My first painting I did for Kauai Coffee of their lovely Visitor Center.

You can buy a print at my Etsy Shop www.kauaiartist.etsy.com

This year they used my Visitor Center image to commemorate it's 10th anniversary on their burlap bag and t-shirts!

Here's my hubby driving the "cherry truck" during the coffee harvest. This year's harvest will likely start sometime in September.

One of Kauai's roosters taking a stroll through the coffee plantation. I can smell the coffee roasting!

Here are some random tourists learning about the coffee harvester machine. They are actually modified blueberry pickers. I bet you didn't know that!

Here are some items from CafePress that you can purchase with the Kauai Coffee Visitor Center image on them: (magnets, t-shirts, journals, tiles, aprons, and tote bags).

Aloha from Kauai and Have a Nice Warm Cup of Kauai Coffee!
Marionette