Fun in the Sun at Poipu Beach

Sometimes I like to just get SILLY!  I just finished putting together my new game, Poipu Beach Bingo!  It's meant to be funny, but can actually be played.  Joe and I have tested it out several times and it's a hoot.   You can get your own high quality print out (a downloadable PDF) of this game here:    https://www.kauai-fine-art.com/listing/512040738/beach-game-poipu-beach-bingo-poipu-beach

Hope you enjoy it and Mahalo for stopping by!!
Marionette
https://www.kauai-fine-art.com/

"Baby Beach Bungalow" Step-By-Step

A few weeks ago I received a commision painting job from Sherri. She and her husband were visiting the island of Kauai on their honeymoon (Congratulations!), and she wanted to have a painting created of the bungalow where they stayed.

She came across my website and loved the style of my Kauai Coffee Visitor Center painting and wanted something similar. After a few emails (we've never met in person), I took my camera and headed out to the famous "Baby Beach" of Kauai's south shore. I snapped several pics of the house and also a few of the beach itself (look for an upcoming painting of this one in a future post).

Well, I always wanted to capture the "steps" that I take to create an acrylic painting. So I remined myself to take a picture every so often while working on this piece. In my acrylics classes, I always stress the importance of blocking in the major colors and shapes before painting the details. This is what you see in step #1. I love the bright blue color of the sky here in Kauai!

Step #1

Next, I started to slowly develop the painting. Added a few details, but mostly working on the underpainting. Acrylic paint can be very opaque especially when mixed with titanium white. Therefore, if you make a mistake at this point, you can cover it up and keep on paintin'!

Step #2

In Step #3 I started to develop more of the house, porch and garden. I didn't like the blue color I put on the left-hand side of the house because it looked too much like sky, so I greyed it out a bit. This was challenging to get the right shade.

Step #3

Finally, I started to work more on the palm trees on the sides. I wanted to get a lot of detail in the underpainting part of the trees. Lots of details in the background without worrying about the foreground until last.

Step #4

In Step #5, I worked on more detail of the house and palm trees. I also painted the adorable coconut that was so appropriately placed near the entrance to the house!

Step #5

Drum roll please! LOL! Here's the final version of the painting! I hope Sherri likes it! I spent lots of time on the palm tree details. Whew!

Baby Beach Bungalow

11"x14" on Canvas (painted on the edges in a Gallery Wrap Style)




Baby Beach Bungalow (Detail)

Hope you have enjoyed this demo of my acrylic painting technique! I offer classes in acrylics, watercolor, silk painting, scratchboard, drawing, and soon to add a class in pastels! I teach Tuesdays through Saturdays at my Waimea studio on the island of Kauai! All materials are provided so you can drop in anytime to experience the "Creation of ART"!

Aloha,

Marionette

Website: http://www.kauai-artist.net/

Etsy Store: http://www.kauaiartist.etsy.com/ (Originals and prints)

CafePress Store: www.cafepress.com/KauaiArt (T-shirts, tiles, magnets, calendars, journals, & more!)

While Visiting Kauai, My Favorite Things

I often receive emails from visitors to Kauai looking for personal recommendations on things to do while on island. Here are some suggestions.

There is a lot of natural beauty on Kauai to explore! I recommend driving all around the island (one day the north shore, one day the south shore, and one day Waimea Canyon on the west side). By renting a car and driving around the island you will see a lot of great sights relatively inexpensively.

Here are some of my favorite things to do starting on the north shore: Ke'e beach or Tunnels beach, having lunch at Bubba's in Hanalei along with some shopping, Hanalei Bay (this is a lovely 2.5 mile crescent shaped beach with majestic mountains with waterfalls in the background - you might have to pinch yourself to believe you're not in a dream), Kilauea lighthouse and nature preserve (not open on Sundays), and Banana Joe's fruit stand.

East side: Blossoming Lotus restaurant in Kapa'a (great vegetarian food and world known), Smith's Tropical Paradise Luau in Wailua, Smith's boat tour up the Wailua river to the Fern Grotto (you will be serenaded by live Hawaiian music and hula dancers), Coconut Marketplace for shopping, Eggbert's for breakfast, and Dinner at Duke's Canoe Club restaurant at Kalapaki (great salad bar, fish, chicken and reasonably priced for an 'ocean view' restaurant).

South and west side: Poipu Beach, Lunch or dinner at Brennecke's (wonderful food, good prices, and ocean view), Spouting Horn, the "Keiki" Hula Show at the Hyatt (free, usually on Tuesday & Saturday eve, call first), Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo (best pizza I've ever had - closed on Mondays), Kukuiolono Park and Golf Course (breathtaking views of surrounding area), Kauai Coffee Visitor Center (free coffee samples of all of their varieties, self-guided tour of the coffee process, largest coffee plantation in the US - Harvesting to start in mid Sept.), Grinds restaurant in Ele'ele for breakfast, lunch or dinner (affordable), Salt Pond Beach, Waimea Canyon (all the way to the Kalalau Lookout), Waimea Plantation Cottages for lunch or dinner (brew pub and walk on their lovely grounds to the ocean), Polihale beach (bumpy road to get there and hot, but very picturesque), and of course a visit to my Waimea art studio, Painting Paradise :-)

Also, I recommend taking a boat tour to see the island from the ocean. I personally do NOT receommend a helicopter tour (there have been too many fatal crashes). The helicopter tour is nice because you get to see the whole island, but it is risky. Also, be very, very careful in the ocean. I am sick of hearing in the newspaper about people who get swept out to sea and drown. This happens all too often. Swim in protected areas, be aware of the current, and talk to a lifeguard before going in, if possible. Kauai is paradise on earth, but accidents still happen.

You can get more info about the island by reading the local newspaper: http://www.kauaiworld.com/ , or http://www.kauaipeople.com/ .

If you need to book a tour I recommend http://www.kauaivacationtours.com/
(I know the ladies who work there. Tell them Marionette sent you.)

If you want to shop for local products made on Kauai, check out the "Kauai Made" website at http://www.kauaimade.net/ . This program was created by the County of Kauai to officially represent the products made on Kauai by Kauai people, using Kauai materials.

If, after all of this, you are a little tired and sore and in need of some TLC, then I recommend Tropics Day Spa http://www.tropicsdayspa.com/ located in Port Allen.

If anyone has more suggestions of activities, sights to see, or restaurants, please list them as a "comment". I'd love to see what your favorite things to do on Kauai are!