Only Now
My mother died a year ago. In the haze of dealing with the suddenness of it, the grief, and arranging the funeral logistics, Mother’s Day passed by blindly. A few months later, a friend‘s husband also died quite unexpectedly. This really shook up me and my daughters, as my husband—their father—is a few years older than he was. After the initial shock from these two events, we subtly transformed…
Painting by Candlelight
The recent Kona storms knocked out power across Hawai‘i. Happily, painting requires no electricity. So I spent those days working on several in-progress hand-colored pieces. The stillness of the night, the darkness outside, and the complete silence created a kind of cocoon…
Onto A New Horizon
I have done a lot of quiet reflecting this holiday season. Unlike the past few years—during which life flew by in a numbing haze of too much work and no play—so much changed this year. Aside from momentous world events, a lot happened to me personally in 2025—some good and some not so good…
Two Little Artworks
Years ago, I bought two small gyotaku prints from fisherman and artist Jim Roberts at an outdoor art fair somewhere along the southeast coast. One is of a pair of pink shrimp and the other a blue crab. Both are matted and set in small gold leaf-painted wooden frames. I adore these pieces. They are hanging…
Inspired by Hawai‘i’s Rugged Beauty
The day after I wrote my first blog, I took a stroll along the docks in my backyard and saw an incredible double rainbow reflecting pristinely in the still water. Halting in my tracks, my first reaction was speechless awe at the splendor of the scene. This was immediately followed by…
Welcome to Hibiscus Studio!
Welcome to Hibiscus Studio! The mission of my work, my website, and this blog is to bring joy and comfort to people from all walks of life through the otherworldly beauty of my hand-painted photoart and the stories behind the art. How did I decide on the name? Several things contributed to this decision. When I got married…