Japanese Garden Painting

I am a self-taught artist who lives on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. I began painting 7 years ago following my retirement from the medical field. When painting, I feel connected to a power greater than myself. I find the world to be a beautiful place and enjoy sharing my vision of beauty and connection with others. I have always found creativity to be rewarding. Experimentation with different media has challenged me mentally and has opened my eyes and brain to infinite possibilities. Since I began 7 years ago, painting has been an essential part of my daily life The technique used for many of my paintings is called Watercolor Batik. These works are the result of my experimentation with color, shape, light and texture. I paint on rice paper, paying particular attention to patterns of light and dark. The painting is then covered with paraffin wax. After the wax is dry, the work is crumpled and more color is added. This process allows the paint to seep into the cracks after more paraffin is applied. The wax is then removed. Because some of the wax remains in the paper, the painting is very durable. The edges are deckled. The result is a richly colorful, beautifully textured painting. This technique gives a distressed, vintage feel to my work. A few months ago, in addition to watercolor batiks, I started painting with pastels, using texture, watercolor and pastel on board.