Susan's BlogAn Artistic Interlude
I do not have time to write this weekend. I working on the cover for the novel I told you about and doing mom stuff. So I thought I would leave you with an artistic interlude. Something to entertain your senses. Trust me, you definitely do not want a musical interlude from me.  Sunny Maui | Watercolor | 30 x 11 Have a great weekend!
Susan
Today is the 5th year anniversary of the day we became an “official” forever family.
Five years ago today I was so excited and so nervous about our day in court. I had never wanted anything so much in my life. Fortunately many cool things had happened to me to date, so I knew that it was possible and that the ground wouldn’t open up and swallow us just because it was impossible to be so excited and not have some disaster befall us. However the weather was REALLY bad. Storm warnings were on TV and the radio. What if they cancelled our court date? They didn’t. We arrived early and waited. And waited. We were joined by a few close friends and social workers.
I vaguely remember him asking me why I wanted to adopt Kira. I don’t remember what I said. I don’t remember what Steve said or what Kira said. I remember he made it very clear that we were all taking on a big responsibility. I kept wanting to yell I DO, I DO!!!! I felt like the giddy excited bride in a romance movie.
Judge Browning gave Kira a stuffed Mickey Mouse as a gift.
She was thrilled. It was official! How cute is she!!!
Afterwards we celebrated over brunch with our friends. Then Kira and I braved the crazy winds to deliver adoption cupcakes to her class.
This is Kira’s room one year after she moved in. The hearts are little love notes that I would sneak into her room every night to remind her how much I love her.
Eventually we had to take them down because she was growing up and wanted to put other things up on her wall. I think the final count was 420 notes. Here it is 5 years later and although I wouldn’t have believed it possible, I love Kira more today than I did on that special day. We have had ups and downs (way more ups) and a lot of adventures. We’ve learned what it means to be a family. Trust was an important issue. We all had to prove ourselves. Now we know for sure that we are a forever family and we definitely have each others backs.
Thank you again Linda for making our family possible. Thank you Judge Browning for making the day even more memorable than it would have been. Thank you to all of our social workers… Sherri (thank you for finding my angel), Helena (thank you for being there for us whenever we needed you), Nancy, Dana (wish you were there) and our dear friends, Karen, Lorna and Gay. Thank you all for everything! You are all in our hearts. Being part of a family, our family is a very cool thing. Susan INAUSPICIOUSI have been asked to create a painting for the cover of a novel by an incredible new author. Her name is Renee L.K. Eastabrooks and the book is called “INAUSPICIOUS”. It is anything but inauspicious. It is powerful, gripping, thoughtful and almost impossible (a girl has got to eat, sleep & blog) to put down. I am thrilled to be asked and just a bit nervous about creating something worthy of this book.
I know it will end up as a movie that will be as incredible as Slumdog and Deepa Mehta’s films
(Fire, Earth & Water). Renee is a very gifted writer with a unique voice.
I think she will be posting the first chapter of “INAUSPICIOUS” on her blog pretty soon. I’ll let you know.
I’ve been dreaming about the story, which is a good sign.
I’m off to paint. I’ll keep you posted.
Susan
A Beautiful Hawaiian Day 2(Make sure you read ABHD Part 1 below or you won’t know what I am talking about.)
First I needed models. The story was about a young Hawaiian boy and girl.
I called several elementary schools and finally spoke to Sheana who had a daughter and nephew that sounded like they would be great. We met, and Jeremy & Kekamalai were perfect! I’ve been looking everywhere for a photo of them and when I find one I will post it. They were very patient models (although not excited about the part where they had to hold hands).
Meanwhile, Steve flew to the Big Island, where the story took place. He scouted all the locations and came back with stunning photographs. We had been to the Big Island several times, but I needed specific views of these magical locations. I guess I can add Photographer to his list of credits.
Then I got busy. Kira wasn’t with us yet, so I painted like a madwoman. It was fun… in a scary can’t-make-a-mistake kind of way. As you may know, watercolors are not very forgiving, so I didn’t have time for mistakes.
I started with the cover image and everything else started to fall into place.
 It was a fabulous experience! The book even won a couple of awards. I loved seeing it on the bookshelves in stores and even in Costco! You know you’ve made it when Costco carries your work! :0) Thank you Henry (you MUST check out his music @ www.henrykapono.com) for writing a great story and hanging with me during the book signings. Thank you Kekamalai & Jeremy! And as always thanks to my incredible husband, who makes everything I do (and want to do) possible. Please check out the page on my website to see all of the paintings. Aloha, Susan A Beautiful Hawaiian Day Lately there has been a lot of renewed interest in the book I illustrated called“A Beautiful Hawaiian Day”.
Let me tell you how that came about.
Many moons ago, I did a painting of a little girl on Lanikai Beach.
“Lanikai Afternoon”
Watercolor on Paper
22″x30″
That painting touched a lot of people. It was one of my first giclees and it sold very well.
That was really exciting! I loved the sweetness of this little girl all by herself on the beach.
I was thrilled that other people liked it too.
I must confess that as an artist, I am a teeny bit insecure (ssshh – don’t tell anyone).
I love the paintings that I create. I love the process. I love the suspense of watching the paintings evolve and when I am finished, they are like my kids. I am tickled that I can look at them and think “I did that”. Who knew! But the even more amazing thing is that other people really like them!
I know that I am not a middle of the road type of artist. My work isn’t generic. I know my colors won’t appeal to everyone. However, they make me really happy. Over the years I’ve been told that if I were to just tone down this or be a little more subtle about that, I might sell more. Possibly. But then I wouldn’t want to paint them. One of my first art teachers told me that I had to “take it easy with the color”. I hate to sound like a stubborn brat, but I just don’t want to.
(Sorry, I have digressed a bit)
So….
For several years I used the painting of the little girl on my business card.
My husband, Steve (aforementioned Webmaster, BT) who also happens to be a brilliant editor, Apple trainer and all around computer Guru was working on a project with the fantastic singer and songwriter Henry Kapono.
If you aren’t familiar with Henry’s work, please check him out at http://henrykapono.com
I asked Steve to ask Henry if he would like to collaborate on a children’s book. Steve gave Henry my card. Henry was touched by the image of the little girl on the beach. Not long after that, he came up with the story for “A Beautiful Hawaiian Day” which begins with a girl picking up a magic shell on a beach.
Because of Henry’s incredible reputation, we found a publisher immediately. That is when we discovered that if we wanted the book to be ready to hit the shelves by that Christmas, I had to create 14 paintings in 5 weeks. Gasp. Now I can be as obsessive compulsive as the next person, but 5 weeks?!!!!
I did it! Stay tuned for how it happened….
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When we finally went in, Judge Mark Browning did everything he could to make us feel comfortable.
Steve also looked pretty giddy.
