The Makua Mermaid~

A Psychedelic Mermaid showed up at Makua!  I made sure that I photographed her ;)

Prints available for purchase here: http://www.fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-green-psychedelic-makua-mermaid-erika-swartzkopf.html

and another color, buy prints here: http://www.fineartamerica.com/featured/psychedelic-makua-mermaid-erika-swartzkopf.html

Makua Campout 2011

Joe and I set out to go, car all packed with tent and sleeping bags, cooler filled with drinks and food and Joe's surfboard (ya never know if there's gonna be surf!)

The valley was SO green when we got there from recent, heavy rains, it seemed like wintertime 

Pretty soon the gang got there and started to play music and get settled and put up tents.

Cocktail time!

 The big picture!
then
sunset!

Fortunately, someone left us some wood! (and others in our group brought some, too).

And Darryl and Malia's dog, Woof had fun looking for little crabs in the sand~

Great place to have a birthday!

A fabulous sunset, I like how the red reflects on the sand.

 Joe put together a crew that started the fire.

 SUCH a big moon, almost full and you could see many, many stars, too.

 So much awesome music was played: Scarlett Begonias/Fire on the Mountain, Dear Prudence, Dark Star, Wish you Were Here and the list goes on... five guitars, harmonica, cello, sitar, celtic harp, drums and ukulele were played and people were still playing as the sun came up!

Not your typical fireside instruments, but my friends are classy that way~

 About 60 people made it out this year, not every one stayed over but lots of people showed for the group shot the next morning~ The 2011 Erika and Cynthia's Birthday Makua official group shot. I couldn't have asked for better friends than these!

The ocean was so crisp and clear the next am. We saw dolphins from a distance but they left when a boat showed up, so we weren't able to swim with them this time - next year!

Til next year! (or maybe before that, hmmmmm)

Pakele Live at the Willows Restaurant~

So, before we head out to Makua for the weekend campout, Joe and I treated ourselves to some Hawaiian music at Pakele Live at the Willows restaurant to see the Kalama brothers play. They were awesome! I especially loved their "Oahu" song. We didn't take any pics of the band because they were filming it and we didn't want to disturb the filming with camera flashes. For those of you that don't know, the Willows has been around since the 1940s and has waterfall, bridges and a beautifully landscaped grounds - hard to believe it's actually in a heavily-populated neighborhood!

There is a stream that flows right throught the restaurant and a huge tree that grows in the middle of it.

One of the tables is actually on a "boat"!

And of course there are waterfalls

 The food was outstanding, everyone especially loved the Lup Cheong fried rice, so ono (yummy)!

One last waterfall before we went home!



Five Abstracts and a story~

Print available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/makua-bonfire-2010-erika-swartzkopf.html?newartwork=true

I'm very excited! This weekend, hubby and I are going on a beach camping trip to Makua beach. The beach is on the less-populated, west side of the island of Oahu, very different from heavy-populated East Oahu, where we live and the views are absolutely stunning! It's great to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and if we're lucky, wild dolphins will come out in the morning and swim with us. One year they swam less than 25 yards from the beach!  We've been camping out at this specific beach for my birthday for over 15 years now. The most memorable campout has to be my 30th birthday, when over 100 people showed up to celebrate with me - what joy to call all of those people my friends! I hope to take lots of photos this year and share them with new and old blog and Facebook friends. We're hoping for good weather but will go in any case (weather in Hawaii is never too bad, lol).  This year friends from the mainland and from an outer island are flying in for the celebration, too. We usually have a bonfire after sunset and a native-American sweat lodge (that my friend builds out of tarps and hot rocks from the fire) for people to sweat it out and jump in the ocean afterwards. Sometimes we make s'mores, and there is always music: guitars, sitar, celtic harp and cello and I tootle along on my harmonica while watching the crackling campfire and drinking champagne and looking at all the brilliant stars in the sky. Stay tuned for pictures and a run-down on what happened this year!

______________________

Below are five of my pure abstract paintings. The color reflects the bright colors of the islands and the large dose of pure sunshine that we get in Hawaii every day. Hope you enjoy them! The originals are available as well as prints. Contact me here if you want to buy an original: swartzkopf@yahoo.com

 Aloha~

 An abstact take on an abstract pineapple, called "Psychedelic Pineapple". Buy a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/psychedelic-pineapple-erika-swartzkopf.html

 This one is called "Flowerfall", kinda a cross between a waterfall and a flower. Prints available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-flowerfall-erika-swartzkopf.html

 The one above is called "Rainbow Spirals", I like how the composition has so much movement in it. Buy a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/rainbow-spirals-erika-swartzkopf.html

The painting above is called "Underwater Space Flowers". The flowers seem to take on sea creature forms, swimming around under the ocean with vibrant colors. Buy a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-underwater-space-flowers-erika-swartzkopf.html

The last one (above) is a painting called "Luscious Eyes", inspired by my cat's big, beautiful, feline eyes. It's an abstract take on cats' eyes and looks like a mask to me.

Buy a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/2-luscious-eyes-erika-swartzkopf.html

Beach Textures

 "Ocean Trip"

After my daily post-work swim at the beach near my house, I often like to take photos of beach textures and digitally enhance them to sell as prints and to just enjoy! The textures really lend themselves to abstract art and it allows me to see ordinary things in a new and different way. Buy prints here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/ocean-trip-erika-swartzkopf.html

 This one above is called "Beach Collage", it's my favorite because it really becomes another entity when the colors are changes. Prints available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/beach-collage-erika-swartzkopf.html

This one is called "Natatorium View" and prints are available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/natatorium-view-erika-swartzkopf.html

A Conversation~

"It's impossible", said Pride

"It's Risky", said Experience

"It's Pointless", said Reason

"Give it a try", whispered the Heart

"Please!", cried the Soul

*And then the Heart learned (again) that Reason, Pride and Experience are quite often right. But the Heart, she never listens and is often done broke* 

"Forge Ahead", said the Spirit

"Listen to the Heart", said Intuition, "It never lies!"

"Don't Look Back", said Wisdom

"Try it, you got nothin' to lose", said Inspiration

"And always do it with the best of intentions", said Aloha

Pink Psychedelic Waterfalls in Hana, Maui

 A waterfall in Hana, Maui that we visited last year on the isle of Maui. Hana is so incredibly beautiful, it's a really windy road and you have to pull over and stop every ten minutes and check out all the many waterfalls. I recently turned this one into two digital art prints and am selling prints of it here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/hana-waterfall-explosion-erika-swartzkopf.html  I like how many colors are in the leaves and the water and how it makes it look magical.  I think it would look really COOL as a large print, you can order as big as 22.5" x 30"~ Aloha!

Buy a print here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/pink-hana-waterfall-trip-erika-swartzkopf.html?newartwork=true