Sharika Roland

My friend Susan Cowan took the shots of Bailey. Without her I got nothing. Without Bailey I got nothing. And nothing is what would be created to reflect Kauai. But I was fortunate to get everything immediately. Everything from finding her in the first place to taking the great shots to her coming with three outfits, to her being a dancer and just flowing with every move, to the rain that stopped pouring down about 30 minutes before she came and then started after she left again. and the sun that came out and shone on her face and the plants that glistened from the rain . And the fact that we were staying in a super luxurious resort with about 10 different locations to shoot from without going anywhere. So everything just happened as though it was meant to be. That is why I stared at the photos for one month, I could not believe it all happened the way it did. Can you believe it.

And something else, I have to support my family on art for six months which my husband goes to school. I needed this to get a whole body of work to make it work. But something tells me it will be ok.

I went to Hawaii to find a new way to depict the Islands. My gallery in Seattle is opening one in Maui and I needed to actually go there to find a muse.

Even though I was at an artworkshop I could not really paint anything but what I came for and I did not know what it would be.

I did not even know where to focus because it might be a color or a line or something I could only sense.

So basically I was walking around looking and breathing in what I saw and looking for it . I had to find it . The thing that would tell me what I would do. I am so grateful that another person at the workshop was not painting and she and I went for a drive to find something.

Well I did find something maybe 20 minutes into looking. A woman was working at an antique store and her face was what I was looking for. She was the feeling that matched Kauai. Lush Beautiful Romantic Dewy and super feminine.

So I asked her 10 seconds after looking at her if I could hire her to pose for me to paint my show.

She said yes and it turned out she was a professional model. Well she also is a dancer so that was a major plus.

Bailey came out to our resort and posed for one hour while my darling National Geographic Photographer Quality photographer dear friend took 1200 shots. Basically everything Bailey did every second she was with us was gorgeous. She moved with such grace that it was pretty exciting.

so I came home and looked at those pictures for one month till I absorbed what  I needed. And here is the first one.

what a gift to have found this unbelievably  beautiful woman where I did.

Now it has been a month since boarding the plane home.
The red eye we caught was full of people leaving Paradise.
I was imagining what they were feeling sitting in the waiting room to take them to their other lives. the lives that happened before.
My brother was texting me advice to not get on the plane. He said just run away from the plane that takes you away from the beautiful.
He was right.
Everyone at the gate was sitting there with this dazed look on their face. It was as though they had just come from the beach 10 seconds before finding their bodies suddenly sitting in an airport gate. . They had sand in their hair. Everyone was brown and rosy and full of the sun. and the moon. and the stars.

Now I am painting a show to bring all that experience to people that might not have been or who are waiting patiently to go back.
The warm breeze filled with flower ripe mangosteens and salty sun takes your mind to another space.
How do I convey that. on canvas with ink that has been my friend for a long time.
I need the ink to flow under and around the warm air. I want to feel it again.

So the show is Thursday and I am all ready. I usually get all nervous about it and even get sick to my stomach.

You would think that after 13 years of doing a show I would be a pro but I guess I not. What is it that is nerve racking about the actual show ??

It is not what you would think. I hope a make a lot of sales and what if nobody buys any. NO that is not it.

and it is not that I am shy. Lord knows that is not the case.

Its the small talk. Just once i wish someone would come up to me and say. “Your work speaks to me.” that is the best thing to hear. That is why I am doing it. And if someone is drawn to it I want to hear why. That is infinitely interesting to me. Sometimes it is hard to talk about why you are drawn to something because sometimes you don’t know. I would like to hear” I love how the paintings leaves room for me to fill in my own story, or I miss the image when I look away. ” something real. That would make me love openings because I am really interested in you and would love to know you too. Art is all about communication and it is not just one person talking. It is not about me it is about me and you. And I bet you that every artist in the universe is thinking the same thing.