The sun is comin’ up. I was up to watch it rise yesterday, so I have officially seen a full…

The worst part about being in NY is being far from home and my family. The best part is realizing…

Feelin’ like a mini Hokusai, catching the Empire State building from all it’s angles. Hopefully I get 36 good ones…

The view out the window before I went to bed at 6:00AM this morning.

A good friend told me today, “May the 4th be with you.” As ridiculous as that sounds its so true….

May 1st, May Day is “Lei Day” in Hawaii.  We celebrate with the giving of a lei, representing friendship, love or “just because.”  Today, May Day in NYC meant a strike by the #OWS movement–the 99%. This caused quite the commotion in Union Square and followed me all the way home tonight when I got off the subway downtown. Where is the year going? Two weeks and school’s out–yay for May!

My last weekend of April, told through buildings. With buildings this high, I’m always small in this city.

Everyone needs a moment to hit the pause button on life. I had mine today, for all of 5 minutes?…

As we say in Hawaii, “She get em.” Guess who received her first piece of original art today…Amanda Joy, gosh I love this girl. An abstracted woodcut landscape of our home, Maui. Look closely and you can see the pineapple fields, the mountains, the rising sun, and even the HC&S Sugar Mill smoke stack that daily cuts through the island’s horizontal landscape.

Maui is a place I know we both hold near and dear to our hearts, as we study on the east coast.  There is so much to recognize about our home (besides the deliciousness of Tom’s Mini Mart chili dogs) and how it has affected us as growing artists. We were warmly embraced by our high school art community (aka Flat Sato), that continues as the bond that holds us together today. Amanda, I hope you know that even though you have been away for so long, in my mind, you’re always that monkey in the “HAPA” shirt, drawing with the pen and ink in her sketchbook, who can return at anytime because let’s face it, you’re naturally tan and no one will even know you were away. Maui misses you, but now, you have a piece that will be a reminder to look at everyday.

So many creatures, where’s the ocean? | Chinatown, New York City

Triple sharing this photo today.  First taken for Coast to Coast, shared via my Instagram, and now posted here. Looking south towards the new World Trade Center in the making, also very close to where I live now and my new home for next year. All I do is school, but I’m glad that doesn’t stop me from capturing moments to share from my busy day.

One, two, three, it’s still April twenty-three in Hawaii. // at 23rd Street 6 Train Station