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| A glimpse into the life and thoughts of an artist
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Here is a quick riddle for you.... What do the following items have in common: fresh-baked bread, vine-ripened tomatoes, current fashion trends, and watercolor paper? Think about this and see if you come up with the answer provided later in this eZine.
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Hitting a Home Run
We would all like to hit a home run every time we step up to the plate; statistics tell us this is not possible. That doesn't mean we stop trying. Sometimes it is the elusiveness of the home run that keeps us trying.
The home run referred to is a metaphor for any challenge or goal we seek to achieve.
Every time I start a new painting, I do so with an eye on the prize. I trust. I have faith. I hope for a beautiful painting at the end of the day.
I know that the more paintings I create, the more I increase my chances of achieving a beautiful painting.
Something new is learned with each new painting. Sometimes it is a little thing, like seeing what happens when a rich dark purple is put next to a luscious yellow orange.
Other times
it is something bigger.
My painting Reaching Consensus (above) taught me that
when we merge our differences we can reach a whole new level, or consensus, of
thought. Maybe it isn't the home runs we seek. Maybe it is the unknowns in life, the small discoveries that keep life fresh, that we desire.
When we are young, there is so much to learn, so much to see, so much to do. Each new day is filled with possibility and potential.
The trick then, is to keep the feeling of excitement alive when faced with a challenge, an opportunity, or even with a blank piece of paper.
What secrets are waiting to be discovered? Even little revelations can have large ramifications; but until we seek them, they will not be found.
Trust the process of discovery, relax, and PLAY.
Remember a joyful, playful attitude often accompanies discovery.
Ask yourself one question: "How can this be more fun?" Then stay open to receive an answer.
Sometimes making things more fun means increasing the challenge. It's true. When things have become too easy, boredom follows.Where can you insert play in your life? Where could you use a bit of a challenge? What discoveries are awaiting a new, more engaged, and more playful you? The answer to the riddle: each one of these exquisite items (homemade bread, vine-ripened tomatoes, current fashion trends, and watercolor paper) along with everything else, including us, has an expiration date.
Let's not wait until our very last day
to play, or to use the gifts we have been given. Even watercolor paper can get moldy; use it now, go paint!
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Mahalo!
   Mahalo to my very special "anonymous" fans who took the time to take a photo of themselves along side Mango Mania at the California Watercolor Association exhibit. **********Mahalo for reading this eZine and for staying in touch. Thank you for sharing it with your friends by clicking on the forward button at the bottom. Please remember to share it on facebook and twitter too (the icons make it easy).
A Hui Hou, 
PS Please friend me on facebook www.facebook.com/ArtOfAloha look for Art of Aloha on facebook to become my online fan!
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Order your 11"x14" matted print of Reaching Consensus here for $35 (shipping included) 
"All life is an
experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson |
 Born in Port Washington, WI and educated at the University of Wisconsin/Madison, Patrice Federspiel first visited Hawai'i in January 2000. Within five months she had found a way to quit her job, sell her home, and move to Hawai'i to paint.
Previously an oil painter, Patrice learned the joys of watercolor upon her arrival in Honolulu in June 2000. She has been painting full time ever since. It is her intention to live her "Real Life" creatively, from the inside out; and to inspire others, through her paintings, art lessons, words, and example, to do the same.
"I paint with passion, live without regrets, and move joyfully forward through life." -Patrice Federspiel
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 Patrice Federspiel
PO Box 61707
Honolulu, Hawaii 96839
(808) 392-9104
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