Reposted from @punkyaloha My OG🙌🏽She was my first brown beauty! I made her back in Feb 2018, before I started Punky Aloha. I had no idea where I was going with this, all I knew was that I was sitting in bed, thinking long and hard about wanting to see more brown women being represented in the art scene around me, and I wanted to present them in a bold, graphic, and modern way. Minimal design with bright colors to contrast their dark brown chocolatey yumminess. This was intentional so that the viewers eyes had no where to go but to gaze directly upon this fierce Polynesian “woman of culture”. . I started posting these for fun as I was navigating my first steps into freelancing, and as it would happen, these beautiful brown women really helped to take my work in a direction I could have never imagined. . . The response from other women of color was overwhelming. So many girls who looked just like me, with big messy tita buns just like me, and strong warrior thighs like mine, hugging me and telling me how much it meant to them to see themselves in visual art. Those encounters and conversations have stuck with me❤️ . Just a couple months later (because I’m insanely impulsive and slightly crazy and unrealistic) I took a chance on myself and ordered my first round of prints and applied for my first business license as Punky Aloha Studio. . . I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you! Thank you for your emotional support and for supporting my artwork...and for not unfollowing me when I post these sometimes long, odd, incoherent ramblings I throw under my images. To the men, women, and non-binary friends I have made on this wild ride: I love you! You’re beautiful! And thank you for coming along with me on this journey...let’s keep going🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾 . . . #hawaii #hawaiiart #punkyaloha #hawaiiangirl #polynesian #polynesianart #hawaiiartist #localgirl #smallbusiness #supportlocal #womenofcolor #browngirlmagic #brownskin #brownskingirls #haku #leipoo #modernart #popart #retro #midcenturymodern #freelanceartist #illustrator #illustration #illustrationartist #womenofillustration - #regrann @i_lex_project https://www.instagram.com/p/B92im-Vh66_/?igshid=1xrueyfkbswgn