Ke Ola Magazine

Ke Ola Magazine Hawaii, Mar-Apr 2014

Long time Hawai’i Island residents Patricia and Dux Missler opened Lavender Mood Gallery in December of 1999. The gallery is located in the quaint upcountry village of Kainaliu, just seven miles south of Kailua-Kona. It offers a unique collection of original fine art, exquisite one-of-a-kind jewelry and gracious island accents.

Dux, a San Diego native, originally journeyed to Maui in 1969 to pick pineapples as a summer job and ended up living five years at what he calls “a garden of Eden” in Hāna.

Patricia grew up in South Texas and moved to Kailua-Kona in 1983. She cites her early years as being pivotal in her life’s evolution into the realm of art. From her parents’ innate artistic tendencies, to her own natural sense of design, style, and creativity, Patricia has emerged a successful artist. She has managed to mix her love of all things beautiful, colorful, and artistic with her abilities to reach out to others. This combination has resulted in creating paintings that evoke emotional responses in the viewers.

Both continue to display their own artwork along with other well-know Hawai’i Island artists at the gallery.

Patricia has been instrumental in the day-to-day managing of the gallery. Her taste in jewelry selections for the gallery is legendary. A devoted following stops by the gallery to see the latest jewelry from Hawai’i and around the world.

Patricia is currently exhibiting her latest collection of large abstract paintings.

Also highlighted is her new book, Pink Elephants and Chocolate Éclairs: Memoir of a Border Town Chica (girl). A colorful memoir of a young girl growing up in a South Texas border town transcends the stereotype of the Mexican-American experience and tells a poignant story of a loving family and a rich culture.

Signed copies are available at the gallery.

Patricia’s abstract painting, “Into the Heart” was used as the background for the book jacket design.