Hi!

I'm an artist and photographer hailing from the Philippines and living in greater Los Angeles. I love making a variety of arts from drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and other crafts. I'm constantly learning and trying to improve my craft and myself as a person from new experiences.

Since July 2015, I have been traveling through North America and Europe. It has been absolutely FANTASTIC. I've been to 17 US states and 22 countries so far and would love to keep going! I've met so many cool people through traveling and by staying at youth hostels, and now I'm branching out to Couchsurfing.

Sometimes I feel that my photographs can describe me better than words. If you'd like to know more about me and my adventures, here's my travel journal and photography blog: www.kimmicranes.com

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've heard great things about Couchsurfing from friends and other travelers. I am excited to meet other surfers to share our stories, food, languages and culture with each other. It's been a great platform to meet other like-minded people and build a community of travelers, artists and friends anywhere in the world. It's awesome!

Interests

I love to explore outdoors and photograph everything in sight. I walk a lot, constantly getting lost in new cities and enjoying every minute of it. I do a lot of outdoor activities like hiking and camping. I feel at home in the forest.

When I'm at home I spend a lot of time tending to my garden, reading a ton of books, crafting and creating things in my studio. I love to learn and am constantly picking up a new hobby, like candle making or book binding. I do fire spinning with poi and contact staff, and am part of the flow / Burning Man community.

I'm also a huge foodie and love to discover new restaurants and cuisine. Say yes to everything!

• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• crafts
• gardening
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• painting
• drawing
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

This is a toughie, since I like a lot of things.

Music: Stars, Metric, Florence & the Machine, Of Monsters & Men, Angus & Julia Stone, Bonobo, Youth Lagoon, Death Cab for Cutie, Vanessa Carlton, Ratatat, Bon Iver, other similar folk, electronic and ambient music.

Books: My favorites change based on what I have read most recently :P

Can't ever choose a favorite book, but my favorite author is Charles de Lint. I love being totally immersed in a fantasy world the likes of Newford, Hogwarts, Middle Earth, the worlds of His Dark Materials. That being said I also read a lot of biographies and memoirs. How other people choose to live their lives is so interesting to me.

Movies: Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki movies, Pan's Labyrinth, Memento, City of God, Into the Wild, Midnight in Paris, and a looot more. I love artistic movies, ones that make me feel and think.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Circumnavigated the world from California to Europe to Asia and back across the Pacific!

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: How to draw or paint from real life, or operate a DSLR and Photoshop / Lightroom if you're interested in learning photography. I can also teach you English, how to make candles and books, spin poi or contact staff, and any other crafty thing.

Learn: New languages, focusing on Spanish and French currently. We can practice with each other.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Share: Our stories, thoughts, and dreams. I can take professional photographs of you and your family / friends or make you a watercolor painting. Also I can cook for you or take you out to lunch/dinner! I miss having a kitchen while on the road and would love to share meals. :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Philippines, United States