The way Wayne Gabaylo tells it, his life has been a series of exuberant performances and lucky breaks.

He and his younger brother, also a performer, started out by learning to juggle with stones they picked up around their Makakilo home. They would challenge each other to climb steps while keeping the rocks in motion. When their father noticed them, he brought home tennis balls to give them a safer way to practice.

“I’m a juggler at heart,” Gabaylo said.

The brothers won talent contests and performed for a while as a family act that included their sister. His brother split off to travel and perform around the country; Greg Gabaylo continues to perform in Honolulu as a hypnotist, comedian and juggler.

Wayne Gabaylo found himself drawn to art. Spurred on by a dare from his sister, he germinated his current performance at Aloha Stadium’s flea market, working with spray cans of enamel paint on a tarp set on the ground. Music playing in the background drew onlookers, and he sold the first piece he made.

After a short stint at the stadium, he moved to Waikiki. A chance encounter with a Japanese man working in Honolulu brought him an invitation to tour Japan. He worked as part of the Magic of Polynesia ensemble for a time, and in the late ’90s, he took on the role of art director for Waikiki’s The Wave. But live art kept calling him, and soon he was back on the sidewalks.

Sixteen years ago, he pitched his show to management at King’s Village. They gave him a week’s trial, and he’s been there ever since. Fifteen years ago, he opened a small art gallery at the Village.

The spray paint artist reckons he’s performed 10,000 shows since beginning in Waikiki in the ’90s. He knows negotiations are underway to replace King’s Village with new high-rise towers, but says what happens next is “left to the Lord.”

“Whenever you find your passion in life, what you love, nothing else matters,” he said.

Wayne calls his show “Art in Motion.” He performs his show twice a night, five nights a week.

His performance includes juggling and dancing to music while creating his spray paint art in front of crowds of tourists.

“It’s like a magic show,” Gabaylo allows. “You have to keep your audience in suspense.”

Music is also a key part of the act — a blend of hip-hop, oldies and classic rock. Gabaylo says he’s constantly changing the soundtrack to keep things fresh.

A work comes together in about 45 minutes. The imagery? “A lot of memories of Hawaii: waterfalls, sunset, turtles, dolphins.”

Gabaylo now often “finishes” a piece by heating it with a blowtorch, an attention-getting maneuver in keeping with his blend of performance art, magic and painting. For all of the suspense and trickery, however, he has a visual sense that draws in observers.

He ends the show with the song “I Can Only Imagine,” by Christian band Mercy Me. He says the music sums up his own approach to art and performance, driven by faith, belief in his own talent and a presentation that turns apparent chaos into a colorful, exuberant gift.