After the Storm

After the Storm
11 x 22
transparent watercolor

This painting was started in August 2007, when I just wet the paper and put a wet into wet suggestion of the landscape at the top of the picture. We had a whole lot of rain just before I began the painting, which meant that Rainbow Falls was gushing. Granted the waters were pretty muddy at the time, but I felt there was a beautiful painting to come out of the gushing, misty, wet and dripping landscape.

**For those readers unfamiliar with Hilo's Rainbow Falls, it has a huge range of water from this bountiful amount to a tiny, almost invisible, dribble.

So last week I pulled the beginnings of this piece out of a pile and went to work building up the foliage in the foreground. This is a more pastel and gentle painting than I usually do, but I found it pleasing and evocative of the abundance of water. At some point it was just too ambiguous, but I found by implying a distinct horizon line up at the top of the falls, the painting felt substantial and more readable.

This painting is now framed and hanging at Chase and Hanes Fine Art Gallery in Hilo.

Painting for Volcano Art Center

Soaring
14 x 20

One of my paintings at Volcano Art Center recently sold, so I've been working on another piece to go up there. One of the beautiful birds on the Big Island is the Tropicbird. Often when I've been up on the volcano, I've seen this graceful creatures soaring above a crater. In this piece, I've tried to create a sense of distance and depth, while featuring the lyrical movement of the bird. There is such a starkness and lifeless feeling to the volcanic environment, I also included a hearty shrub to the scene--ohi'a. These tough trees bloom with a feathery red flower. They are one of the first plants to take hold in new lava.

I'd love to get some feedback on this painting. Post a comment by clicking on the "comment" at the end of the post. The comment comes to me and then I will post it. If there is a number other than 0 by the comment button, you can read comments by clicking on the "comment."

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Painting a Jungle

Wild Ginger

10 x 14



On the East Side (wet side) of Hawaii, wild flowers bloom year-round. On a drive the other day I stopped to take a photo of some wild white ginger beside the road, and this week I painted a version of what I saw. What I find most interesting is creating the green chaotic jungle feel around the flower. There is just so much foliage, that it is impossible to tell where one leaf stops and another begins. I love creating the intertwining almost sensuous lines and shapes in both the positive and negative forms. Here's another example...

Going Bananas

10 x 14

New Volcano Painting--Seeing Red

Seeing Red
10 x 14


The painting I just finished of the lava flow into the ocean here on the Big Island of Hawaii is no longer a current event. That lava flow stopped a few months ago. The lava pooled up for some time and is now flowing again through another lava tube, but not into the ocean at this time. Living on this island is a reminder of how our earth is in constant change.

Because the drama of the clouds seems surrealistic, I'm including a photo so you can see that the art is not so much off the mark.

Change of Galleries

Akaka Falls
22 x 18

If you have ever been to Hilo, Hawaii, you know this is a small town. There are quite a few galleries for the population, due to the amount of tourists who flock to the Hawaiian Islands. Most galleries have some sort of requirement to keep an artist's work exclusive to that gallery within a few surrounding miles. (Sorry if this tidbit of info about gallery business is getting to be too much.)

The long and short of this post is about changing galleries. I had been in one Hilo gallery (exclusive to this area), but nothing sold over a period of six months or so. It seemed obvious my work was not in the right spot, so I had to take on the dreaded task of finding a new home gallery. Dreaded?? Well, it's just not that easy to put myself and my artwork out there. The fear of rejection continues to run in my veins even though I certainly have had plenty of reinforcement that my work is acceptable. (I wonder if there will every be a point for me that I don't worry about rejection.)

The experience I had last week was very refreshing. The gallery owner was very enthusiastic about the pieces I took in and was very happy to take 5 paintings. They were hanging in a very nice arrangement by the end of the day. So my new Hilo gallery is Chase and Hanes Fine Art down on Hilo's Bayfront. Thank you Carolyn Chase for a nice experience.