Location: United States
I am a resident of the Big Island of Hawaii and moved to the islands in 1975. The natural world inspires my work. There is so much exquisite beauty found in nature, and the wilderness provides something ethereal that we often miss in our fast-paced society. I hope to capture a little bit of the splendor that surrounds us.
I earned my Masters of Fine Art from the Academy of Art University in December 2019. I use both intuition and my artistic experience to create dynamic paintings and paint both en plein air and in the studio. I use many layers of paint in order to create depth and interest. My style is painterly realism using the alla prima method of painting, which is the thin to thick method. Each painting is as if I am traveling somewhere where things are hidden and unknown. The art becomes a world of its own. The painting is dictated by intuition, surprise, discipline, perseverance, and experimentation. My goal as an artist is to create art that will resonate emotionally with others and provide inspiration and joy.
I was born on the mainland; however, I have lived almost 50 years on the Big Island of Hawaii. The beauty of the land, ocean, and the Hawaiian culture resonate with my own love of nature.
Muku is a Hawaiian name. Muku is associated with cessation or severance. This painting is of the sunset which means that this day is ending (ceasing). The ancient Hawaiians believed in the antithesis between sea and land….Imagination played with mythical conceptions of the earth and heaven and night and day…(Po) belonged to the night and was the periods of the gods, day (Ao) was that of mankind. I was inspired to paint this wave because I love the ocean and it almost feels magical at sunset as the day turns to the night. The Hawaiians considered sunset a spiritual shift with the changing between the time of the gods and the time of mankind.
Born of the Po (the night) the ancient Hawaiians shared a special kinship with the heavenly realm of the Gods. Night was the source of their maternal connection to the spirit world of their ancestral deities. The moon (ka mahina) was associated with the legendary goddess Hina. The moon governed almost every aspect of the spiritual life of the early Hawaiians. The moon offered the promise of a new beginning and rejuvenation…thus from dusk to dawn the moon was a visible spiritual symbol celestially representing the eternal continuum of life, death and the prospect of spiritual rebirth.
Lighting up ancient Hawaiian legends, Pele (pronounced peh-leh) the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, dance and volcanoes is a well-known character. Otherwise known as ka wahine ai honua, the woman who devours the land, Pele’s home is believed to be Halemaumau crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. However, all of Hawaii lays the setting for her stories, so that to this day, any volcanic eruption in Hawaii is attributed to Pele’s longing to be with her true love. Source https://www.robertshawaii.com/blog/legend-behind-hawaiis-goddess-fire/
A well-known story spins a web that Pele’s older brother Kamohoalii (the king of sharks) provided Pele with a large canoe which she and her brothers took and sailed away with – eventually coming to Hawaii. When she made landfall in the islands it was on Kauai, where she was attacked by her sister Namakaokahai and left for dead. According to legend she was able to recover and escaped to Oahu where she dug fire pits, including the crater today called Diamond Head. She traveled through the island chain to Molokai and on to Maui where she is said to have made Haleakala volcano.Upon discovering Pele had survived, Namakaokahai traveled to Maui and the two engaged in an epic battle near Hana, where Pele was torn apart by her sister and became a god, finding a home on Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. There she dug her final fire pit, the Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea, where many believe she resides to this day.Source https://www.robertshawaii.com/blog/legend-behind-hawaiis-goddess-fire/
This painting was painted from photos that I took while standing on the Kailua Pier at night. The beauty of the moon peeking through the clouds and the colorful reflections of lights on the water inspired me to paint this. The original is a 24 x 36 inch oil on canvas. The ancient Hawaiians shared a special kinship with the heavenly realm of their gods. Night was the source of their maternal connection to the spirit world of their ancestral deities. It served as a cognizant reminder of the dual nature that the indigenous Hawaiians enjoyed as spirit beings as children of the gods. The origin of the Hawaiian lunar calendar was intricately linked with the creation of the cosmos and the genesis of mankind.
Hawaiian Kahuna kilo hoku (astrologers) were able to study the varying astral phases of the moom and determine how the cyclical lunar patterns influenced the cycle of life on earth. For early Hawaiians, the lunar calendar not only measured time, it functioned as an annual farmers almanac, as an ocean tide chart for seafaring fisherman, and served as a spiritual guide for the traditional kahuna (priest). I used to surf near Lymans which is a place where one can catch good waves when the surf is up.
“Muku”
“Moonlight Lady”
“Creation”
“Hawaiian Tiger Shark”
“Moon Over Kailua Town”
“Near Lymans”
