Hanalei Outriggers

This is a fun subject for some like me who loves Hawaii. I think it has a strong composition, but I'm not sure I got the colors just right. Maybe a little tweaking in the studio. Hanalei outriggers, oil, 12" x 16"

Three palms

Thursday we painted on Hanalei beach right by the pier which was part of the scene in the movie South Pacific. I decided not to tackle the pier now, but took lots of pictures for a possible studio painting someday. Most people, including me, painted some outrigger canoes. I haven't had time to get a good picture of that yet, I'll post it later. Here's my second painting of the day, some palms just off the beach.













Three palms, oil, 12" x 9"

Ke'e beach and Hanalei

The second day of our workshop started at the end of the road on the North shore: Ha'ena State Park. After watching the instructor's demo, everyone set up to paint the same view. Passing clouds and windy, appropriately, there's sand embedded in my painting.















Napali coast, oil, 11" x 14"

For the afternoon we headed into quaint, Hanalei. The local burger joint was the subject a few of us chose.











Burgers in paradise, oil, 12" x 10"

Workshop painting

The workshop I'm attending with Randall Sexton started yesterday at the studio of Saim Caglayan. Saim is Kauai resident artist who opens his home studio for visiting artist's workshops. After introductions and a brief orientation, we headed to Anini beach here on the North shore. Randall did a demonstration and then went around to give instruction to each artist set-up along the beach.

Here is Randall and his unfinished demo painting.



























Here's the painting I did. A distant view of the Kilauea Lighthouse.

Hanalei Bay

A little gray this morning, my first day on Kauai, but by the time I got to the hardware store for mineral spirits, the sun was out. I painted this on the beach in front of the Princeville Hotel looking toward Bali Hai. This is a view that appears in the movie South Pacific, filmed here a long time ago. The North shore of Kauai, where I am staying, is very green. It rains a lot. But then the sun is out and there is a rainbow. Tuesday starts my workshop. Hope to have something worth posting then.

Hanalei Bay, oil, 12" x 9," SOLD

Off to Kauai

My paints and brushes are packed. I'm on my way to Kauai, Hawaii, to participate in a painting workshop with Randall Sexton. I've admired his work since first seeing it a few years ago and had a chance to watch him paint at the Maui Invitational last year. He is well known in the West coast plein air world and besides teaching workshops, conducts a class on painting at Pixar Studios in California. It's a four day class and I'll have a day before and after to paint on my own. I'm not a cold weather painter and having been cooped-up for a few months, I'm really ready to be outside painting again. Hopefully I'll have some images to post in a few days.

Anders Zorn

For an artist the internet can be a great source for inspiration. In the past few years I've spent countless hours learning what's out there in contemporary representational art. And I've also looked more at the painters of the past (it's been quite a while since my last art history class). I've always had a great admiration for John Singer Sargent and a couple of years ago discovered a very gifted contemporary of his, Swedish artist, Anders Zorn (1860-1920). A great painter known mainly for his portraits, he was also a prolific etcher.

In my career as a graphic designer I've had the opportunity to work on many different publications, so when the Swedish-American Historical Society asked me to do the design for a new book they were publishing, I accepted without hesitation. But when I learned that the subject was Anders Zorn, I was elated.

Zorn in America, A Swedish Impressionist of the Gilded Age, by William and Willow Hagans tells the behind the scenes details and stories of the many paintings and etchings Zorn produced during his trips to the United States. It is 406 pages, with more than 140 illustrations and photos.

You can find more information at the Hagans' website Zorn in America, and the book can be purchased from the Swedish-American Historical Society.

Morning Sail

This past summer I spent a night at some friend's vacation home on Lake Michigan near Manistee. Early in the morning I did an oil sketch of their view to the water. With the sun coming up behind me, I worked quickly to try and capture the dynamic shadows and color. Working from that study and photos I took at the time, I just completed this larger studio version.













Morning Sail, oil on canvas, 20" x 30"