Kawena Pukui III

More Island Music floats through my studio.

And work on the commissioned portrait of Mary Kawena Pukui continues.  Today you will see the addition of the Hawaiian state flower, the Yellow Hibiscus.

Because she was frequently photographed with a flower in her hair, I have chosen to include not only one, but two of the state's flowers in this painting.

I have also deepened some of the facial shadows and color on her lips to relate to the intense magenta found in the center of the flower.

This wonderful woman, a Hawaiian Treasure, came into my life when I was commissioned by the magazine The Perpetual You to create her portrait for an upcoming issue that deals with legacy.  Mary Kawena Pukui left a legacy steeped in Hawaiiana through her teaching, writing and musical talents.  

Painting continues, bringing this portrait to completion.

Check back to watch the progress.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Kawena Pukui II

Hawaiian Music Is Floating Through My Studio

Images of Mary Kawena Pukui fill my head and are scattered over my work table along with hibiscus blossoms.

Hawaiian music fills the air to set the mood for my current commission.  Trays of water color paints come out of the drawers and work begins.  I have chosen watercolor as the medium for this portrait because of the tropical Pacific that surrounds the islands where Pukui lived. 

I have also decided to present this woman with the state flower of Hawaii, the Yellow Hibiscus.

Sketching in the composition.

Laying on pigment

Mary Kawena Pukui begins to come to life.  More to do, so check back to watch the progress on this portrait commissioned by the magazine, The Perpetual You.  And if you stop by, I am serving tropical beverages.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Second Project of 2018

Mary Abigail Kawena Pukui

Recently I was contacted by the editor of the magazine, The Perpetual You to create a portrait for what they call their 'Maker's Page'. Apparently the editor had found my web page and thought my portraits fit with what they have going on.  The Maker's Page highlights an historical woman who blends with the theme of the issue. My portrait would be of Mary Abigail Kawena Pukui. I was immediately interested!

Mary Abigail Kawena Pukui

What a woman!!!!  Pukui, named during her lifetime as a Living Treasure of Hawaii, and inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, was descended from a Kahuna Pule (Priestess) in the Pele line.  Legacy is part of this particular issue's theme, and what a fabulous legacy this woman created. 

Her list of accomplishments is huge.  Fluent in the Hawaiian language and culture she:

+ Collected and translated folk tales, proverbs, sayings.

+ Worked as an ethnological assistant and translator.

+ Taught Hawaiian to scholars, and Hawaiiana at Punahou School.

+ Published ore than 50 scholarly works.

+ Wrote more than 150 Hawaiian songs.

+ Co-author of the definitive Hawaiian/English dictionary, and the books Place Names of Hawaii & The Echo of Our Song.

+ Chanter and hula expert.

i

Pukui was born in 1895 and lived until 1986.  Not only was she a fastinating, beautiful, intelligent, strong woman, but she correlates to the women I paint who wove spectacular baskets.  To be commissioned to paint a portrait of this scholar, dancer, composer, educator is an honor, my next project, and one I am very excited about.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Tahoe Rocks with Red

Red Red Red

This has not been easy. I am dreaming in red now. Adding red to my typical Tahoe Rock palette, with deletion of some of the other colors, has been quite a challenge.

This is where I left you last post, and I was struggling. After some serious thought I added the Pantone Color of the Year (purple) to the work.

And then I changed all of the background color to a mix of blue, purple, red, yellow (right off the paint tray) to come up with a grey tone.  It was beginning to make more visual sense to me.

The remainder of the rock shapes were painted on.

The water reflections came next.

Just this morning the rest of the reflections were painted into the composition. I am not sure if this is a completed painting yet or not.  I will live with it for a few days and probably continue to dream in RED.  

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE