Certainly the pandemic has affected all of our lives, although my everyday experience has not actually changed all that much. Being a painter, I am already used to spending many solitary hours in my studio or painting landscapes outdoors ‘en pleinair’.
I was fortunate and grateful to receive not just one, but two commissions in the last few months. One request was from a local collector on the Big Island who wanted one of my Red Road tree tunnel paintings. Specifically, he wanted a large size canvas with lots of details. My natural style is to paint expressively and painterly, so I had to shift my style to incorporate a more defined landscape. The result is Ke ala ʻula (Red or Flaming Road), 20″ x 48″, oil on canvas.

Ke ala ʻula, landscape painting

Ke ala ʻula, 20″ x 48″, oil on canvas

While I was outside painting Ke ala ʻula, a jeep pulled up beside me one day. I was so busy painting I barely took notice as two young women got out of the jeep to see what I was painting. They both loved my painting! However, I was so engrossed I barely engaged with them nor gave them my card, which I usually do.

Several weeks later I was quite surprised to get an email from them out of the blue. They were so excited to have tracked me down and they requested an original landscape painting of the Red Road tree tunnel, just like the one they had seen me painting.

It’s important to note that commissions are a double-edged sword. On one hand, I’m thrilled to be paid for a painting even before I begin. On the other hand, I am painting to please my client(s), not just myself. Fortunately, I was delighted by both my pandemic painting commissions. Observing the view twice from the same spot, I deepened my appreciation for this particular stretch of the Red Road. The large Kamani trees that formed the tunnel, the large branches, and leaves, as well as the patterns of sunlight and shadows, are now engraved in my vision and spirit.

Though I repeated the same view and used the same size canvas, my second commission is unique. I can’t paint the exact same painting twice, nor would I want to. The second painting I called Mau lālā he Nui (Many Branches). My clients and I were all pleased with the final pieces.

Mau lālā he Nui, 20″ x 48″, oil on canvas

Mau Mau lālā he Nui, 20″ x 48″, oil on canvas

Beautiful, giclee prints of my paintings on canvas are available for purchase. For prices and more info please contact me.