Na Pali Coastal Fog

 Painted from the memory of a hike on that coast last February.
I`ve been under the weather this week so I`ve been fooling around with watercolors. If you`re curious about the green on the right, that is Holbein`s Compose Green #2. I love the stuff.
watercolor on paper 6x18

 An engineer and a chemist came to visit my studio yesterday. They had flown in from Tennessee to be married in Washington State before the Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality were announced. They weren`t optimistic about the coming ruling. Sanity and fairness prevailed and their vacation became a celebration. They chose the Northwest rather than Iowa or Vermont because they wanted to see my paintings. Now that`s a compliment. For two weeks they`ve been touring Oregon.
Mike is a gifted photographer and Chris is in charge of finding locations, take a look at some of the pictures. These early married couples are scouts for the rest of us. As they introduce and refer to each other as husbands, I wish for them courage and joy!


available work

The Birth of Hawaii 3

A watercolor recess as I wait for oil paints to dry. Hawaii`s volcanic origin lends itself to abstraction.
18"x6"


works available in the studio

Kauai 6

The hills and mountains behind the town of Hanalei. There was always serious weather  going on up there.
oil on cradled panel 20"x20"

Kauai 5

I knew of this cove from photos years before I eventually saw it. When I flew over and recognized it, I felt affection, 'we finally meet'.
oil on cradled panel 20"x20"

Hanalei Sketch

This was done from memory after I returned home. Nothing is taken from the actual landscape but what I loved about that area is here. Though the earth is red with iron and visible in places, I used this orange hill to emphasize the overwhelming fertility.
oil on paper 6"x6"



available work [updated]

Kauai 4

I`ve always avoided painting sunsets. The odds of painting a cliche are about 95%. But we all love to look at them! The ones in New Mexico were far and away the most spectacular I`ve ever witnessed. On a summer evening, especially after a rain, the whole sky, every bit of it would turn into a theater of moving color. It would seem to last for hours. In Hawaii I saw a different type. Because of the latitude, the day ended quickly and the sunset was brief but often radiant. Probably from the humidity. It would proceed from some rosy clouds, then the air itself became pink, then me too. As darkness fell, high up in the sky, some clouds still caught the last of the fading sunlight.
oil on cradled panel 20"x20"

Kauai 3

This is the Alakai Swamp. I recognized much of the vegetation as the 'houseplants' I`ve seen all my life. My guidebook said this is one of the few places in Hawaii where you can walk in the clouds. The goal with the painting was to depict the tangle of growth through purely painterly means. That sounds obscure but it means that the process had to be fun. Not methodical. So through quick gestures,  piling and pouring on paint, then smearing, blotting, scraping and carving through the wet surface until it coalesces into something that felt like that rainforest.
oil on panel 20"x20"

Kauai 2

Before hiking to the high elevation Alakai Swamp, the clouds parted for an instant and gave me a view of the Kalalau Valley.
oil on panel 20"x20"

Kauai 1

 While my memories of Hawaii are fresh, I`m trying to get them down quickly.  As usual, I have some photos to help me structure a composition and then I imagine the experience as I paint. What did I notice most?
  Then I started to look for painting panels online. I found them but in just the standard rectangles past 12x12. It was frustrating because I wanted a size with more of a presence.  Wood was crucial rather than canvas because I could achieve more transparency on the hard surface. This was important because water is everywhere on the north shore. Discouraged and resigned to canvas, I then remembered Craigslist! I had seen local ads for panels several times before. Sure enough, one was right there. Within a day I had a deal with Steven of Panel Vision, and a few days later he brought me ten custom crafted and primed 20x20 panels at $30 apiece. They are wonderful and my Kauai series is underway.
oil on cradled panel 20"x20"

Above Hanalei

There is beauty everywhere you turn on the north shore of Kauai, and a whole lot of tourists. Wanting a more intimate experience with this unique landscape, John found the Okolehao Trail on Yelp. It was a challenging hike but exactly what I hoped for. It begins just past the Taro fields and climbs a mountain right into the clouds.
watercolor on paper 6"x7"

Na Pali - John on the Beach

At last, the jungle! It was worth the wait.
When I bought the long narrow block of paper I though I would do horizontal panoramas. But everything about the Na Pali coast is vertical. What no photo or painting can ever convey is scale. The size of those cliffs rising from the ocean is phenomenal and the vastness of the sea is breathtaking. I could see the curve of the earth! Being a native of Oregon, John is just stupefied by warmth in February.
watercolor on paper 18"x6"