Recently, I had the privilege to be invited by the fine people at Viewpoints Gallery in Makawao, Maui to be guest juror for their July exhibition, a plein-air invitational event that drew over twenty respected painters together. It was the best of both worlds; I was invited to paint with the other artists and exhibit alongside them at the gallery, and all without a juror, (in this case me) to be concerned with.
The entire event was very well coordinated with locations selected in advance, but one of the personal highlights was the 24 hours that we were left to our own devices to work on whatever we chose as subject matter. Being in possession of a good blank canvas and frame of a long rectangular proportion, I decided to scout a promising location I had zipped through on the highway previously.
Right after sunup, I hunkered down in the shade atop a stoney outcropping beside the highway. What I saw from there was enough to make me think “I could die now, a contented man.”
The cool, tender atmosphere between myself and Lanai, the shape -patterns and contrasts, and the rich colors of early morning; the whole works was laid out before me with such utter completion that very little was required except for an honest response on the canvas. Painted in those two mornings, plus an additional couple hours in the studio from memory, “Lanai from Kula, Maui” is 14 x 20″ , oil on hand primed linen canvas, in a custom frame built by myself.
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This is a magnificent view point from which to paint. My wife and I stayed in a small cottage up Waipoli road in this location and had this view from the lanai everyday, prompting a few sketches.