Painting at Paul Mitchell's Estate

What would it be like to have oodles and endless oodles of money? The painters of Hilo's plein air group got to dip into this reality last thursday when we drove through the gaudy metal gate of Paul Mitchell's estate high above the town, and into a paradise of gorgeous specimen plants, fruit trees, airy & serene buildings, and magnificent waterfalls.

Tuko and I arrived late, to find everyone ensconced under shady trees, painting an exquisite little pond. A couple of them, oddly enough (David and Michael) looked as though they were painting the subject at hand but were actually doing other things, a still life and an imaginary Chinese landscape (go figure.) Tuko and I of course took care of first things first and went for a bracing dip in a pool beneath a tall waterfall.

Unfortunately my computer has been crashing and unable to access my photos, but I did manage to download this sampling of photos from that adventure.

Studio Chaos

Every once in a while I take a bunch of pictures in my studio, as a sort of time capsule look at what I am doing in this present moment. I thought it might be interesting to share this even though it's kind of personal to show just how much of a slob one is. Maybe this can be a sort of testimonial "before" picture since my intention is to get rid of a lot of unnecessary stuff and create a serene, orderly workspace. Actually the worst of it is unseen here, behind the wooden walls where chaos really does rule supreme!

Also I'm noting a predominance of the smaller landscape paintings. I'm actually hoping to start filling the studio with work in different directions. The huge landscapes are a step forward, but I also want to do more abstraction and figurative work. Of course I enjoy portraiture a lot so will always want to have some of that going on too. Right now though I am getting ready to visit the Kona side and O'ahu to refresh the work in galleries there and maybe get one or two new ones. So I have a lot of unfinished work on the walls, seeking to resolve and polish up as many as I can.

Steam Plume Morning

I thought I'd post these photos finally although it's been a week since I went on this lava viewing boat ride. We gathered at Pohoiki in the early morning darkness and actually boarded the boat on land, using a ladder. Most bizarre and unexpected. But then the boat was trundled down the boat ramp, into the water, and then it powered through the surf and we were on our way. Phosphorescent specks flew past us in the upsurging foam, and I could only guess at our location from the dim silhouette of the landscape. We approached the plume as it became illuminated in the pre-dawn light, and cruised around in the water in front of it while the rising sun gradually pinkened the sky and then the plume itself. Needless to say it was an amazing experience, and very impressive to have that close-up view of the steam surging and rising and billowing rapidly like a living thing, all the while sprinkling gritty ash all over us and the boat.

Wendy Machado, aloha pau 'ole

I think blogs should be happy places for photos and adventures, but in this case I must pay tribute to a dear friend who just died. Wendy lived in our neighborhood with her husband Terry and their three kids until several years ago when they moved to be closer to the Kamehameha School campus in Kea'au. She was a wonderful model for many of my painting projects and was always cheerful and gracious. I don't feel that I ever did justice to her rare inner light and beauty. She had the great distinction in the Hawaiian community of being the guardian of the ancestral bones wherever they were disturbed by development in our area. She will be missed terribly.