Kaloko-Honokohau Plein-air

WIP (actually remembered to take a few photos)

Kaloko Honokohau National Historical Park

The Kaloko Honokohau National Historical Park is not too far away from Kailua, and a beautiful place, very meaningful for native Hawaiians, and everyone!

We spent several hours here. It is the first time I have ever plein-air painted in my swim suit! 

(There will be NO photos of me painting, unless major cropping is done.)

Anyway, here is the initial sketch ...

 yes ... I put some words in the sketch to help me remember what was what ...

Here is the setting. We set the bestbrella up but didn't really need it. It was there in case the sun dappled through the leaves and onto the palette or panel.

Here is my beginning. Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to post the rest.

Meanwhile today is Thanksgiving.

 ~ Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i ~

I wish all of you the best Thanksgiving ever! I am thankful for all of my family and friends far and wide AND so thankful I am able to paint.

 
 

Punalu'u - pau!

Okay, I should not have said "tomorrow I will post" ... 

because there is too much to do and I didn't get the chance to tinker with this until today! Why? Because I actually was able to paint today and had everything out, so it was easy.

 This is me just getting started. 

Seeing this, the thing I wanted to remember to post is that I used one of the Pandanus tree fruits as a paintbrush to put the base paint layer down (underpainting if you will) over the gesso a few days ago. I made it a brilliant orange because orange and blue are beautiful complements that I love, and I thought I just might be painting some ocean scenes :)

Here it is mostly finished on the "easel" pochade box, in situ.

I had to tweak it a bit so there would be some contrast in the coco palms, 

and now I signed it so it is finished!

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach   8 x 10 inches  w.s. oil on prepared archival panel

 Mahalo nui loa for checking in. I know it has been sporadic,

 but I AM thinking about painting nearly all the time!

  

 

Punalu'u

Punalu'u is a black sand beach on the southeastern edge of the Big Island of Hawaii.

I set up my painting box in the shade of the coco palms in the mid afternoon. Tons of people were on the beach, most of them heading directly for the Green Sea Turtles Chelonia mydas basking on the beach in a little lava rock surround. A sign said to stay at least 25 feet away but some people were stepping over the rocks to get a better photo ...

Here are some in-progress shots. Matt is my official photographer. :)

Still have a teensy bit of tweaking to do on the painting, but not too much. Will hopefully post tomorrow, if not out painting, or SUP-ing, or snorkeling, or eating Laulau with poi.

Aloha!
 
 

View along the Kona Heritage Corridor

Ok, we are past the halfway point of our stay here on the Big Island.

I LOVE it!

 

This is Pitaya amarilla, or Yellow Dragon Fruit. 

It is delicious!

 

The other day, we drove up on the 10 mile narrow, winding, hillside (mauka) Heritage Road 

above Kailua.

Lush, green, cooler habitat than down on the beach.

Saw lots and lots of coffee plants.
 

We stopped at a place we could pull off and be safe.

The attraction for me to paint there was a little window of light 

shining on banana leaves 

and the ocean in the distance.

pencil sketch

kind of a mess, but this was my block-in that stayed this way for several days
 

 

Finally had the chance to work on it today. Pretty abstract, but I like it.

This painting is oil on a 6 x 6 inch prepared archival panel ... the only 6x6 panel that I brought.

Mahalo for looking in!

a hui hou (Hawaiian for "until we meet again")
 
 

 

Lei Flower

Plumeria

Pink Plumeria, oil on canvas, 2.5 x 2.5 inches (!)
 

I think most often you see the white with yellow Plumeria. I love the pink ones too.

This is a legit oil painting, not a digital one like the last. But I used that one to paint this.

The unexpected is sometimes the best.

Found this lovey spot to lunch and paint today.

  

 

 

Painted about an hour on this 8 x 10 study. It was absolutely gorgeous there 

in the Kohala district at Kapa'a Beach Park. 

I also very much loved the thick gray gesso with texture that I had prepped this birch panel with.

Matt, my easel and umbrella setter-upper, was very patient:

 

Aloha!

 

Pink Plumeria

Not as fragrant as the white one, but so pretty in pink!

 Totally cheating Artrage palette knife painting.

Thanks for looking in!

Kekaha Kai

After organizing & food shopping, Matt and I drove North to Kekaha Kai State Park, on the island of Hawaii. I set up my easel and did a small sketch and then painted a little 8 x 10 study.

Here is the sketch:

Painting under way:

I used a board that I gessoed with black! Perfect for lava! Ugh ... I forgot my good painting knife back at the condo. This is a silly plastic one I use sometimes for various things.

 It was very windy out there today, plus we were right smack under the flight path for the airport. So, not too peaceful - but it was beautiful and warm.
 

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