Lighting the spark
I usually get inspired by a trip, a place, a photo, or some sort of vision from another source. This particular painting was a commission for a dear collector who bought a new home on Hanalei Beach - Kauai.
After I choose my image (from my imagination or another source). Then I do a series of pencil thumbnail sketches. I work out the composition and simplify the shapes of my subject matter.
The next thing I do is pick out a white stretched canvas suitable for my subject matter. This particular moonrise over Bali Hai painting, is on a LARGE format canvas, 3 feet by 6 feet.
Using my thumbnail sketch as a guide, I create the image on a white canvas with vine (drawing charcoal).
After I’m happy with the sketch, I wipe it off with a rag, down to a simple ghost image of the drawing.
So after I have a successful composition and ghost image of my subject matter, I begin painting with my rich, pigmented oil paint brand called Sennelier (One of the best oil paints in the world, in my opinion).
I usually start with a thin underlayer of the lighter, colored tones, I then outline some of the images to create a post-impressionist, feeling of blocking out the colors from one another
I work from top to bottom on most paintings, creating the atmospheric sky with the moon and the stars moving throughout the sky’s heavens. I have developed a special technique to capture the unique experience of the lustrous night skies in Hawaii.
On this particular piece, I moved down to the mountains and put highlights on the ridges of the peaks
Then I embarked on the serene ocean with the moonlit water. I am excited because I just created a new technique for myself on this particular piece using a white layer of paint as the underpainting, the results were a more flowing comprehensive sense of water moving.
Last, but not least, I kept putting highlights and low lights throughout the painting, softening the stars and creating a glowing moonlit beach that would highlight the shoreline water.
Voila!! The painting is completed!
How do I know a painting is finished?
You just know. I can feel that it has captured what was in my imagination and hopefully evoking a lasting impression on the viewers.
Where is Bali Hai located?
Mount Makana served as Bali Hai in the movie "South Pacific." Tunnels Beach on Kauai's north shore is one of the island's finest beaches. It is the perfect setting for Mount Makena. It is one of the most scenic places in Hawaii, and has a special place in my heart.
I hope you enjoyed learning about my process and that it enhanced your appreciation of this beautiful iconic mountain range and gorgeous beach in my painting. 🌸
