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     Hula Sue Well, when you paint in Hawaii, ya sorta gotta paint a Hula Girl. It's a rough job, but someone's gotta do it, I suppose. Luckily with all that swaying and the the grass skirts and the coconuts and flowers and such, they make for pretty fantastic subjects. So, without further ado, here's Hula Sue! I'm pleased with how her hair and skirt flow, and I was psyched/relieved at how well her face came out. I feel very comfortable sketching faces but part of that is how easy it is to erase and make edits in pencil. With paintings, you can always paint over mistakes but mixing the exact same paint colors and blending everything again can be a bit trickier. Also, I really enjoy the soft pops of color in the background, that was fun to play around with. The hardest part is knowing when to say when! Acrylic on canvas, 24"x12"  Sassy Pineapple Aloha, mofos! Most pineapples are content with their lot in life. They realize they represent the tropics and delicious drinks to the majority of the world and do their best to bring a fun and fruity vibe to thousands of pieces of advertising and island-themed entrees, every day. They ignore the dark thoughts of their inevitable slicing and dicing and simply grit their teeth whenever they hear the chunky whining of a blender. They simply soldier on, determined not to forget the face of their fathers, and the world keeps turning. This pineapple is not those pineapples. He will not just smile softly as he is churned up into the good night. His thoughts on the perils of his people are made clear with a classic sign of disobedience and disrespect. Though, being a pineapple, he's at heart a fairly cheery fellow, and can't help but smile at the wonders the world still has to offer. Keep fighting the good fight, my friend, and don't let the bastards get you down! Acrylic on canvas, 5"x4"  April If you're gonna paint people, ya gotta paint their faces eventually. Monster faces are easy, the more warped they are, the better. Men's faces, also pretty easy. In general you can get away with more lines and shading and detail to really bring out the shapes in the face, and even if something's amiss it just makes 'em look like a badass. Painting or drawing women's faces requires a lot less lines and details, as usually smooth skin is sorta a thing. You get less lines or detail to play with, and it's accordingly a lot easier to screw up. There's a conversation to be had here about double-standards and what not, but without a beer and a hot alterna-chick to impress, I just don't have the energy. So, here's a foxy redhead with green eyes and most probably an impressive bust. Enjoy! Acrylic on canvas, 5"x4"  Monica This is actually closer to what I had in mind for the April painting, but I just couldn't get the angle and perspective down so I gave it another shot here. I like how this came out and I think her skin tones and subtle colors in her hair really work. I was a bit concerned she'd come out looking like Mad-eye Moody, but I think I managed to dodge that bullet. I didn't notice at first, but she's basically got the same eyes as Humuhumu, minus the makeup. Make of that what you will, but perhaps she's a mermaid, and Humuhumu is her cousin? That's the wonder of painting, anything can be a mermaid, if you believe hard enough! I think Leonardo Davinci said that first. Acrylic on canvas, 5"x4" |
 Clouds of Diamond Head There's so much I love about Hawaii, (lizards, snorkeling, being on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, Longboard beer, and on and on and on) but one of the best things is just how inspiring the the natural scenery is. The skies in particular are incredible and regularly make me stop in my tracks to take in the wonder of it all. What makes the skies so singular are these incredible cloud formations formed by the close proximity of mountains and shoreline. They tumble out over the verdant peaks, one giant, fluffy, dreamlike meatball after another and pick up an absolute riot of colours during sunrise and sunset. Diamon Head is an extinct volacano you can hike and one of the most well-known landmarks on Oahu, so it seemed like the perfect location to place our cloudy friends. It's impressive in it's own right, but with the infinite sky above to stretch out in, the couds simply dwarf it. Acrylic on canvas, 24"x18".  Cute-thulhu, the Great and Terrible Avert ye eyes, lest this glimpse of the dark elder-god mulch your mind with it's unimaginable... wait a sec... huh... I guess he's not so bad. Look at the cute lil' guy! I bet he'd sit on your shoulder and cuddle up against your ear while watching "Slither", late at night. Ok, un-avert your eyes, it's cool! Based of course on H.P. Lovecrafts considerably less lovable Cthulhu. Acrylic on canvas, 5"x4".  Mantas The creatures of the seas (or oceans, I guess) have always intrigued me. They look like they are from another planet and some could swallow me in one razory bite, so, as a fan of sci-fi monster movies they hit a real sweet spot for me. Luckily, mantas just look incredibly cool and alien and are completely harmless. This makes them considerably more fun to swim with, than say, a giant squid, even though a giant squid probably gives better hugs. I spent a lot of time on the water, and the way it reminds me of the soft muffled soundscape under the waves makes me feel good about the time spent. Somewhat interestingly, I added those little floating bits and bobs after I had sorta "officially" finished it, and I really love the way they bring a bit of depth (HAH!) to the proceedings. Acrylic on canvas, 24"x18"  Toobin' First off, don't worry, I assure you the girl pictured is fully capable of handling the crocodillian menace below her. You'll be hearing more about her in the future, but for now, all I can say is "Don't fret, she's got it." That said, this does give me sorta unpleasant chills, as the shadowy beasts of the undersea kingdom have always frightened me a bit. Even going in our landlocked, above-ground, 4.5 foot deep pool after dark was a real test of courage. I occasionally would muster up my manhood and dive into those suprisingly inky depths after the sun went down and I could rarely stay in for more than a few minutes. Thinking back, it still makes me uncomfortable. That said, I had a lot of fun with the water here, as well as making the shadowy beast as subtle a presence as I could.  Humuhumu This 'lil cutie is the Hawaiian state fish, humuhumunukunukuapua'a (hoo-moo-hoo-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-ah-poo-ah-ah). It's significantly easier to pronounce than you might think, and a common sight around the reefs of the islands. I've never heard of one injuring someone, but they are pretty good friends with the various hammerheads and tigersharks that sometimes visit, so it's probably best not to harass them. As you can see, this particular one is a touch nonplussed by your attempt to pronounce his name. Don't worry, they don't hold grudges for long, especially if you happen to have some polychaete worms for them. This is actually where the popular phrase, "Don't go swimming without a few polychaete worms in your pocket" comes from. Acrylic on canvas, 5"x4" |
