KAI - A Boy and His Ball

This is slow going because other than the fact that I have not spent everyday painting, I am being meticulous about detail. I have done the underpainting, put the books on the bookshelf and tried to individualize each one. After that dries I will glaze over to blend into the chiaroscuro area behind his head. This is my first attempt at this technique, but I think this painting lends itself beautifully to that technique. For those who aren’t into art…Wikipedia defines chiaroscuro this way…

Chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body.

I don’t know what it is about this picture…is it just the sweet, loving child that he is that makes it so special for me? He looks kind of sad here…I need to correct that because he is not. I think it might be the droop of his lip/mouth…too much. I posted the reference photo on first posting; just click this link if you want to look at it again.

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Yay...I want to paint

After three weeks of not really being inspired or motivated to paint, I have finally "felt" like getting back into it. I'm pretty sure it has been because I haven't been feeling up to par and just lacked the enthusiasm. From time to time; however, the fog lifted enough from my brain to be able to blog.

I have three wonderful grandchildren who will indulge me by letting me take their pictures with the intent of getting a shot that would be perfect to paint. My oldest grandson Kalani (the heaven) is now in college...OMG where has the time gone!! The other two still at home are Kai (ocean) who is eight and Kiana (Hawaiian for Diana) is four. I love their Hawaiian names so I will be using them here. Needless to say, I must have hundreds of photos of them that I think would make wonderful paintings.

Spending the day with my two younger grandchildren a while back, I caught my 8-year old grandson in this great pose. Not a staged shot...just him being engrossed watching TV. I loved his expression and demeanor. He was totally oblivious to the fact that he was being photographed. Kai is a warm, lovable child who loves giving and receiving hugs. I live in an apartment which is an add-on to the main house and he almost always will come by on the way to do his chores to say "good morning Tutu." Kiana is a pistol. Smart beyond her years and has been conversing fluently since she was two, or maybe even earlier. It seems like she has always been speaking in sentences. She is the princess, a beauty with a mind of her own and a strong will. She comes to visit me frequently. Will on many occasions sneak in and try to scare me...she'll accomplish that on every try. I have a photo of her which I will be painting at a later time. I've painted each of them before and will probably continue to use them as subjects.





My mo'opuna (grandchildren) are God's reward. I'm sure all you grandparents out there feel just as I do. A thought I just had...if a woman thought about having children and the responsibilities it entails...playing such a huge role in the outcome of a person's life...we may think twice about becoming a mother. However, on the other side of the coin...with good, nurturing parenting we are rewarded with grandchildren. Hmmmm...come to think of it, for some, even without good, nurturing parenting we are still rewarded with grandchildren. I love being a grandmother.


Anyhow, this project will keep me busy for a while. I will post my progress at major steps. Right now, I am contemplating...OK, where do I start?

More later.

Family Portraits

As most artists, I have done my share of family portraits and I would like to post some of them here. I’ve already posted a few of them such as “Captive Audience” and “Mo’opuna” (both in the post of Sunday, June 21, 2009) which are paintings of my grandchildren. Most recently, “From Whence I Come”… a portrait of my son showing his ethnicity (post of Monday, July 20, 2009).

"Soul Mates"
Private Collection
(16x20 oil...son and wife)



“Kalani”
Private Collection
(11x14 oil…oldest grandson)









“Kai"
Private Collection
(11x14 oil…youngest grandson)

“Keohokulani”
Private Collection
(18x24 portrait of oldest sister)

I’m getting ready to ship my sister’s portrait to her. Hope she likes it.

Aloha…that’s it for now.