Make A Joyful Noise - Finish Part 1, Start Part 2

This is it…finally finished (with minor adjustments after it dries). If you recall back in my blog post of June 13, 2009, I gave the history of this piece. I witnessed this powerful event in 1992 and decided that someday I would attempt to paint it. I did a piece from memory last year and titled it “Reconciliation;” it did not reflect, for me, what I had in mind. It did; however, serve the purpose of conveying the message that Hawaiians turned from their gods and goddess of old to accept the one Christian God. I stumbled on the negatives of the photos, which I couldn’t believe I still had, developed them to be used as reference…coming up with what you see above.

“Reconciliation”

18x24 oil on stretched canvas
Available for sale

Now, moving on to part 2 of this diptych…here is the start.


That day on the rim of Halema’uma’u there were about 30 dancers, so you can just imagine the power that emanated from the chanters and dancers …SPECTACULAR. These three dancers symbolize those 30 dancers. The pose is in praise of the Almighty, their features are of myself and my sisters. In searching photos for features for the dancers, I thought why not use our features…we were, after all, hula dancers from the time we were kids into adulthood. Using our features, I thought, would make it extra special…a family heirloom…maybe!!

A little story behind that… growing up, it was expected that young Hawaiian girls learn to dance the hula. My Auntie Hilda was recruited for that job and was a tough taskmaster. There were five of us…four girls and one boy. The boy was the youngest (poor kid) and I was the youngest of the four girls. My older sisters were ruthless and harassed me constantly about my dancing ability. So much so that I grew to hate the hula, and vowed to develop into a better dancer than any of them were. Whether I was able to accomplish that would be a matter of opinion among the four of us.

I don't want to bore you with the progress, so I will post this painting again when totally completed, unless I hear from someone to the contrary.

Aloha until next time.

These paintings were done as a birthday gift for my daughter-in-law, but I'm posting them here so that you can see other works that I have done. These are 9x12 oil on stretched canvas.

More...Make A Joyful Sound

To those following the progress of this painting, it looks like I may be able to complete it in a few days if I persevere and paint instead of spending time on the computer. This is a diptych so I am anxious to begin sketching the companion painting.

Available Paintings

"Mahalo Ke Akua"
18x24 oil on stretched canvas
$500.00
Photo credit to Richard A. Cooke III
Photographer with National Geographic

"Can't Hide From Him"
18x24 oil on stretched canvas
$500.00
Photo credit to Phil Pegg, contributor to Image Library

"Forgiveness"
16x20 oil on stretched canvas
$370.00

This painting was created from my imagination for a challenge to reflect the
scripture...Psalm 40:2

Juried Art Show

A few days ago I received the expected rejection letter from the organization that I submitted work to for consideration for selection to a local art show. All submitted works were reviewed by a one-man jury. It is an art show that I have attended in the past, which I really enjoyed and also one that I submitted pieces to last year…was rejected then also. I looked back over last year’s submission and realized that I was not ready and that the rejection was a fair one. This year I felt I was much improved and my paintings reflected that. However, I was not optimistic about being selected at the onset, but thought I would go ahead and submit my work, along with the fee and an artist’s statement. I told myself I would not be disappointed if I was not selected, considering the hundreds of exceptional artists, locally and out-of-town, who submit each year. All that being said, I was more disappointed than I thought I would be. Did my “pity pot” for a couple of days and am back at it with renewed vigor. I recently read an article on rejection that helped immensely. Below is an excerpt taken from Tony Moffitt’s blog, written by guest blogger, Heather Brown Truman. Visit Tony’s blog at http://tonymoffitt.blogspot.com - he has some great, invaluable information to help artists at all levels deal with every aspect of the art world.

Rejection, it’s Good For The Ego. How does one deal with the inevitable rejections that we get along the path of the creative? Well, one of the best ways to deal with rejection is to embrace it. Yes, I said embrace it. Learn to love rejection, failure and disappointments.
Rejection is our friend; it tames the ego, creates drive and ambition, and clears the mind. Rejection is always part of the path, for any endeavor, creative or not. You will encounter it at every turn, even if you are the most creative, most skilled and most passionate person in the world. Rejection is a numbers game. I feel pretty good when I get a rejection notice. Why you ask? Why good and not bad or self-pity? Every single NO is another no on the way to my YES. You have to accept that fact. If you allow yourself to take rejection to heart, you will die, wither on the vine of life and give up. If you fear rejection you will never succeed.
Your ego is not that fragile, your work is important to you and the world. We take rejection because it is part of living; it is part of the equation of life itself. It only matters what you think of yourself, your own work, and your desire to accomplish whatever it is that you are working towards. Never ever, let anyone disrupt the relationship you have with yourself; it is the most important relationship you will ever have in this world.

So, fellow artists…embrace those rejections…don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough. Here are a couple of the paintings I submitted, they are available.

Back To "Make A Joyful Noise."

It has been a few days since I last posted here; however, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been working on this project. This is where we last left it.


This is what it looks like now. You may ask…”What happened?” I asked myself that when I realized…”OMG, that is all wrong.”

That white splotch in the center is the result of having to remove what was previously there. I was pleased with the faces…but that figure’s body was way out of proportion. It was sitting too tall for the rest of the figures causing it’s torso to be elongated and its upper arm to be hugely long. Prior to removing this area, I had painted in the entire upper body area when I realized what a screw-up I had done. So, I removed as much of the paint as I could with solvent and a rag. Then I scraped, used more solvent and wiped, then scraped some more. I then sketched it back in…surprisingly I think it’s closer to likeness now. That's a plus.

One of the things I’ve learned with this painting is that, even with what you perceive to be a detailed drawing, when it comes to laying in the paint and you are meticulously putting in all the details, that’s when you realize how much you messed up with the drawing. I don't feel bad about that mistake and having to scrape...I read somewhere in one of my art magazines, even great artists have had to make such corrections. I figure I'm in good company.

Aloha for now.

A Break from Project

Although I am very much entrenched in the painting “Make a Joyful Noise,” I thought we’d take a break from that and I would post a few of my early pieces.

The following is my first project and my first portrait after enrolling in oil painting class. Not only did I surprise my instructor with this piece, I surprised myself as well – that I was able to accomplish this. This I titled, “Kumu Hula,” which means dance teacher. I was planning to show this in a local art exhibition; but when the painting was completed she looked so much like my sister who was deceased that I couldn’t show it, because I couldn’t sell it. It now hangs in her daughter’s studio who is a Kumu Hula. (oil on 18x24 stretched canvas.)



This portrait of my grandchildren was actually, as I look back, really an ambitious project for me to attempt at that level of skill, but I wanted the challenge. It is oil on 22x28 stretched canvas. I painted it as a Christmas gift for my son and his wife. If I remember right, I started this in July and finished it early December.


This piece I titled “Captive Audience.” It was taken from a photo I took of my three-year old granddaughter; all dressed up in her pink tutu and her pink “Hello Kitty” boots. It was late November and this was the outfit of her choice for that day and to top it all…she wanted to show her daddy, who happened to be outdoors doing a chore, how pretty she was. It was a cold afternoon, but we could not change her mind about going out in the cold in that outfit. Catching her in this pose was priceless. A picture just begging to be captured on canvas. I’ve changed her surroundings to be indoors dancing for her “babies,” thus “Captive Audience.” (oil on 20x24 stretched canvas.)