Solo Art Exhibition Grand Opening!

An in-person and virtual opening on January 9^th launched my five-week solo exhibition, A Brush With Light – Volcanic Island Reflections, at the Volcano Art Center Gallery. If you missed our Zoom gathering or couldn’t make it to the opening in person, the hour-long event was recorded and can be viewed here . . . enjoy! If you’d prefer to view the paintings individually without the opening’s video, please click here.

Seventeen oil paintings were exhibited in the show, and over thirty people—from Hawaiʻi to Manhattan—participated in the Zoom session. Residents and island visitors were also present in the gallery. Photos by Tom Peek unless otherwise noted.

VAC Gallery Director Emily Weiss, after clearing the exhibition room per Covid protocols, introduced the show to our Zoom audience. Her moving introduction brought tears to my eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early in the Zoom session, I shared my experiences living three miles from the summit of Kilauea during the historic eruption of 2018. I’ve lived, worked and painted on this invigorating and beautiful volcanic island for forty years.

As I introduced the paintings (with paintbrush as pointer in hand) I described how the artworks are created, including how I come up with the paintings’ color palette, and the brushstrokes and palette knife work I use to bring the paintings to light.

 

 

Paintings of Kilauea and Mauna Kea surround us in this photo. To the right, a native rainforest tree, a Kolea lau nui, peeks out from a facing wall, beckoning to us as the tour continued.

A handcrafted Koa bench in the center of the room invites visitors to sit and contemplate the art and the places the paintings depict.

 

 

 

During the Q & A, Emily Catey waits with more questions in hand as a visitor listens from the next room.

 

 

 

 

 

Questions from participants probed the derivation of my color palette, the Qigong practice that quiets my mind before starting to paint each day, and the benefit of working in a quiet studio encircled by rainforest. Some Zoom participants are pictured here. Photo by C.J. Peek

 

 

 

After the Zoom session, visitors were welcomed into the exhibit room, and immersed themselves in the paintings’ vivid colors and texture that bring to light the island’s volcanoes and its unique plant life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friends from Hilo and my husband Tom Peek pose during the opening.

 

 

 

 

 

Friends and art lovers en route to the historic Volcano Art Center Gallery. The bright orange lei was an island-style gift from them to celebrate the opening.

 

 

 

 

 

Mahalo for visiting the show!