Blog

Dramatic change at Kilauea inspires new art, an exhibition and an album cover! Kilauea’s lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u crater has come alive forty-seven times since December 2024, showcasing towering lava fountains and coursing molten rivers! This photo-rich story highlights those eruptions and the art I created inspired by them. Also, two eruption paintings were displayed at the 2025 MANA invitational show, and a volcano painting was selected by the composer of Tiki Nation to adorn his ...

Bold MANA Show Delights and Intrigues . . . The annual MANA Invitational Art Show is a free public art exhibition at Hilo’s Wailoa Art Center (directions here) that runs through Thursday, April 25th. The show is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Photos of the show’s opening reception follow! Thirty-four Hawaiʻi artists share their manaʻo (ideas and thoughts) and mana (spiritual ...

Here's a photo-rich summary of what I've been up to this year – watching three formidable eruptions at Kilauea, participating in a stunning Hawaiʻi art exhibition and having a publisher choose my art for the cover of a compelling new Hawaiʻi novel! All photos by Catherine Robbins and Tom Peek unless otherwise noted. Scans of paintings by Hilo Fine Art Center. The resumption of eruptive activity at Kilauea quickly drew my husband Tom Peek and ...

Catherine's oils record historic changes on Kilauea When I began painting Kilauea in 2008, I never imagined that the landscapes I was painting would disappear in my lifetime, rendering my oils archival records of the past. Back then, Kilauea’s summit area hadn’t changed much in almost a hundred years—until a glowing vent opened on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater in 2008. Over time, the vent enlarged and the rising molten lava painted its gas clouds ...

Catherine invited to the 2022 MANA Invitational Art Show: The annual MANA Invitational Art Show at Hilo's Wailoa Art Center opened to enthusiastic artists and art lovers on April 4, 2022 and ran for four weeks, scheduled to overlap with the internationally renowned Merrie Monarch hula festival. Twenty-six Hawaiʻi artists were asked to share their manaʻo (ideas and thoughts) and mana (spiritual life force energy) through their artworks. Catherine was invited to participate, and three ...

New virtual exhibit offers revealing artist interviews and painting magnifier! A virtual exhibit of A Brush With Light – Volcanic Island Reflections is now available on the Volcano Art Center website!  Dip into seven short videos by Hawaiʻi Island photographer Jesse Tunison that feature detailed descriptions of my painting tools and process and the backstory on individual works. You can also intimately engage with nine select paintings through a virtual magnifier, facilitated by Jesse! Have ...

An in-person and virtual opening on January 9th 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 ...

The Volcano Art Center’s solo exhibition of my oil paintings, A Brush With Light – Volcanic Island Reflections, opens at the their gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on January 9 and runs through February 14. Gallery hours are Thursday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For those unable to visit the show in person, we’re holding a virtual opening on January 9th at 11 a.m. (HST) for art lovers near and far. I’ll ...

Aloha and welcome to my new website. This site was skillfully designed by Margaret Rode of Websites for Good. Mahalo Margaret! Through this state-of-the-art blog, I look forward to periodically sharing my thoughts about paintings, the art of painting, and qigong and meditation. I’m also excited to let you know about upcoming art exhibitions and to announce studio sales! Creation of the blog is a bit slow right now due to the lockdowns precipitated by ...