'Akepa

Aloha, come see my latest island tiny creation.  

'Akepa 1"x1" acrylic on board in hand carved frame.  

Here's a close up of the actual painting. Doing a 1"x1" can be interesting, it's pretty small, and I need to use smaller brushes than I have been using. I'm just so cheap I never buy my self  new materials.

The 'Akepa is an insect eating endangered honey creeper. This one is a male, you can tell by their bright orange plumage.  The females are a dull grey in their coloration.

Here's a picture to give you some scale , a nickle would fit in that 1"x1" square.  As always I hand carve all my frames and make them from  reclaimed wood.  

  

'Akepa 1"x 1" acrylic on board in hand carved frame.  

$40.00

Red Surf Board

Aloha! It's winter here in the islands and that means the waves are back. In fact I got thrashed by some other week, thankfully the red welt healed nicely. The boarders are out and enjoying the waters.  Unfortunately for our friend in the painting, it looks like glass out there.  

Red Surf Board 2"x2" acrylic on board in hand carved frame ( Appears larger than life size)

This painting is massive compared to a few of the ones I've shown before.   You can see a size comparison by the nickle. Usually all you'd be able to fit in the frame is something of nickle size. I understand why those who choose to do miniature paintings stick around this size.  It's easier.  I like this painting, it was fun and I think it was successful.

Red Surf Board 2"x2" acrylic on board in hand carved frame
$85.00

Clown Wrasse Dyptich

I've returned after a very busy November to post once again.  It's not that December is any less busy, but I am a tiny bit more organized. Any-who on to today's work of art.  

Clown Wrasse Dyptich acrylic on board 1"x1.5" in hand carved frame

When I was a smallish lad growing up in the Marshall Islands, I had an aquarium stocked with fish that came right form the lagoon reef. Among the occupants of my artificial ocean were several of these little guys.  These are actually the immature form of the fish, they get larger as they grow up. At any rate they were fascinating to look at and would sometimes burrow themselves into the sand and be pressed up against the glass. It was like having an ant farm, but with tropical fish.

I like how this piece turned out, orange on blue has been a recent favorite color composition of mine.  The bold contrast works in the small space.

Clown Wrasse Dyptich acrylic on board 1"x1.5" in hand carved frame
$65.00

Tiger Shark!

 Like my other micro works this is also done in acrylic on illustration board. The actual size is in the neighborhood of  1" x4".  Sharks can look menacing even when they're painted that small.

I generally like how this one turned out. It wasn't so obscenely tiny that I could hardly control what I was doing. Though I have some really tiny ones coming up.

I decided to give the frame on this one a more rustic and distressed feel. I did some extra carving work on the outside. It was, after all, an old abandoned piece of lumber when I started out. I liked how it turned out.

Here is the magnificent profile of Thomas Jefferson to give you an idea of scale for this particular hunter of the great wide deep.

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Tiger Shark  1"x4" Acrylic on Board
$50.00

Mango in Trio

 

Ah I love mangoes, fresh dried, or however you like to prepare them.

Another tiny masterpiece for you all today. This one is 3/4" x 2" approximately. It's Acrylic on illustration board and placed in a hard carved frame made from reclaimed wood.

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Mango in Trio 3/4" x2" Acrylic on Board
$35.00

Kohala Coast

Kohala Coast, Acrylic On Board, 3/4" x 2 1/2" 

Landscapes on this tiny of a scale present certain challenges. They force you to really decide what features are important to the composition, and what ones can really be subdued or ignored all together. You can't fit a whole lot in a space that's only 3/4" wide. Anyway, this is a portait of one of the beaches on my island.

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Kohala Coast, Acrylic On Board, 3/4" x 2 1/2" 
$35.00

Bananas!

Well I think the title says it all.  I have to say I never thought I would get better bananas than the ones I used to have in Brazil, but I've had some pretty tasty ones here on the island.  To all your poor people on the mainland who only get one type of banana, we have tons of different types here, my favorite being apple bananas, they're typically smaller and stouter with a thinner peel. They are sweet and quite delicious.

Today's painting is a wee one.  It's 1" x1 1/2" acrylic on illustration board.  The frame is hand carved from reclaimed wood.

Here's a penny to give you an idea of scale .

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Bananas 1" x1 1/2" acrylic on illustration board
$35.00

Aloha Friday: Apapane

E komo mai.

This week's Aloha Friday work is another micro painting of a Hawaiian bird, the Apapane. It also sports a bright red plumage, I love the color of these feathers. 

 Apapane 1"x1" Acrylic on Board ( shown twice life size)

The details are rather difficult the paint where your painting that small.  Such are the perils of the mini painting. 

Once again I carved this frame out of a single piece of reclaimed wood that was stained red mahogany. I really think this one has some interesting marks on it. 

Mahalo nui loa!

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.

 Apapane 1"x1" Acrylic on Board
$45.00

Aloha Friday: Kua Waves

Kua Waves 1" x 1" Acrylic on Board  ( shown twice life size)

E komo mai. This week's piece of paradise is a tiny landscape. Kua Bay is about 8 miles from our home and it's my favorite beach on the island. Lots of powdery white sand and crystal clear waters.

Here we have the micro painting's portrait taken at the very beach it depicts. 

The frame is one piece of solid reclaimed wood that I've stained red mahogany. I really liked the texture on this piece. 

Mahalo nui loa for visiting. Aloha!

All mini-paintings are hand painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Kua Waves 1" x 1" Acrylic on Board
$45.00

Aloha Friday: Plumeria Triptych

Plumeria Triptych 3/4" x3/4" Acrylic on Board

E komo mai. This week's Hawaiian flavor is a triptych of Plumeria. I remember the scent of this flower from my childhood in the Marshall Islands. They grow all around Polynesia and Micronesia. It's extremely aromatic and gives you the olfactory thrill of paradise.

This mini painting is about the width of a penny if it were square, it's plenty small. I don't do a lot of florals, but they were easy enough to put into a space so very small. I made them a bit impressionistic as well.

I have no training working with wood, other than my wood working merit badge I got a summer camp. Carving out the three little recesses for the paintings was a little tricky because it was so small.  I think it turned out alright, its reclaimed wood that I've stained red mahogany. 

Mahalo nui loa for visiting. Aloha!

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.

Plumeria Triptych 3/4" x3/4" Acrylic on Board

Birthday Landscape

Summer Field  3"x8" Acrylic on Paper

Here's a birthday card I've made for my Dad, it will be his birthday on the 2nd .  I thought I'd do something a bit more than my usual black and white illustration. I've been making birthday cards for my family since I was in elementary school.

My Dad's been wanting a pastoral landscape for sometime. I started one before we moved to Hawaii, it was pretty big and is still unfinished.  I thought he might like this one in the mean time.  He's out of town working for a few months, so this painting is small enough that he can take it around with him.

I even signed it for him. How about them apples?

NFS

Aloha Friday: Sailing Canoe

E komo mai. This weeks slice of Island life is a double hulled sailing canoe. The ancient Hawaiians used these vessels to sail the vast expanses of wide ocean that separated them from the rest of Polynesia. 

Sailing Canoe 1"x2 1/4" Acrylic on Board  (shown enlarged)

This mini painting is about the width of a quarter, so it's larger than last week's tiny work, but it's still pretty small.  Once again I liked using the complementary color scheme, this time orange and blue.   

The frame is reclaimed wood that I've stained red mahogany.  I really like this piece because of the prominent knots and cracks, it has a lot of character. 

Mahalo nui loa for visiting. Aloha!

All mini-paintings are carefully painted originals and come with custom hand carved frames made from reclaimed wood.


Sailing Canoe 1"x2 1/4" Acrylic on Board
$60.00