Fires of Kilauea

Artist's Statement  

The Fires of Kilauea paintings evolved from a spectacular eruption I witnessed in the early 70’s with some Hawaiian friends.  Instead of fleeing to the sea to escape calamity, they packed ti leaves and an enormous quantity of food to eat and as offerings (to Pele, the goddess of volcanoes) and we drove across the pahoehoe (smooth solidified lava) fields straight into Armageddon.  We stood among the rivers of fire, felt the intense heat and heard the hiss and crackle of lava consuming the landscape as new land was being created.  It was simultaneously cataclysmic and sensual.  

I begin each painting by blocking in areas of color and light/dark values with a large brush and medium viscosity acrylic. I later switch to palette knives and high viscosity paint for the mountain and lava textures.  For chaotic eruptions I employ splattering and dripping techniques.  Pouring, pulling and pushing the paint render smoother flowing effects.  References to Pele the Volcano Goddess appear as subtle female forms in the lava in a Femme Fatale spectrum of reds.

This body of work explores my fascination with volcanoes as both geologic wonder and culture/legend of the Pacific Islanders.  My large-scale paintings bring the viewer to the rim of an exploding volcano and it's dramatic motion, color and texture depicting the birth of new land.  My goal is to communicate the mana of volcano lands to the viewer.  (mana; Hawaiian: roughly translates as supernatural power, strength, might, authority, often with spiritual connotation) I am exploring economy of detail and color in communicating volcanic drama, mana and the legends of ancient Polynesia.