Kaupo Store 15" x 30" Occupy Wall-street 13" x 21"

Kaupo Store 15" x 30"

Me holding Kaupo Store framed

After working on a life-size portrait I have taken some time to work on some smaller pieces of art. What I came up with was two very different pieces. Kaupo Store, depicts a store that is a flashback in history. This old simple store sits on the back side of Maui. For this piece I used a panoramic photo that I took after a two day hike from Haleakala to Kaupo with two friends. You can see Doug by the faded rainbow sign smoking a cigarette. Jimmer is in front of the store with his pack and a limp. I decided to add the VW bug and the old truck to fill up the parking lot with color and add some nostalgia to the piece.

Occupy Wall Street 13" x 20"

Occupy Wall-street is a piece with a different feel then Kaupo Store. In college, I was a Political Science and Philosophy Major. Those two fields have surfaced in my artwork over the last 5 years. Eastern Religion has been a subject of pieces as: Buddha 24" x 24", Valley of the Temple 24"' x 48", and  Letter to Dogen 18" x 24". Political Science has shown up in my art as well, but in most cases more subtle. Uhini in the Moonlight is based on the work of Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) the, La Cigale, or the cicada.The Cigale is social commentary on the political figure Nepoleon Bonaparte. Arab Spring and Color War are two other pieces of my art with political undertones.     

Uhini

In this art the symbolic king of beasts is standing unrestrained in the distorted city. He is painted blue to show his representation of peace despite his intimidating stance. The skyline is distorted and cartoonish, showing the absurdity of large cities. A mix of fog and pollution make the city even more murky. Who knows how the Occupy Wall Street movement will effect the future. One thing that is clear is their presence and existence is a loud statement in-itself.