The Blue Sea Artisans featured artist for the month of December is multi-media artist Mark Martel. This month he features new landscapes and historical scenes of local subjects.
Not long after falling in love with the islands on a vacation, Martel and his wife Kate moved to Hawai’i. Following a career in advertising design and illustration, he moved into fine art. Ten years of living in Captain Cook has shown Martel how much there still is to learn about Hawai’i, and to paint.
Martel mined his previous paintings and sketchbooks to add local color to old black and white photographs. One shows the steamship days of a century ago, when Hawaiian paniolo (cowboys) drove cattle through the dusty streets of Kailua-Kona. Another image from 40 or 50 years ago captures watermen settingout for the epic Molokai to Oahu canoe race with little more than their paddles.
From his own photos, a regal Pa’u rider on her decorated horse represents Oahu in the annual Kamehameha Day Parade.
Plein air originals of Kona beaches and downtown Kailua fill out Martel’s window displays this month. Inside the gallery, prints and cards are available of his most popular works from the past decade. He also offers the expanded third edition of his art book, If The Masters Painted Hawai‘i: How Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol and others might have pictured Hawai‘i. Mark’s original “repaintings”envision beautiful Hawai‘i in the style of the great masters.
In late February look for the yellow road signs for the SOKO Studio Tour, featuring Mark Martel’s studio and more work.
Meet Mark Martel every Thursday between 10 am and 2 pm in December when he works at the gallery. For the Holiday season there will be specials throughout the gallery by its member artists. The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery islocated in the Keauhou Shopping Center, Courtyard, 78-6831 Alii Drive, Kailua- Kona. For more information please call the gallery at 329-8000. The Gallery is open Monday – Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm, and Sundays 11 am – 3 pm. Find us on Face Book and Instagram: Blue Sea Artisans.