Hawai`i Watercolor Society

1159 Nuuanu Ave Honolulu, HI HI 96817

 

The Hawai`i Watercolor Society was founded in 1962 by Hawai`i Artist Hon Chew Hee. Our aim as an organization is to nurture and stimulate interest in water media through education, exhibits, and collaboration with other organizations, associations and individuals.

The Hawai`i Watercolor Society sponsors two juried exhibits every year as well as a biennial curated show highlighting the work of our signature members. In addition, we host periodic sales, themed shows and community events.

In conjunction with our exhibits we offer two week long workshops each year featuring nationally recognized teaching artists. On an intermittent basis we sponsor shorter duration workshops on a variety of art-related topics.

 

Gregory Thomas 

kailuaseascapes.com

Often setting up to paint on the beach in the cool air of predawn, Gregory Thomas appreciates the natural meditative quiet of the environment, interrupted only by the occasional waking bird. Here the darkness gradually yields to the orange pink and purple colors of dawn reflected in the sea. Witnessing this relatively brief natural event and responding with paint, pastel and brush on paper has resulted in a series of superimposed images representing the moment to moment experience of the changing natural light. This experience is captured in many of Gregory’s paintings.

Painting on site directly from nature has led Gregory to the development of a technique of mixed media, using both watercolor and pastel. This technique takes full advantage of the transparency and fluidity of watercolor paint and the opacity and brilliance pastels.

Since 1985, the colorful environment of Hawaii is ideal for his particular technique. These original paintings have been transformed into limited editions of gicle’e prints, as well as, having inspired oil on canvas easel paintings.

Working from sketches made on site, plein-air, Gregory has produced many seascapes, at wide ranging locations. These include Bermuda, Nantucket, the East, Gulf and West Coasts of the mainland, as well as the Hawaiian Islands.