Melia of Maui, Copyright 2012, 11″ X 15″ Watercolor on 300 lb Fabriano Artistico, Soft Press

Energy, Copyright 2011, 11″ X 15″ Watercolor on 180 lb Cold Press

From the top, “Breathtaking” is a new painting I made, “Island Fruit” and “Dreams of Polynesia” are new reproductions available in 2 print sizes. Click on each image to read more, including the inspiration that led to them.

Watercolors and oil paintings of mine were part of a fun experiment on Friday, June 24. These abstracts were four of eight I contributed to a multi-media concert event held by Ebb & Flow Arts on Maui.

A wonderful band of musicians performed by interpreting one of my paintings while two dancers performed to the music. Then the audience and dancers have to guess which painting the musicians selected.

Subsequently, the dancers had a chance to select one piece, perform their interpretation of it, and the musicians and the audience guess which piece.  I guessed the first one right, but the second one wrong. Ebb & Flow Arts organization, founded by Robert Pollock, has brought together local and international artists from all media in order to foster interaction, experimentation, and enrich audiences on Maui.

As one of a five-event festival held on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island called “A Little More Summer Music Please”, go to Ebb & Flow Arts organization’s schedule of concerts here. To browse my online gallery to see other works of art, go to Frances Ku Studios.

Deep Blue, Copyright 2011, 4.5″ X 6.5″ Watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore, Cold Press

Please click here for more information about the above painting.

I’ve spent some time updating the gallery, including new shopping buttons and a new format. With so many details that involve a functioning online store, I’ve checked and double-checked everything but, if you come across any glitches, please let me know and I’ll fix it right away.

Click here to see the gallery. Have fun browsing!

Chinese New Year, Copyright 2006, 24″ X 30″ Oil on Canvas, The Edge Gallery Wrap

This painting was done with a palette knife. I named it after I finished, which is always the case.

Oils are a very different medium to work with. Unlike watercolors where the paints melt into the paper or spread to another area seemingly out of control, oils go nowhere and are very passive, requiring the painter to be much more physical. Yet there is nothing like gliding the knife over the rich, thick paint as one moves it across the canvas.

“Chinese New Year” was an outcome of total spontaneity and freedom. One afternoon, I found myself marching to the garage, pulling out the supplies, and painting on a canvas flat on the ground (since I was used to painting flat as a watercolorist).

I’ve work primarily and almost exclusively with watercolors since 1998 because it is easy to clean, non-toxic, and requires no ventilation. Ideally, it would be fun working with both. But you never know. One day if I ever get bored enough with watercolor and not let the oil fumes bother me, I might just cross the bridge.

This painting was sold to a lovely couple from San Diego through my previous website, whom I later met when they came to vacation in Maui.

To view original paintings that are available for purchase, click here.

Plink & Strum, Copyright 2011, 16″ X 20″ Watercolor on 140 lb Strathmore, Cold Press

Having arrived on Maui during Thankgiving of last year, my pianist sister, Anne Ku, and her guitarist husband, Robert Bekkers, asked me to contribute artwork for their album cover.  They play classical duets together (more about them at their blog).

My experience in illustrating and cartooning for print media helped me in creating the composition. I started by penciling in the design, suggesting just enough realism in both musical instruments without making them completely representational. Continuing the lines of the piano through the guitar is one of the advantages of watercolor, as seen in the medium’s natural transparency.

One should always utilize what the medium does best, and in watercolor, it is about what the water does with the paint, achieving transparency, softness, and blending.

The showing for this painting was at a cozy houseconcert where Anne and Robert are staying in Maui, nearby where I live. After performance and dinner, the painting was revealed. No one had any idea what I would come up with. Neither did I until I finished painting, because for me, planning just enough is more than enough. The rest is going with the flow.

To view other artwork and browse my online store, click here.

A Brighter Day, Copyright 2008, 24″ X 30″ Oil on Canvas, The Edge Gallery Wrap

For more information on this piece or view other paintings, click here.

Harmony, Copyright 2006, 5″ X 7″ Watercolor, Fluid Acrylic on 90 lb Canson

For more info or to view other works of art, click here.