I am a contemporary expressionist working in oil and acrylic. My work is realistic but not real. I use intense color to express the magnificent beauty of the natural world. I love tropical flowers and fruit, tropical fish and birds. I hope my paintings bring smiles to my viewers and provide a much-needed respite from the troubles of everyday reality.
I also create “spirit paintings” that chronicle my life transformations, dreams, and nightmares. These works speak to those currently immersed in a metamorphosis or recovering from one. I believe life transitions are often difficult and painful because the old self must die for the new self to be born.
I am a self-taught artist and have made art my entire life. When I was little, my mother made quick pencil sketches of bunnies or baby ducks that I would color with crayons. As I grew older, I began creating and coloring my own sketches eventually completing my first oil painting at the age of 16. Van Gogh was an early influence on me, as well as Gauguin and Matisse. Beyond extravagant color, I love the sensual texture of paint applied in a heavy impasto of expressive brushwork.
While I love art, I also love science. As a young boy, I filled my bedroom with snakes, frogs, and bugs. Some of my earliest memories are of planting roses with my father and tying tomato plants to wooden stakes. This passion naturally led me to become a botanist and a plant pathologist. To date, I have published seven non-fiction books on gardening and plant pathology.
My professional name, as a research scientist and professor at the University of Hawaii, is David Deardorff. My chosen name, as an artist, is Kawika (pronounced Ka-vee-ka), which means David in the Hawaiian language. It is the name given to me by friends and colleagues in Hawaii and the name I use to sign all my paintings.
Galleries
Solo Shows
Peninsula College, Port Angeles, Washington
The Fountain Gallery, Wailoa Center, Hilo, Hawaii
Selected Exhibitions
Northwest Expressions, Northwind Art Gallery, Port Townsend, Washington
Athens International Art Festival, Athens, Georgia
Lyndon House Twentieth Anniversary Show, Athens, Georgia
Art by the Foot, Hilo, Hawaii
Big Island Art Guild Spring Show, Hilo, Hawaii
Artists Speak Out, Pahoa, Hawaii
Locations of Patrons for Kawika’s art
Awards
Best of Show for “Sanctuary,” Art by the Foot, Hilo, Hawaii
Third Place for “Sailor’s Delight,” Art by the Foot, Hilo, Hawaii
Honorable Mention for “Ancient Voices Sing Forever,” Athens International Art Festival, Athens, Georgia. Juror: Audrey Flack
Commissions
“OK Rainbows” Reverend Jayne Taggart, Church of Religious Science, Hilo, Hawaii
“Anthurium Skies” Raymond Tanouye, Hawaiian Heart Nurseries, Mountain View Hawaii
Painting by Kawikas at age 16 years