Although my current 44″ wide, pigment-based printer is working just fine, I was feeling a little uneasy about not having a reliable back up so bought a newer model with some nifty new features, including a clear coat it lays down on luster finished paper to eliminate gloss differential and increase scratch resistance.
Fantastic custom profiles for all of our Hahnemühle papers were also obtained so the new prints will be even more awesome, if that is even possible, than ever!
And speaking of Hahnemühle … you might already know we carry their papers made of eco-friendly Bamboo and Sugar Cane but did you know they added Hemp and Agave to the line up?
I’ll post information on those some other time. Feel free to ask me about them if you just can’t wait, hee hee.
My plan worked!
A custom 16×24 canvas print for a quarter? Recently I sent out an email letting my clients know they could order a 16×24 custom canvas print for a measly 25 cents. But there was a catch: it had to be in the form of a New Jersey state quarter, the missing link in my collection of state quarters. (And it was limited to the first 3 people to respond.) But my real goal was to get people looking at the art on the back of their money and it worked! I was delighted and gratified at the number of positive comments I received regarding this. So remember, #artiseverywhere . . . Look around you today and enjoy it!

In Memory of david L. hubbard

Video link below for the memorial service held at Hilo Fine Art Center on Sunday, December 16, 2018 for our beloved friend, David Hubbard. He was an integral part of HFAC and our lives personally for seven wonderful years. We were moved by the sweet, funny, heartwarming stories shared by those who loved him. As friend and fellow artist Jim Rhodes put it, “he walked the earth softly.” David is sorely missed but we are so grateful for the time we had with him.
We’ve launched our Hahnemühle product shopping cart!
We’ve added a shopping cart to our site! Now you can click on the “Shop” tab at the top of our website to order Hahnemühle papers and canvas.
This is the same quality product we use in producing our own giclee prints. Give it a try sometime!
We charge a flat rate of $15 to ship within the Hawaiian Islands.
Now selling Hahnemühle media on our website!
We’ve been selling rolls Hahnemühle fine art media for some time now but just recently launched a shopping cart function on our website enabling customers to place and pay for orders quickly and easily online. Check it out today by clicking on the “Shop” button at the top of the website.
Our “tradigital” work at Wailoa Center.
We don’t just reproduce other artist’s work here at HFAC… sometimes we get to make some of our own! David Hubbard and I have a number of items in an exhibit showcasing “tradigital” art at Wailoa Center thru July 27, 2017.
“Tradigital” is a term coined to describe art and artists that combine traditional and digital methods and media. Hubbard and I hope you’ll take a moment to check out the show. The diversity of the 15 participating artists makes for an interesting, varied exhibit.
HFAC is relocating!
Howdy art fans… please help get the word out: We are moving Hilo Fine Art Center back to our original location in Shipman Business Park! We’ve enjoyed our time in downtown Hilo but we’re adding screen printing to our line of services and want to keep everything in one location.
We’ll be making the move to 16-643 Kipimana Street (Keaau) the week of October 10 thru 14. Stop by and see us sometime!
3-day Digital Drawing & Painting Workshop!
Introduction to Digital Painting/Drawing!
Join us for one of two identical one-hour sessions:
10:30-11:30 or 1:00-2:00 $5 in advance, $10 at the door. Seating is limited so pre-registration is recommended.
Bring your tablet, iPad or smart phone for some fast, easy fun!
Instructor Carlton Stout is a visual artist with broad experience covering digital media arts, traditional media and digital fine arts. Carlton holds a Digital Arts degree with Honors from Hawaii Community College and has exhibited and sold work in juried shows and galleries.He will be offering a Digital Painting & Drawing Seminar in January 2016. Take advantage of this interactive presentation to find out what to expect! There will be time for questions and answers before and after each session.
Metallic Signing Pens Are Here!
Flesh & Form: New exhibit starting May 1st
Hilo Fine Art Center is proud to present an exhibit of works generated by artists attending the Figure Session held at the Cultural Center every Tuesday evening. These weekly sessions have been hosted for the last few years by Julianna Graper, nee Ziegler, and the exhibit is a thank-you to her for her good work. Mahalo, Jules, you have done the room proud!
I grew up as a painter in a similar room, working the figure. Though I could draw from life since high school, I had painted almost exclusively from photographs. At thirty, I was mostly self-taught and solitary. And dissatisfied with my work.
In 1987 I was about the eighth person to sign up with the newly formed Art Students League of Denver. Founded by Philip Levine, it was based on the New York model. One Tuesday evening I walked into the room (Long Pose Painting),set up my flimsy aluminum easel and student grade paint, and flailed away. It was the most humbling three hours and three bucks I have ever spent. I sucked. But I went back. And I sucked again, a little less. And back again. About the fourth or fifth time, I started to get it. Over time I got comfortable. (And the others in the room started looking me in the eye. I was getting less awkwardly bad…) I made some good friends, became a painter among painters. I found my Tribe. My work got much better.
Drawing and painting the figure is the calisthenics of making art. It’s the Great Hunt- you got 20 minutes and what can you capture? It’s live and RIGHT NOW. And again. And again. It’s where you develop your eye and your chops. It’s the most fun ever.
It’s also the most egalitarian and friendly room in the art cosmos.
(An aside. Though I grew up as a painter in the room, I truly became a man the night I walked into the room with my classy new French Easel-and student grade paint. Good paint followed soon, and I still have the easel. Faithful old thing.)
“Real artists work the figure” is one of the few good snobbisms left. Come see some real good work by some real, good artists!
Hubbard
Opening reception: Friday, May 1, 6-9pm. Closing party Saturday, May 23, 4-7pm
David Hubbard on “Tradigital” Painting…
“Tradigital” is a blending of the words “traditional” and “digital”. The process of creating digital art is likewise a mixture of old and new. An artwork is considered tradigital if a significant step in the process of creating the artwork was performed using digital technology.
In the example seen here, the central painting is a traditional oil on canvas. the tradigital paintings on either side are significant reworks from the original painting, executed in oil over uncoated giclée canvas prints. These are original paintings in their own right and depart from the original painting far more than would enhanced giclée prints.
Digital/giclée prints are an important new tool in the artist’s creative kit, and can provide a painter with fresh options to choose from, choices which simply cannot be made within a single painting.
Tradigital painting allows artists to follow the advice of the great sage Yogi Berra, who once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
It’s a whole new world…