Join me while I share my techniques and paint the stately mountains, a beautiful beach, swaying coconut palms and a weathered canoe of Kauai in oil…from beginning to end in 8 minutes.

This fall I worked on a 48×24 inch oil painting that is titled The Canoe. I’d like to share the painting process with you. This oil painting was filmed over several days and several sittings and took many hours to complete.

I begin with the canoe as the central focus. I’m blocking in color with oil paint, trying to keep my brush strokes fresh.

All of my art is about creating happiness and joy by celebrating color and expression. When I am creating a new painting or chandelier, I’m always trying to imagine how my clients want to feel when they look at my art in their homes. I’ve been blessed with literally hundreds of beautiful notes from collectors…and receiving those appreciative notes absolutely make my day and pushes my art onwards.

This is a big canvas and I’m in the underpainting phase. This time I didn’t do a turpentine gesture wash.

I want this painting to evoke a quite feeling.

I did block in the gesture of the coconut palms early on…just as a place holder. I utilize these gestures to create emotion. Anyone who is attracted to this type of beauty—because the world has many, many types of beauty—understands the power of the sway of these majestic palms.

For me, painting is a process. I am not an artist who sticks to a formula. I paint in the moment.

My life in California also supplies me with endless inspiration. I spent a significant amount of years living in the Central Coast region and it will always have a special place in my heart…even as I look to Hawaii as the future.

During the pandemic, I haven’t been traveling to Hawaii like I would in past years. Instead I’ve been spending time in along the California Coast, really admiring it’s beauty and soaking it all in, aware that some day I might not travel as much in California.

I share this trait with my collectors: I indulge in an undying simple pleasure of observing and taking in the beauty and essence of the world around us…more often than not, the Hawaiian Islands. There is a clam and uplifting essence to the subjects that I select to paint.

Capturing the texture of the layers, the peeling paint and weathered wood is the type of challenge that I love.

Something unexpected that I discovered this year while filming painting videos is that I really love re-living the creation process while I’m editing and re-watching videos…because when a specific work of art is sold, it’s gone forever.

The process of painting is very necessary to my soul…and simply watching my working process brings me almost as much joy as if I’m painting in the moment. That’s how much I love to paint! I am inspired to get back to the easel every time I edit videos. I am instantly reminded my life’s purpose is to paint and create and share the joy of a colorful world with others.

Blocking in the island mountain range is always a fun part of the painting process…if I’m painting mountains in a scene.

This is Kauai. The mountains surround you while you are in Kauai. They tell their own weathered story. In this painting I have it in my mind that I want this beautiful range to be pushed back. I’m going to hold off on some of the crazy detail that often goes into my work…I’m pushing my art into a new direction to see if it works. It’s just the thought I have about this piece.

Art is work after all! It’s process. I’m not a formula here…I’m creating in the moment, especially when I paint in oils. I want this mountain range to have it’s own distant and mysterious beauty. I want the sky to be that happy blue, that’s clear, the type you get after a brief rain in Kauai.

I hope you enjoyed my video. Thank YOU for watching!

If you have questions about my work, feel free to reach me at:

jenny@floravita.com
925-625-7969

View The Canoe in my gallery shop here.

If you would like to see more of my Youtube Videos, please visit my channel, Jenny Floravita Island Art here.