Over on Lanai, easel does it

Mike Carroll’s favorite place to paint is on Lanai Avenue, just 30 yards from his eponymous art gallery in Lanai City.

"When I walk out the door, I’m in 1930s Hawaii," Carroll said. "I love painting vignettes of the houses and neighborhoods here. There’s something about the plantation-era construction, makeshift fences and multicolored tin roofs that’s irresistible to me, and it seems I’m spending as much time waving to friends passing by as I do painting."

Inevitably, something in his work resonates with viewers. For instance, a former Lanai police lieutenant appeared in Carroll’s gallery one morning a few years ago. Pointing to an easel near the entrance, he said, "When I was making my rounds last night, another painting was displayed here. It was the painting I saw you working on in the street last week. Can you show me where it is?"

Carroll took him to the spot where he had moved a painting of a quaint yellow cottage with a blue tin roof. "Do you know this house?" he asked.

"Yes!" the officer replied. "My mom was born in that house!"

Since then Carroll has met three different families with ties to that old plantation home. "I’ve come to realize I’m not only documenting the history of Lanai in my work, but also the history of the people in our tightknit community," he said. "That’s quite a responsibility!"

Carroll and his wife, Kathy, came to Lanai for the first time in December 1999 to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. They were immediately drawn to the island’s peaceful, laid-back ambience, which reminded them of their childhood in small towns in the South.

Five days into their trip, they decided to buy a fixer-upper house in Lanai City with the intention of using it as a winter getaway where Carroll could get back into oil painting.

"I was a commercial and medical illustrator in Chicago, and my oils had been pretty much stored in the back of a closet for 20 years," Carroll said. "I was looking forward to working with them again."

Over the next eight months, the couple made several trips to Lanai to check on and assist with the renovation of their home. As they befriended more residents and saw more of the island’s beauty, they asked themselves, "Why are we coming here for what amounts to just two months a year? Why don’t we sell everything we have in Chicago, take two years off and live here?"

So they sold their house, car, winter clothes and most of their furniture and used the proceeds to fund a two-year sabbatical. "We figured the rat race always needs rats, and if I couldn’t sell my paintings on Lanai, we’d go back to Chicago, buy a starter condo and work our way back up again," Carroll said.

They made the move in January 2001. When they opened the Mike Carroll Gallery in December 2002, they threw a party and invited the public. The gallery’s anniversary celebration became an annual mid-December tradition.

In 2006 Carroll was invited to join the Islanders, a select group of 10 local plein-air artists dedicated to showcasing the beauty, diversity and culture of Hawaii.

"The Islanders host a big plein-air festival on Maui every February, featuring 25 artists," Carroll said. "Kathy and I thought a Lanai-size painting festival would be a great way to commemorate our gallery’s anniversary and present the many facets of Lanai to visitors."

Since the event debuted in December 2009, Carroll has invited notable artists from as far away as Missouri to record their "impressions of Lanai" on canvas. The number of participants is deliberately kept small (fewer than 10) to provide a more intimate experience for observers.

"Lanai essentially becomes an open studio," Carroll said. "For those who love art, this is a great chance to meet and interact with some of Hawaii’s top painters and see the creative process unfold right in front of them. You’ll find artists painting at scenic spots all over the island, from Shipwreck Beach to the top of the Munro Trail."

According to Carroll, most of the nine artists featured this year would describe their style as impressionistic, which is well suited for re-creating the fleeting quality of light as it moves and changes in intensity on location.

During the Artists’ Reception on Dec. 17, participants will offer for sale their three favorite paintings created during the previous four days of painting around Lanai. As those paintings sell, they will be replaced with other new original works that were started and completed during that time frame. Prices typically run between $700 and $3,000, depending on the artist and canvas size.

The feeling of ohana (family) that attracted Carroll and Kathy to Lanai flourishes during the festival, called Impressions of Lanai. "When one of our artists sets up an easel among the historic homes in Lanai City, residents will stop what they’re doing to watch and chat," Carroll said. "An entire family will come to the Artists’ Reception and ask where they can see the painting that was done of Auntie working in her garden or Grandpa fixing his throw net. Impressions of Lanai captures the essence of life on our truly special island."

IF YOU GO …

IMPRESSIONS OF LANAI

>> Dates: Tuesday through Saturday, Dec. 13-17
>> Location: Various venues on Lanai
>> Admission: Free
>> Phone: 565-7122
>> Email: mike@mikecarrollgallery.com
>> Website: www.mikecarrollgallery.com
>> Notes: In conjunction with this event, Hotel Lanai is offering a rate of $99 per night Dec. 12-18. To book, call 565-7211 on Lanai or 800-795-7211 from the other islands. Discounted nightly rates for The Four Seasons Resort, Lanai at Manele Bay and The Four Seasons Resort, Lanai, The Lodge At Koele begin at $249 and $199, respectively. Call 800-321-4666 to book.

SCHEDULE

>> Dec. 13-15 Artists set up their easels and paint at locations throughout Lanai.
>> Dec. 16 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Lodge at Koele Artists will paint on the hotel grounds.
>> Dec.17 Quick Draw, 9 a.m. to noon. Hulopoe Bay and the Four Seasons Resort, Lanai at Manele Bay Watch artists start, finish and frame a painting in three hours. These “quick draw” paintings will be on display and for sale from noon to 3 p.m. in the hotel’s lower lobby and from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Mike Carroll Gallery in Lanai City. Artists’ Reception, 6 to 9 p.m. Mike Carroll Gallery Enjoy wine, pupu and live music at this free gala, which marks the opening of the exhibit and sale of works created over the previous four days. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to the Lanai Art Center (www.lanaiart.org) and the Lanai Animal Rescue Center (www.lanaianimalrescue.org).

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Pierre Bouret (Kauai), www.artkauai.com
Saim Caglayan (Kauai), www.saimcaglayan.com
Mike Carroll (Lanai), www.mikecarrollgallery.com
Betty Hay Freeland (Maui), www.bhfreeland.com
Darrell Hill (Hawaii island), www.darrellhillart.com
Carleton Kincade (Maui), www.carletonsart.com
Ronaldo Macedo (Maui), www.macedofineart.com
Macario Pascual (Maui), www.pascualfinearts.com
Jeni Prince (Kauai), www.kauaiarts.net

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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.