From the Artist

"Michael Clements captures Maui's light and atmosphere with remarkable delicacy and intensity. His works are clear, direct and oh so brilliant. He works in pastels and Oils. While few painters attempt this challenging time-tested medium of pastels, he is an acknowledged master."
~ Jean Stern, Director, the Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine , Institute and Museum for California Art

This exciting Maui artist talks about his art and who most influenced him in his early years.

"When I was old enough to hold a crayon I began my journey as an artist with a bold orange line wrapping around each wall of our house. I didn't get any rave reviews! I can still recall the joy in making that line follow me all around the house. I kept drawing, (on paper of course), and when I turned 12 my Great Grandmother Alice Colerick taught me how to use oil paint. Grandma Alice was nearly 80 then and a daily painter who had returned to her passion in her later years."

"I started my lessons by painting scenes from Arizona Highways magazine. They were exotic landscapes compared to the farmland of the Midwest. I continued to paint through High School and then my life's course led me away from art. I worked many jobs, kept moving west and became a proto type machinist, a horticulturist, Landscape contractor, nurseryman, business owner and finally found my way back to the joy of drawing and painting."

This talented self-taught Maui artist moved to the island in 1987. Today, he paints everyday. You can find him painting around Maui and everywhere he travels.

"My work has been influenced by the first plein air painters of late 19th century Italy known as "I Macchiaioli" primarily Vicenzo Cabianca, Giovanni Fatori, Telemaco Signorgni, and Giovanni Boldini.

"Being an artist to me means learning how to see light and color in it's constantly changing states. It is high drama that gets my heart pounding from the thought that I just might be able to 'catch' it."