Portraits and Surrealism
Images that focus on people and animals in surreal and fantastic ways.
Vesper, the Owl Woman/ 24"x35" / oil painting on canvas / 2019
Uzumaki, the Snake Charmer/ 11"x14"/ oil painting on wood / 2019
Erika, the Black Cat/ 12"x36"/ oil painting on canvas / 2020
Adare and the Muse / oil painting on stretched linen/ 2021/ 36"x48"
Horsehead / 11"x14" / oil painting on linen board /2019
"Kaupe/ Anubis" Read more about him here: https://kawaiola.news/cover/kaupe-the-olohe-dog-man-of-nuuanu/ oil on canvas 18"X24" Featured in the very first Hawaii Surrealism Exhibit at the Wailoa Center in Hilo, October 4th-24th 2024 Awarded an Honorable Mention
"A Puka Ana Hou - To Re-emerge" / Oil on Canvas 24"x 36" / The model for this painting is talented Hawaiian artist, Kira Kamamalu. She helped me name the painting based on the Hawaiian words for reemergence. The tattoos on her body are some of her real tattoos (kākau) and they symbolize the niho manō (shark's teeth), one for each of her cousins (she has a big family!) and the journey to Akua (loosely "The Divine"), by way of the iwa birds on her wrist. The Lei Hulu (bird feather lei) around her neck she made herself. The skull belongs to that of the indigenous Hawaiian crow or ʻAlalā, which almost went entirely extinct, but was saved through conservation efforts and is slowly being reintroduced to the wild. The sapling tree is an Acacia Koa, another native species that is making a comeback through reforestation, after being largely cutdown to make room for farmland. These elements I placed together to pay homage to the strength and perseverance of the Hawai'ian people, their culture, and their indigenous plants and animals, who continue to survive in the face of things like colonization and commercialism. I understand I am a guest here and I thank the people of this island I call home for teaching me about themselves and all of the beautiful creatures that live in their forests and oceans.
Some are real, some are fantasy, but the subjects in these portraits are always strange and unusual.
original paintings by Aly Kat