Artists
Arthur Johnsen Painter
After fifteen years of quietly polishing his painting skills in the wilds of lower Puna, this local-born artist jumped into the limelight in 2003 with a big prize for the chosen painting of the Goddess Pele for the Volcanoes National Park . His version of the goddess, with o’o staff in one hand and the embryonic form of her sister Hi’iaka i ka Poli o Pele in the other, hangs now in a place of honor behind the main reception desk at the Kilauea Visitor Center.
More recently, Johnsen was seen on TV and in the Hilo Tribune Herald during the process of painting colorful murals for the central atrium reception area of the new Norwegian Cruise Line vessel, “The Pride of Aloha.”
These are by no means the first large scale public works by the painter. His murals and lobby art may be seen in hotels, restaurants, corporate headquarters, and golf clubhouses throughout the islands.
For the most part, however, Johnsen may be found along the coastal road in Puna, or in other beautiful spots around the Hawaiian Islands, painting en plein air in the tradition of Monet and Van Gogh, seeking to capture the fleeting effects of light in the native vegetation, the sea, and the lava rocks.