Featured Artists: Linda Rowell Stevens & Barbara Hanson
Cover Artist: Linda Rowell Stevens
Linda Rowell Stevens moved to Hawai‘i in 1978, at age 21. She began her art career as an artist doll maker, selling her dolls in galleries. Her dolls were award-winning—even shown in a Los Angeles museum. Since then, Linda has had several one-woman shows featuring her various mediums, including fused glass, jewelry, fashion design, watercolor painting, oils, acrylics, and her dolls.
Linda had a life-changing experience in the 1990s when she was inspired to create a doll the likeness of King David Kalākaua. To make the doll a true representation, she began to research the king, which led her to read the book he wrote and published in 1887, The Legends and Myths of Hawai‘i. The book so inspired Linda, she began to depict the stories she read, turning her talents to oil painting. Her only painting training had been a book entitled Painting Techniques of the Masters, which had been given to her as a gift.
In 2003, Volcano Art Center held a competition called Visions of Pele. Lindaʻs art was among the top entries in this competition and exhibit. Her image of Pele is still part of the permanent display at the Visitors Center in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Linda’s rendition of Pele is widely recognized and is used on banners during Merrie Monarch.
Linda also illustrated a book, written by Victor C. Pellegrino, called Uncle Kaiwaiola’s Dream, about wetland kalo (taro). This experience was a highlight, as she bonded with the family portrayed in the book while at their kalo farm on Maui.
Linda uses no models or photographs in her paintings. Instead, she sees an image in her mind and attempts to bring forth what she wishes to convey. Such is the case with Mele Kalikimaka on our cover, a scene Linda felt shows the family spirit so prevalent in Hawai‘i. In it, a family gathers around a table with the sights and sounds that enrich their souls; not the trappings of consumerism, but rather music and togetherness to light the season, and thereʻs Santa coming through the door!
Linda was born in Utah, with years spent in Connecticut and Virginia. She attended college at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has one son, Nahele Kanoa Hillery, who was born in 1978. She married her second husband, Larry E. Stevens, in 1987. Linda and Larryʻs home is in Leilani Estates, in an area missed by the 2018 lava flow. They share their home with their beloved cat, Kalele. Linda spends most of her time in her painting studio, which is surrounded by what was once rainforest, now laid bare due to Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death. Despite that and the nearby lava flow, their home is still miraculously surrounded by greenery.
Linda says, “It is not the myths and legends alone that inspire my oil paintings. It is the ‘āina, the land—it is from living here most of my life. This Hawaiian land is at the core of my soul. It is the love that has greeted me through the eyes of the people who live here. It is the hope for their heritage, the reverence for their past. I want my work to say, ‘Don’t let it slip away.ʻ May there forever be proud people who believe in who they really are. If in any way I can show how they shine through my work, then I am content.”
For more information: lindarowellstevens.com
Table of Contents Artist: Barbara Hanson
Barbara Hansonʻs Art Gallery & Studio is located in historic and artistic Hōlualoa Village, overlooking the Kona coast. On any given day you can see Barbara working her magic with colors of polymer clay. Self taught, she blends and combines colors into canes, in which patterns run throughout. With 35 years of experience refining this unique method of layering the patterned elements, her vibrant 3D art comes alive. Each piece is truly one of a kind. Barbaraʻs inspiration ones from the beauty of the islands, Hawaiian culture, and the love of her ‘ohana. Call for an appointment or class!
For more information: Facebook and Instagram: Barbara Hanson Art, or barbarahansonart.com
