I stumbled across the Elan Vital art gallery at The Shops at Wailea in Maui, so bright and colorful that it was impossible not to go in for a snoop around, especially given that it is a 4,000 square foot showroom full of hundreds of his paintings.A native New Yorker, Elan was most inspired by Leonardo DaVinci’s renaissance diversity theory when he was younger, and later in life, joined a commune of artists in the East Village where he met Andy Warhol while designing psychedelic lighting equipment.
While raised as an East Coaster, he has been in Hawaii since 1988. His first major work in Maui was a 49-foot, 10-ton, life-size, humpback whale – the largest sculpture of its kind in Hawaii. Élan donated the whale to establish Maui’s Ecology Park, where it is now on permanent display.
After completion of the whale, Élan began his signature work – combining aerospace enamel with exotic pigments and finely ground minerals. His inspiration for these meta-realistic paintings comes from the beauty of gemstones, his colorful surroundings, and life itself.
As the substance begins to harden the surface appearance can be manipulated even further, cells can be pulled and elongated or compressed and flattened. Ridges and bubbles can be formed.
Infrared light is another element used to control the surface texture and the degree to which the image can be altered. At various intervals the surface of the paintings are polished to release their luster and beauty.
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Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored over 90, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity. She is also the founder of the Magdalene Collection, a jewelry line dedicated to women’s unsung voices and stories, and the award-winning author of the bestselling book Magdalene’s Journey
She is founder of Blue Soul Media and co-founder of Blue Soul Earth as well as the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS podcast, that bridges science, technology and spirituality. Renee also founded Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
