The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-11-22
By ELEANOR RIvENBURGH.


An interesting chat with Otto Wix,
student and water-color artist, revealed
many lighs and shadows in his paint
ings and his life worth repeating to
the public who on Wednesday last
viewed the result of his labors and ms
piration in the drawing room of the
Young Hotel, under the patronage OF
Mrs A. G. Halves, Jr.
Mr. Wix as an artist is pre-eminent.
First there is that something that
strikes you the moment your eyes rest
on his beautiful pictures, commonly
known as genius and yet betrayIns
many hours of close companionship
with Nature, her grand solitudes, her
quiet Businesses, hours filled with deep
communion with his inner self, the
best there is in him, and last, but by
no means the least significant, the per-
effect, no matter at what cost to pa
thence, or personal comfort
81 will tell you, since you are good
enough to ask me, that 1 spent some
time studying in the Academy of Mu-
mich but also tell you that to stay with
in any school, FOR the purpose OF de-
veloping art, is ridiculous. Let him
who desires to study art go out where
art is. out, into the realms of Ma
ture She is the best, in fact, the
only teacher"
So, rain or shine, with his parapher-
naia under his arms, has this student
set forth, and has shown us what we
little dreamed was here. Where are
the words to describe the beauties OF
his paintings?
Perched on a ledge, one overlooks
first the tremendous, dark, deep, terri
BILE caverns of his Olekele. Here the
sky is overcast win threatening clouds
and their reflection is evident in the
gloom which envelopes the overhang-
ing cliffs. The atmospheric conditions
are wonderful and the magnitude OF
his perspective is remarkable. From
smoky blue to every tone of grey which
merges into almost impossible pur-
pies, this picture teens with magnet
ism.
From this, we turn our eyes to 6
dainty bit of color and life, called
Fishing-Day at Hanalei, and here is {
reproduction of such variety of cofol
scheme, so artistic, so beautiful II
every way, that we are surprised a
our own incapability to see what, tt
this man and artist, is so apparent
Here is a curving sweep of yellow
sands, the kind little tendrils of run
neTs which cover the sparse rocks, tn
far, gradual mounting of graceful hill
that end dramatically in towering pill
lars losing themselves amid the clouds
Lights and shadows abound. The top
most peaks are mournfully overcas
with darkness; beow, the sun has burs
forth, and the yellow sands, the gree
vines, the billowy breast of rolling foo
= hills are resplendent with animation
And then to add a mere touch of hu
manity to this overpowering eXpans
of nature, are four diminutive figures
and-can you imagine humor more dc
} lightful?-one little figure is dresse
in a red holoku!
And the sea-one color blending int
{ another, till you don't know whS
color it is. You always thought
. was blue. You didn't suppose for
J moment it could be anything else. b
J Otto Wix shows that the sea is con
posed of wonderful colors, and you di
Y not know they were there till he show
X ed you. At Hanalei it is brown an
4 green and white, and many otht
y shades. And a sudden gust of win
\ has tufted back the spray, which fal
= gracefully away in soft languor.
= There are other scenes innumerabl
@ Rugged coasts, at high noon, where IL
Z tense heat quivers and the land
5 lazy in the midday hour. There
& that masterpiece, THE Gate to II
3 Paradise, Olekele,' which is to
Z hung next year in Europe, which
e intense with solitude, Here, Mr.. w
q spent weeks alone to commune vii
: the environment, washing his ow
clothes, cooking his own meals,