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About Roy Tabora
Roy Gonzalez Tabora portrays the endless variations of Hawaii's beauty in his masterful seascapes. With works displayed in fine art galleries throughout the state he is recognized as one of the islands' leading artists. Tabora's work is a masterful blend of spontaneity and precision. Never content with merely recreating an observed scene or copying a photograph, Tabora draws from his heart and his mind. Painting from a combination of memory and imagination, he creates realistic works alive with rolling surf, distant mountains, and radiant skies. He is a keen observer of light, color, and the continuous motion of the sea. Each element offers endless variations of nature's dynamic design. In Tabora's art, every composition becomes a masterpiece of harmony, a poem of lyrical beauty.
Born on June 18th, 1956, Tabora continues the legacy of generations of artists who populate his family tree. Growing up surrounded by art and artists; his earliest memories are of watching the creative process in action. His lessons in the disciplines of drawing and painting began almost as early as he can remember. During his youth he was directed by his favorite uncle, Rick Gonzalez. As with all apprentices, his days were occupied by sweeping floors, cleaning paintbrushes, and preparing materials, as well as receiving expert training in the traditional techniques of the old masters. Already and accomplished Realist at the age of twenty, he opted to continue his education, starting at Washington State University, and receiving his degree in fine arts from the University of Hawaii. He was soon discovered by Hawaii's leading galleries as has since risen to great renown as one of the finest seascape painters in the world.
The splendor of Hawaii's tropical shores is a constant source of Tabora's inspiration. Yet in his creative process, he relies more on his heart than he does on his eye. "I romanticize" he says. "The scenes I portray are memories I have imagined…memories of when the footprints of man were not so prolific and deep. Nature alone is the subject of my work. It's allure is exquisitely pure. That's what I wish to convey. I see in Hawaii's land and sea the essence of beauty itself. It reaches me with a richness of emotion that I simply must express."
There is a magic in Tabora's work, a remarkable glow that seems to shine from an inner light. His colors are at once subtle and intense. This is achieved through a long and painstaking process of layering and glazing. Tabora begins with a wash of turpentine and color. Then using oils, he underpaints the image. This is followed with five to ten applications of colors he calls transparent, each to bring out a greater sense of depth or tonal value. Each layer builds luminosity and light within the transparent waves. Highlights and glazes complete his paintings, resulting in works that enter our minds and become our dreams.
Tabora's art strikes a chord deep within, sending us to a mystical place where our imagination is free to wander amid our fondest memories. Ultimately we arrive at a moment of tranquility. To capture these moments and share them with his viewers - this is the artist's highest aim and this is the true essence of Roy Tabora's unforgettable seascapes. His original paintings and limited edition prints are highly prized by collectors for their irresistible qualities of majesty, mood, and meticulous perfection.