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Artists >>
McCabe, Raymond
Every artist is in some way a reflection of the culture that influences his or her formative years. Raymond McCabe, born and raised in Hawaii, is no exception.
Raymond’s family background, so typical of Hawaii, consists of Japanese, Chinese, Irish, Portuguese, Swedish, Greek, Tahitian, and Hawaiian. His paintings, a mixture of ancient and modern, oriental and western influences, reflect the cultural diversity of life in Hawaii.
Now in his mid 40’s, Raymond is a self taught artist who has lived in Honolulu all of his life. Always doodling as a child he honed his drawing and compositional skills by copying fantasy illustrations.
Movie special effects, such as those in Star Wars, rock album covers, science fiction illustrations and even comic book art have shaped the bold, striking contemporary paintings that flow from his brush.
Raymond readily acknowledges his debt to both fantasy and comic book illustrators for this is where he learned perspective, shading, proportion and composition, all of which allowed him to create a powerful and profound statement about the beauty of women.
Music also played an important role in his development as an artist. He began creating images for local musical groups by designing and painting album covers, logos, fliers and stage backdrops. As his reputation spread he painted more and more music inspired art and event worked on the huge main stage mural of the `77 Diamond Head Crater Festival, one of the biggest events in local rock history.
His airbrush techniques were developed out of necessity while painting on fabric. Raymond developed his techniques further when he began painting on canvas with a combination of hand brushwork and airbrush. Up to 85% of each painting is created by hand, using some of the finest brushes that can be found. The airbrush is then used to over paint the brushwork creating subtle shadings and shadows, imparting a three-dimensional feel to the paintings.
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