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Angela Marie Kanas was born in Portland, Oregon. She is a self-taught artist who has been developing her talent since elementary school. At age 15 her first oil was painted on a cut roll of window shade canvas, prepared and encouraged by her father. It was titled “Mykonos” which was inspired when she traveled with her mother to visit their family in Greece. As a teenager she peddled ink drawings, oils, and pencil sketch portraits for gas money. In 1967, at age 17, Angela was invited to participate in her first public show. She was by far the youngest artist of the group, yet sold an oil painting for $80.00.
In 1982 Angela moved to the island of Maui ultimately to paint, but first created a small greeting card business of tropical ink designs to gain exposure. Soon the local island people became her most inspiring subjects. Angela’s Hawaiiana oil portraits found immediate popularity with locals and tourists alike, which led to the publication of her first two limited edition prints. With overwhelming response, new reproductions were issued annually to satisfy customer requests. As one Maui “Kamaaina” (local resident) put it simply; “Angela has brought the grace back to the Hawaiian people with her paintings.” During this time on Maui Angela was asked to showcase her works in galleries throughout the islands, and Hawaii, being the art capital of the Pacific, enabled her to reach clients worldwide.
After nine years and a successful career in the Hawaiian Islands, Angela returned to Portland, Oregon. Awaiting her was a contract offer from a national plate company to portray Americana children. She passed on it to devote time to her parents, raise a daughter, and teach privately.
Angela Kanas and her husband Steve Patterson now reside on the Northern Oregon Coast where they have opened the long awaited “Angela Kanas Gallery” in December of 2007. The new gallery and studio is located on U.S. Hwy. 101 in the charming village town of Nehalem, Oregon which exclusively displays a mix of Angela’s Hawaiian and Pacific Northwest originals and prints.
Today, as a seasoned oil painter, Angela Kanas masters a rainbow palette with a delicate color balance in a representational style that’s all her own. She will always be recognized for her sensitive portrayals depicting
the genuine warmth of the Hawaiian people which is best captured in her familiar most popular selling print; "Talking Story".
Angela Marie Kanas oil paintings and limited editions are owned by collectors throughout the world. |
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