Working on my bio.

Screwdriver and box cutter in hand, on a day somewhere in or around 1995 Karen opened a very BIG box which held her first large format printer.

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It was the Encad NovaJetPro 36″… I recall tubes for each color that lead into their accompanying ink bottles which, and here was my largest gripe, had to be primed often. Although that was extremely frustrating, it did stain pretty colors on my hands.

In their day, these Encad printers were the best and most exciting wide format inkjet printers available. People were very impressed with the quality. Today many people no longer remember that Encad actually invented the wide format inkjet printer.

After a day or two of “training” I was set up to scan people’s photographs to market the concept “from small to REALLY BIG!” Equipped with an 11″ x 14″ HP high-end scanner in those days, the printer actually did a pretty good job at 300 dpi.

I was forced to buy the current version of Adobe Photoshop (that was typed with a large grin on my face), and learned the “clone” tool first because every single photograph required scratches be removed.

A few years later, Hewlett Packard was manufacturing some pretty great large format printers, higher resolution, easier to maintain … nice. I realized at some point that these printers had become my way of life and I loved it.

Today, Epson’s fine art series printers have stolen my heart. No dots. Wow! Of course, I’m spoiled now, so I rarely even think about those old days. These high resolution printers are specifically designed for fine art. New printing medias were introduced to the world too; another personal delight.

I could go on and on with regards to scanners, a high-end Creo sits to my left and my favorite Epson model resides on my scanning table. Each has their own Macintosh and specialized scanning software.

After selling PostNet in ’02, (reference to Career Path) I set up shop specifically geared to fine art reproduction. It’s a rare occasion when I scan a photograph today. Sure, I can still do it, and I can still make them BIG. But who cares. Today I am humbled and truly honored to work with the finest and most beloved artists in the State of Hawaii. This particular fact tears my heartstrings more than the printers, scanners, software and media ever could.

Dietrich Varez and I met in the early PostNet days, we have well over 100 of his full color paintings archived today, and we’ve been completing his huge collection of block prints. He calls it his “life’s work.” What a great character, what a phenomenal and prolific artist!

My husband and I were visiting a gallery in Kamuela several years ago where I noticed a Herb Kane giclee and commented, “I believe I can do better than this, wouldn’t it be wonderful to work with Mr. Kane’s images one day?” Understand please, when I moved to Hawaii in ’88, I, as most of us do, fell in love with his work; he brings the history and folklore of Hawaii to all of us in a way which we can so easily feel. Herb Kane’s work attributed to my very deep love of this island. Today, this endearment extends to the man himself.

Marian Berger paints birds. Honestly, I’m not the only one who’s said this … I always envisioned a dear lady with graying hair painting birds on an easel. The day she walked into my studio I nearly dropped to the floor. Marian is as stunning as her watercolors; a forever young, vibrant, beautiful woman. Her birds… what a joy to scan and print Marian’s work. She captures Hawaii’s sweet treasures perfectly, and, like only the very best artists, I don’t think she truly understands how great she is.

My list does not end here; I only mention these three because, well, honestly? … they are the top reasons why I continue to do my work to this day. I do what I do, live with my printers, scanners and computers, to reproduce the art which tugs my heart.

I must be the luckiest person in the world.

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