Eric J. Franke
Eric J. Franke is a prolific Big Island artist, known for his stark photography of the Hawaiian landscapes as well as his emotive portraiture. Able to find something magical in seemingly mundane moments, his style combines muted but rich tones in isolated compositions, often leaving space for the viewer to exist with and in his scenes . His style draws upon his experiences growing up in Hawaii, and his love for beauty, adventure, mystery, discovery, and story.
Aside from the visual arts, Eric is a lifelong soccer player and longtime coach. In college he took an interest in the Hawaiian language and studies it to this day. He enjoys spending time at the beach as long as he doesn't have to sit still, singing along to the radio (look out Carrie Underwood), and blonde jokes. He has four blonde sisters, five nephews, two nieces, and a couple of parents. He loves chocolate chip cookies, his favorite color is blue, and he's self diagnosed as "bacterially aware" (Germaphobe is such a dirty word).
Eric oversees the creative direction at theMAKAproject, as well as being staple face at his Fine Art Gallery in Kailua-Kona, Maka Fine Art.
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“I believe that many photographers, or people for that matter, take themselves and what they do far too seriously. Life is a blink, and every moment of it is irreplaceable. If we can stop, smile, recognize the beauty, or the interesting, or the ugly, or the different in something, and be able to share that with another human then we have succeeded. It is uniquely human to share experiences and memories, be it through a whisper, a song, a scent, or an image. I can’t think of a greater way to spend a lifetime than in the pursuit of snatching the rich moments of existence and offering them to our fellow humans in connection for a common experience. This is what it means to be alive, and it is in these moments that together we can be perfect, if only for a little while.”
