Kīhei Charter School graduate pursues successful art career

Brenton Deardorff is a successful artist and a 2005 graduate of the Kīhei Charter School. His art can be viewed at several locations on Maui—at Lahaina Print Sellers at the Lahaina Cannery Mall, Martin & MacArthur in The Shops at Wailea, and at Hands Maui in Pāʻia.

Keeping with the tradition of the Kīhei Charter School’s emphasis on technology education, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM), Deardorff is not waiting for gallery space to show his work.

He is active on the Internet with a web site, aloha@mauibrentart.com, and an on IG as @Mauibrentart where he broadcasts videos of his painting as he creates them, allowing viewers to see his work evolve on daily basis.

Deardorff was born with a crayon in his hand and as a child had a strong desire to be an artist. When he was young, he would color all the time—sometimes for hours. “I was an introverted child,” he said, “I always wanted to create.”

Deardorff’s art reflects Maui and the Hawaiian Islands, with images of fishing, a series on Native Hawaiian songbirds, surfing and waves, all around the subject of Maui or Hawaiʻi.

He mostly works in acrylic and has been doing air brush painting for 20 years. It’s a medium that has a lot of potential to combine abstract backgrounds with foreign techniques, alcohol inks and brush strokes. His goal is to create something that is not already out there. With a focus on realistic foregrounds and abstract backgrounds.

If there is a message in Deardorff’s work, it is to share Aloha with the world. Living in Hawaiʻi he is inspired by nature. “The world is bombarded by toxic things, but I want to share Aloha with everybody in my art. Sharing Aloha with the world. I just feel everybody needs something positive in their life. My hope is to bring light into their lives. Seeing something inspired by Hawaii is a good feeling,” he said.

Deardorff’s goal is to keep growing as an artist and always practicing his craft to get better. To become a known artist in the world. But it’s not an easy road. “I won’t sugarcoat it,” he said.

Deardorff warns young artists that “many times it’s a battle… You’re going to give up many, many times. But many artists are born with an inner flame inside of them to want to create, wanting to be an artist, and you just must work through it. Talk to artists about how they did it. There’s going to be hard times.”

Deardorff said, “there are many avenues of being an artist, to do different types of work,  and with technology now the sky is the limit. It is a pretty exciting time. You don’t have to be in a gallery. You can have a web site, craft shows and social media.”

As a working artist, Deardorff carries the values of the Kīhei Charter School  with him. They are to experiment, learn from the world around you, and care for your community.

“Humans are designed to want to see something beautiful,” Deardorf said. “People need falling back on art. It’s a therapy and we all need it. We need more artists, people like that in the world.”