Known for his gift of color, artist and educator Kirk Boes describes his paintings as “little archives of a moment spent in total freedom from thought. It’s where I’m not listening to my head — just listening to my heart. That’s why I enjoy painting so very much. I’m passionate about it really, because while I’m painting, I’m free,” he explained.

Boes was born in Newport Beach, CA, in July 1958. His family moved to Lahaina, Maui, when he was 15 years old, and he graduated from historic Lahainaluna High School in 1976. He went on the study music at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Boes appreciates what Marc Chagall said: “My process is intuitive, not cognitive. When I paint from the heart, I’m almost always successful. When I paint from the head, almost never.  “Love is the only thing that matters to me.”  And he wasn’t talking about just art, he was talking about life, Boes emphasized.

“Painting for me is an expression of love, of life, and gratitude.” Boes is the former gallery director for the Lahaina Arts Society. He is currently the Arts Education Director for the Lahaina Arts Guild, an award winning non-profit that provides children’s art programs for the community. He is also a board member for Art Maui.  Hawaii residents and visitors alike have been collecting Boes’ works since 1989.