Māla Lani — Original Plumeria Watercolor

Māla Lani

Māla Lani grew from my love of watching sunlight pass through flower petals.

I’ve always been drawn to backlit flowers—the way light can make a petal seem almost translucent, illuminating color from within rather than simply falling across its surface. With this painting, I wanted to see if I could recreate some of that luminous quality using transparent watercolor.

The flowers are rainbow plumerias, painted from a perspective that especially intrigued me: the backs of the blossoms.

We most often admire plumerias from the front, but I find the reverse side just as beautiful. The petals curl and overlap into graceful spirals, and when the flowers are viewed against the sky, their shapes become almost sculptural.

That different perspective allowed me to bring the sky directly into the composition and make light itself part of the subject.

Origin & Inspiration

My challenge with Māla Lani was not simply to paint plumerias, but to paint light moving through them.

I wanted the warmer pinks, creams, and yellows of the rainbow plumeria to feel illuminated against the cooler blues of the sky and the deep greens of the surrounding leaves.

Watercolor felt especially suited to that idea because of its transparency. By allowing light areas of the paper and layered washes to work together, I could build the flowers gradually while keeping them luminous rather than heavy.

I also loved turning the viewpoint upward. Instead of looking down at flowers arranged toward the viewer, we are looking into a small tropical canopy—flowers, leaves, branches, and open sky all sharing the same space.

The title Māla Lani, or Heavenly Garden, felt like a natural fit for that feeling.

Framing & Presentation

Māla Lani is professionally framed in a solid koa wood frame with a turquoise silk accent, triple matting, and acrylic glazing.

The warm koa wood complements the deeper branch tones in the painting, while the turquoise silk detail delicately echoes the cool blues and greens throughout the composition. The triple matting with one dark blue mat gives the watercolor breathing room and keeps the focus on the luminous flowers and sky.

Artwork: 15" × 10.8"
Framed: 22" × 18.5" × 1.75"

Artwork Details

Title: Māla Lani
Artist: Christie Marie Elder
Created: 2025
Medium: Watercolor on watercolor paper
Artwork Size: 15" × 10.8"

Framed Size: 22" × 18.5" × 1.75"

Framing: Solid koa wood frame with turquoise silk accent and triple matting
Glazing: Acrylic
Original: One of One
Price: $5,500

 

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Artist Signature & Documentation

Signature: Signed by Christie Marie Elder on the front.

Each original artwork includes a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) together with an artist biography for provenance and collector records.

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Copyright

© Christie Marie Elder. All rights reserved.

Purchase of the original artwork transfers ownership of the physical artwork only. Copyright and reproduction rights remain with the artist and do not transfer with the sale.

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Shipping & Delivery

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Before purchasing, please click the “Request a Shipping Quote” button on this page and complete the short form with your delivery address. We’ll arrange the appropriate professional packing and insured transport, then contact you with the complete shipping quote.

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