In the 1970s, Anthony Casay was the undisputed star of Hawai'i's art world. His signature seascapes applied the rich, balanced composition of the Old Masters to the Islands' colorful splendor. His groundbreaking style, dubbed Hawaiian Romantic Realism, was a hit among tourist collectors in Waikïkï, then the center of Hawai‘i’s retail art world. Eventually, however, Casay faced competition from talented up-and-comers who mimicked or innovated his form.
By the mid-1990s, the proud artist had lost his stronghold on the market. Nevertheless, with over 15,000 paintings sold in his 40-year career, no one can deny Anthony Casay's mastery of the romantic seascape—or his role in originating the best-selling genre. Many art dealers agree that his work is outstanding and arguably superior, despite nowadays being overshadowed by bigger-name successors.
Casay's oeuvre is dominated by dynamic seascapes, from turbulent high seas to idyllic sandy beaches bathed in luminous sunshine or moonlight. All feature his iconic foaming, rolling waves, seemingly cresting and falling and pounding the shore. A versatile artist, Casay is also known for his Edenic gardens and dramatic portraits of wildlife. Remarkably, he is self-taught, influenced not by any personal teacher but by the world’s great artists—from Rembrandt to the Russian seascapists Eugene Garin and Ivan Aivazovsky.
There's no denying that Casay’s paintings depict a fantasy Hawai‘i, where every wave, every cloud, and every water droplet is utterly flawless. According to Island Art Galleries owner Jeff Liu, “Casay captures that once-in-a-lifetime magical moment, when a person might turn the corner and see the perfect sunset or full moon.” But Casay does not intend to render nature more stunning than it really is. “I paint what I see,” he says.
Casay was born in Madrid in 1942, just after the Spanish Civil War. At age five, he moved with his family to Mexico City, where his father was a symphony percussionist. There, he launched his first career as a child actor, starring in a popular TV series, Les Miserables. At 17, he switched to music, playing drums in rock-and-roll bands and backup for groups including The Platters and Bill Haley and the Comets.
By his early 20s, he earned a post-secondary degree in diplomatic and political science. That was his ticket to Los Angeles, where he served as a diplomat in the Consular General of Mexico. He painted only as a nighttime hobby, in a tiny room smaller than four-by-four feet. After he’d completed about 10 paintings, he showed them to a friend who surprised him by taking them and returning with a fistful of cash. Soon Casay left his diplomat post and painted full-time.
In 1968, he traveled to Hawai‘i for a visit and, inspired by the setting, ended up moving to the Islands. Over the years he lived on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and the Big Island, establishing his own galleries. While not a shrewd businessman or self-marketer, Casay grew famous enough for others to approach him about licensing his images to appear on screen savers, T-shirts, greeting cards, calendars, jigsaw puzzles, and needlepoint designs.
Five years ago, Casay relocated to Brownsville, the southernmost city in Texas, where he has close friends and where real estate remains affordable. Casay’s predominant subject remains Hawaiian seascapes due to their unending popularity. He paints by memory, using no photos unless he’s rendering a specific landmark, such as Diamond Head or Bali Hai.
“An artist is born, not made,” Casay says. Indeed, after 40 years of painting, his life still revolves around his art. He follows the same work schedule seven days a week—and almost 365 days a year. “I start at 6:30 AM,” he says, “and it takes me about 35 minutes to concentrate. Then I go till 2:00 or 3:00 PM daily, except maybe Fourth of July or Christmas!”
Casay takes no breaks and eats no food until 3 PM. He might listen to music—classical or old rock-and-roll—but mainly he must be in the right frame of mind. “If I’m on bad terms with someone,” he says, “I can’t concentrate.” When not painting, he is careful about protecting his hands, avoiding carrying heavy objects or mowing the lawn.
Casay simultaneously works on multiple canvases, especially because they require particular stages. “It takes about 35 to 40 minutes to do the first layer on a blank canvas,” he says. “I might do four or five in one day and then put them away.” Several days later, he retrieves them to continue. Thus, his work varies from day to day, depending on the stage of the canvases. Ultimately it takes two to three months to complete each painting.
With such a large body of work, Casay’s subject matter obviously repeats itself. Sometimes buyers even request him to replicate a prior work, which he can do. “That seems easy,” says gallery owner Liu, “but most artists cannot do it. The second version almost always turns out slightly inferior to the first.” He adds that Casay’s paintings have grown even more refined in the past two decades. “In his current work,” he says, “everything is seamless. Every part is related to the whole. Even if you look closely, you cannot see any lines, rough edges, or brush strokes.”
Besides painting, Casay’s interests include model airplanes and golf. But until September 2007 he had never owned or used a computer. No Internet. No email. No JPEGs or MP3s. “I’m a 24-hour artist,” he says. “I find it difficult to concentrate on mechanical things or state-of-the-art technology. Why waste time all day long on a computer when I could be painting a beautiful picture?”
