The Makk Family
by
Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D

     In Hawaii lives a family of artists: Mother, father, and son. The mother's works remind
  viewers of Degas, with the delicately and lightly brushstroked ballerinas tip-toeing across the 
  floor. In contrast, the father paints impressionistically in bold strokes and brazen colors. In
  between is the son whose artistry is a mixture of both. This is the world renown Makk family
  whose work grace the walls of Charlton Heston, T. Boone Pickens, Presidents Reagan and
  Carter, Physicist Dr. Edward Teller, and many others. 
        For the Makks, "painting is not just to reproduce what life reveals to the eye, but to glorify
  that which life encompasses as a whole in its fleeting, yet eternal, passage."  The Makk family
  adds to the legacy of the masters before them. Although they're still considered to be "emerging
  artists," they're also well known world-wide, having traveled from one end of the globe to the
  other. They've received awards for the churches they've painted in Ohio and New York, and have 
  exhibited by special invitation at the New York World's Fair, and throughout the U.S., Europe,
  and South America. They've also held exhibitions in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janerio, Brasilia, Caracas,
  as well as Madrid, Munich, Monte Carlo, Paris, Lisbon, Vienna, Geneva, and in Canada, too. The
  countries of Italy, Monaco, and South America have bestowed upon them gold medals for their
  achievements and talents. In fact, to date they been honored with over 100 gold medals, numerous
  citations, merit awards, and various diplomas. And their biographies appear in every major
  Whos Who. 
        They've also been commissioned to paint four presidential portraits--all of which hang in the
  White House--along with "Trilogy" which is a rendering of New York's Central Park, coupled
  with the city of Paris. Currently they're completing an assigned canvas featuring a 1000-year
  history of Hungary. Succeeding this, they'll start the same type of work dealing with the history
  of America, from the Mayflower to the present.
        Although each member in the family has his or her own distinct style that immediately 
  identifies who painted what, each strives for the same qualities: the right color, the proper balance,
  and the most pleasing composition. Because they are so rigid about the quality of their work, they
  decided in 1988 to open their own serigraphy publishing studio--called Vision Fine Art Press--near
  their home in Hawaii. This allows them to maintain total control over their own inventory. To do
  this, all three Makks work in the studio and supervise every step of the printing process for each
  of their limited edition artwork. They mix every color by "feel" which comes from years of
  experience, and they reconstruct, "brush stroke for brush stroke," each plate after the original
  painting. It is their penchant for perfection that contributes to their world-wide fame, their vision
  of and strive for excellence.
         How can you tell one Makk painting from another? There is no sure-fire method simply
  because each paints many different kinds of subjects, so it's not accurate to say, for example,
  that Eva paints ballerinas, Americo does cityscapes, and A.B. likes flowers, although those
  statements are characteristics of their work. Yet, there is no one thing in particular that classifies
  their work. 
        However, Eva's work does reflect a certain degree of cautiousness in her use of pastels, while
  Americo's strokes are daring and prominent, and their son, A.B., is a combination of both,
  illustrating in both heavy strokes tempered with light, delicate-looking ones.
        So whether creating a presidential portrait, a sitting for Eva Gabor, or a hanging of corporate
  CEO, the Makks always give one-hundred-percent of themselves. Without a doubt, they are worth
  the investment.
        And, imagine, all that creativity in one family.
  Note: This is the first of three four articles on the Makk family; all three Makks will be discussed  individually. Quotes were gathered
   from The Makk Family: A Vision of Life. Collaborator:  Shelly Henderson. Makk Studios: HI 1986.
  Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D. is a former executive director of a high end art gallery.

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