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"Da Gang," one of John Shklov's ghost paintings.

Ghostly images cast
‘Shades of Inner Meaning’

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By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

A few years ago, as artist John Shklov of Kauai took care of his friend Joe Littleman, who lay dying, Littleman told him there were ghosts hovering over the bed. He described them to Shklov and to another friend, Karen Lieberman, as transparent and filled with shifting colors.

ON VIEW What: "Ghosts: Shades of Inner Meaning," watercolors by John Shklov Place: The Gallery on the Pali at the Unitarian Church, 2500 Pali Highway Dates: Through Jan. 25 Admission: Free Call: 526-1191 More work: www.kahunaroad.com

The day before he died of stomach cancer, Littleman insisted that the bed be moved several times around the room, clearing paths for the ghostly wanderers. Shklov found Littleman off the bed the next morning, curled up in a fetal position, as if he were returning to the womb instead of the great beyond.

Although Shklov had dabbled with ghostly drawings since the 1970s, the otherworldly experience of his friend's demise haunted him. It also inspired a series of watercolors based on Littleman's last perceptions of reality before he died.

"I don't know exactly what he saw, but I believe it represented unresolved issues in his life, either within him or externally. We all have things unresolved.

"I've never seen a ghost myself -- that I know of! -- but I've certainly had sorts of supernatural experiences. I used to live up on Tantalus, and special places like that spark precognition and feelings that something is there."

"Ghosts: Shades of Inner Meaning" is on view through Jan. 25 at The Gallery on the Pali. Shklov will be there at the gallery for a free reception from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

A multimedia teacher, artist, photographer and Web designer, Shklov has taught art for nearly two decades on Kauai. He is also working on a series of abstract watercolors inspired by the mathematical complexity of DNA and the Human Genome Project.

Creating the ghost paintings took a psychological toll on Shklov. "It's kind of scary for me to be this personal, to delve this deeply into my own psyche and let others see in," he said.

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