Art is Life-Life is Art: Donkey Mill Art Center
Donkey Mill Art Center is the home of Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture, a 501(c)3 nonprofit art education organization. Its mission is to provide a stimulating environment that helps individuals discover, develop and expand their artistic abilities. In 2016…
50 Years of Inspired Art at Hilo’s Wailoa Center
By Leilehua Yuen Since 1967, the Wailoa Center has graced Pi‘opi‘o, an ‘ili kūpono (chiefly holding place) in the Waiākea ‘ahupua‘a (district) of Hilo. The center was part of an effort to create a green zone and recreation area after…
Featured Artists: Roz Marshall, Colin Anderson, and Robert Andia
Featured Cover Artist: Roz Marshall Roz Marshall is a Welsh born Canadian artist who has lived mauka (uphill) from Kealakekua Bay for nearly twenty years in a house she designed and built with her husband, Bob Florent. Roz grew up…
Strike up the Band! Hawai‘i County Band Entertains Hawai‘i Island for Over 130 Years
By Karen Rose A great band makes music sound effortless—a cacophony of notes drifting through air like oxygen. Elements of music such as pitch, tempo, texture, and volume, when analyzed individually hold great importance, yet when married together, create an…
Gary Eoff: One Artist’s Voyage
By Jan Wizinowich Like the cordage he weaves, Gary Eoff’s art stretches back through time to honor and connect with the ancestors. Previously from California, Gary and his wife Karen came to Hawaiʽi in 1980 to surf and visit Karen’s…
Hawai‘i Artist Collaboration: A Masterful Art Happening
By Karen Valentine What happens when you bring together a group of 42 master artists and craftsmen, put them in a confined space for only four days, and task them with producing fine art worthy of a gala charity auction?…
Featured Artists: Kathleen T. Carr and Diane Tunnell
Cover Artist: Kathleen T. Carr Kathleen T. Carr is a professional and fine art photographer, teacher, author, and a former Polaroid Creative Uses Consultant. She received a BFA (cum laude) in Photography from Ohio University in 1970, and then studied…
John Dawson: This Octogenarian is Still Creating Meaningful Art in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
By Denise Laitinen Lots of five-year olds like to draw, but few at that age know they want to be an artist when they grow up. Fewer still grow up to actually become an artist—and a famous one at that,…
Jackie Pualani Johnson: She Really Is Something!
By Britni Schock Growing up, Jackie Pualani Johnson was drawn to drama from a young age. Born and raised in Hilo, Jackie started her journey in theater during high school. After nearly 40 years of working with the UH Hilo…
Featured Artists: Jay Takaaze and Rita French
Featured Cover Artist: Jay Takaaze With a degree in Architecture and a Masters of Photography, Jay Takaaze has been a professional photographer in Hilo for over 40 years. He is recognized both statewide and nationally, garnering numerous awards for his…
Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Network Celebrates 15 Years on Stage
By Alan McNarie Fifteen years ago, Suzi Bond had a career crisis. She’d been directing summer musicals for Volcano Art Center for years when that organization decided to end its theater program. “My first impulse was to crawl under my…
Kalani Pe’a: Hawai‘i Island Born and Bred Artist Brings Home a Grammy
By T. Ilihia Gionson He’s come a long way from the entertainment tent at the Hawai‘i County Fair! As Kalani Pe‘a stood on the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to accept the Grammy for Regional Roots Album…
Abled Hawai‘i Artists: Promoting a ‘Renaissance of Inclusion’ in our Hawai‘i Island Community
By Paula Thomas Mar Ortaleza’s work centers around helping adults with disabilities live a fuller life. An employment specialist at the Hawai‘i Island nonprofit Full Life, Mar’s job is to help his clients develop skillsets and find gainful employment. He…
Island Treasures: Glyph Art Gallery – Hōlualoa
Art Gallery is a warm and inviting space in the heart of Hōlualoa’s coffee and art country, offering a wide range of two and three-dimensional artwork from local artists and artisans. Glyph and Shelly Maudsley White’s ‘Ohana Gallery are two…
Island Treasures: Michael Arthur Jayme Gallery and Studio – Honomū
By Brittany P. Anderson Charming downtown Honomū is home to Michael Arthur Jayme Gallery and Studio, a unique gallery offering over 19 different artists’ work that ranges from pottery to abstract paintings. Artist and owner Michael Arthur Jayme can be…
Featured Cover Artist: Garry Palm
Hawai‘i has definitely inspired Garry Palm in his paintings. He and his wife moved to O‘ahu in 1987 and ever since, Garry’s exacting watercolor style has been making an impression on kama‘āina and malihini alike. The beauty of bright tropical…
Dietrich Varez: A Malihini’s Legacy of Illuminating Hawaiian Culture and Legend
By Paula Thomas He makes his art to give back to his beloved Hawai‘i. He never set out to make a lot of money as an artist, however it worked out that art became his livelihood. He remains overjoyed this…
Exceptional Art for an Exceptional Community
Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy’s Isaacs Art Center By Catherine Tarleton The Herb Kawainui Kāne painting is what draws me in. From the front door of the Isaacs Art Center, “Cook Landing at Kealakekua Bay” is like a window I need to…
Recalling the Majestic Palm in Art: Artist Shelley Hoist Partners with the Palm to Create Natural Beauty
By Karen Valentine Who doesn’t love a palm tree? Swaying in a tropical breeze, it’s the stuff dreams are made of. Whether for a visitor or a local Hawai‘i resident, the palm tree is a living symbol of paradise. As…
Featured Cover Artist: Kathy Long
“It’s the people who are creating the renaissance of the Hawaiian culture that truly inspire me. I hope that by documenting this moment in time, their stories will live on.” – Kathy Long Kathy Long’s pastels and black & white…
City of Murals
By Alan D. McNarie The aged plantation era buildings of downtown Hilo used to radiate an aura of slightly seedy gentility. That’s all changed— the city is now erupting in tropical pastels and bright primary hues. That’s partly due to…
Featured Artist: Michele Iacobucci
Michele Iacobucci moved to Hawai‘i Island 3 years ago, after spending 4 decades in the design industry in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. She was drawn to work with this year’s Chinese zodiacal figure, the Rooster, because…
Meet the Artists of South Kona
Artists are often reclusive people. You may imagine them sitting in a messy studio, contemplating the universe until some inspiration enters their being, causing a masterpiece to be born. That may not be too far from the truth! Bringing their…
Featured Cover Artist: Patricia Leo
The holiday theme of artist Patricia Leo’s painting showcased on this issue’s cover is a dreamlike scene from a magical, enchanted forest in Hawai‘i, illustrated in vibrant, glowing colors. Part of her ongoing series, 16 years of Christmas in Hawai‘i,…
Spirits of Ocean and Land: Wayne Levin and Jozuf Hadley Team Up for Multi-Media Exhibit at Kahilu Theater
By Karen Rose What do a pidgin poet and an underwater photographer have in common? In the case of Wayne Levin and Jozuf Hadley, it’s a love of the spiritual aspects of artistic expression. This fall, the Kahilu Theatre in…
Featured Cover Photographer: Jack Jeffrey
Photographer and Hawai‘i Island resident Jack Jeffrey lives his life for the birds. His passion for nature photography and training as a wildlife biologist have made him a powerful force in the effort to preserve and raise awareness of Hawai‘i’s…
Featured Cover Photographer: Andrew Richard Hara
Local photographer Andrew Hara aims to embody the essence of his subjects in each and every picture. Whether he is capturing the spirit of the island, from the magnetism of the volcano to the serenity of the Pacific, or highlighting…
Featured Cover Artist: Mary Koski
Artist Mary Koski was one of Hawai‘i’s premier painters portraying Hawai‘i and its beautiful people with grace and affection. Her portraits were widely sought after and her tender paintings of children have won her a place in the heart’s of…
Mele Murals: University of Hawai‘i Hilo, Part 2
By Leilehua Yuen O ke au i ka huli wela ka Honua O ke au i ka huli lole ka lani O ke au i kuka‘iaka ka lā E ho‘o mālamalama i ka mālama O ke au o Makali‘i ka…
Featured Cover Photographer: Doug Perrine
Our cover photographer Doug Perrine says the pictures he takes reflect his love of the ocean. Doug’s captivating photographs of sea life are truly one-of-a-kind. His photographs range from a whale’s eye to dolphins smiling while jumping in mid-air. He…
