Featured Artists: Shay Niimi Wahl & Joalene Young
Featured Cover Artist: Shay Niimi Wahl
After her first four years in Honolulu, Shay Niimi Wahl grew up in the once-thriving sugar plantation town of Pa‘auilo on Hawai‘i Island. Her rural upbringing made Shay aware of the beauty and diversity of the island, which she sought to capture in drawings and simple paintings. Her mother’s love for flowers and her father’s respect for nature still inspire Shay, along with a carefree country lifestyle.
Shay attended Chapman University in California where she double-majored in international studies and sociology. Shay says, “I loved learning the cultural aspects of various nations, especially their art.” After graduating, Shay made a career teaching in public education where she integrated art in the elementary classroom as much as possible. Upon retiring, she began life as a full-time artist. Shay says, “It was a dream come true. I painted to my heart’s content.”
What she hadn’t expected in retirement was to make new friends and resume teaching as an art teacher to adults. Shay reflects on her 12 years of teaching, post-retirement, “I hope I’ve left many with a love for painting with watercolors and a method to get started and continue on as artists on their own. In teaching, the teacher always learns more than is expected and that is what occurred with me. I am so very grateful for the unexpected.”
Shay paints mainly with watercolors on silk and paper, often with sumi ink and acrylic paints. She always begins with the traditional Asian method of gongbi, which is a meticulous detailed style of painting that originated in early China. She includes strokes of the spontaneous style of Chinese painting, xieyi, resulting in a combination of styles and also a combined flavor of the east and west.
Shay compares her painting style to life in Hawai‘i, known as the melting pot of the Pacific, where many cultures meet and mix and share Hawai‘i’s aloha. “My paintings are an expression of that aloha and a deep appreciation of the boundless beauty found in nature. Our beautiful surroundings inspire me to worship the Creator by way of a brush and a rainbow of colors.”
The artist’s watercolor painting on this issue’s front cover, Winter Guest, was inspired as the winter season neared in 2015 and colorful poinsettias began to decorate the roadsides, stores, offices, and homes to welcome a time of excitement and gatherings for family and friends. Loose and detailed brushstrokes of red and green with yellow stars express the mood of good cheer and celebration that the poinsettia represents.
Shay lives in Waikoloa Village on Hawai‘i Island with her happily retired and very supportive husband, Ric, and their sweet border collie, Hoku. Shay works out of her studio in their home. Her paintings are on display for sale at the Wishard Art Gallery in Hāwi and the Gallery of Great Things in Waimea. Her prints are available in the Gallery at Bamboo in Hāwi and Kilauea Kreations in Volcano. Shay also paints by commission and can be contacted through her website.
For more information: ShayWahlArts.com
Table Of Contents Photographer: Joalene Young
Joalene Young is a fine art photographer and conceptual artist, who turns her photographs into digital paintings. Her art focuses on flowers, land, and seascapes, all reflecting the magic and wonder of Hawai‘i.
Living in Puna on Hawai‘i Island, Joalene’s art is available in art galleries and stores in Pāhoa, Hōlualoa, and Hilo.
For more information: joalene-young.pixels.com
