Photos and Story of Intriguing Local Hawaii Artwork

St. Peter’s Little Blue Church in Kahulu’u by Christal Nylin.

Finding local Hawaii artwork that I can relate to has been fairly difficult. That’s because art is such a personal and passionate thing. You know whether it speaks to you, although sometimes it is not readily apparent. I can find myself passing by a work of art and then returning to view it again. The second time, I see or sense something that was not inherent the first time around. So, I’ve learned not to be too judgmental about local Hawaii artwork.

That doesn’t mean to abandon all restraint or I’d have to build an art studio to showcase everything because I could easily get carried away. I bought a Wayne Keeth orchid painting, even though I had not fully intended to. Not because I didn’t love it, because I do love it, but because I felt it was too expensive, and not because it wasn’t worth it because it is.

I think there comes a point in life when you concede that the purpose of money is to buy things you love. Whatever that might be, stocks, a pot farm, Sacramento real estate, jewelry, art, or even a small business, I suppose. You don’t always have to get “a good deal.” My parents raised me to always bargain, negotiate and try to get the lowest price, and sometimes that focus on squeezing out every last penny can result in not possessing the very thing you wish to own. If it’s unique, like local Hawaii artwork, it’s a lost opportunity you may never see again.

Local Hawaii artwork brings me tremendous joy. Much of it is that connection to nature, to living things such as tropical fish, flowers, trees and birds, and accentuated by sky, ocean and land. It’s color, texture, life. Some artists, like Brook Kapukuniahi Parker, paint to illustrate Hawaiian history and bring to canvas stories passed down from generations. And after reading about this guy, there I was standing in an art gallery in Kailua-Kona absorbing his work.

Below are a few photos of local Hawaii artwork I especially enjoy. An interesting aspect is I don’t have to package and ship any of it. I can carry it home. It’s not what I refer to as tourist art. There is a lot of tourist art, garish college kid stuff, knickknacks. There is a difference to me between churning out the same piece over and over and creating a true work of inspiration, suitable for framing and admiring or like this bowl and cup below, to rest on a bamboo coffee table.

Bowl and cup depicting the sun hand-painted, by creative artist, Kathleen Jaeger.

Aweoweo (bigeye) fish uses a real fish to transfer paint (gyotaku), by Bill Twiboll.

A triggerfish, a yellow tang, and a saddleback butterflyfish by Marilyn Koschella.