Winter at Mauna Kea

Ke kau ho’oilo ma ka mauna kea

12x16in. Mauna Kea 2019.  Transparent watercolor. $400
My father comes from the Big Island, from the plantation camp Papaiko. I’ve been there over the years in different phases of my life, as a kid visiting dad’s friends and relatives, as a young adult exploring the underwater landscapes diving hundreds of times and less frequently as I moved away and returned to O’ahu. The mountain, in winter shows how tall she is, by virtue of her height, she catches and holds snow, and there, at the top, although I have only heard stories about them, there is a glacier and an alpine lake.

Life continues below in the village of Hilo and beyond, but if people take a minute to pause and look up, instead of down at their hands or feet or phone, they might catch a glimpse of the mountain capped in snow on a clear winter day.