This series is a natural; being in an island envirionment and constantly feeling the need to be near the ocean, whether it be fishing, surfing, swimming, paddling, or boogie boarding with the family.
Hawaiian Fabric
Fishing Series
The early 1970ʻs watercolors of the old buildings of Chinatown transitioned to exploring the inside store shelves which produced the Chinatown Food Series. Next door on River Street was the early morning fish auctions which eventually led me to actually going out to fish for them.
There were a handful(?) of years where I was “hooked”. Ears and eyes were glued to the current run of certain types of fish, local fish magazines, the hottest lures, and constantly aware of the daily moon, tide and weather changes. This fervor created numerous fishing expeditions into the remote coastlines of Big Island and Moloka’i with my friend Sig…..and then I got married and had kids.
Fish Auction Series
Fish Studies Series
Waimanu
Mango Series
This series was initiated from a two-person show with ceramicist , Esther Shimazu. We both received the individual Artist Fellowship from the Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts in 1995. She has been with a mainland gallery and very much in demand. Esther rarely has a “show” in Hawai’i , so, this was is a first. We were trying to figure out a common theme: food? fruits? mangoes?…..OK. I’m feeding off of her pieces that have a minimalist feel: all nudes, no hair , creme colors, only one type of body form. Visually, I’m seeing the oriental scroll form of open spaces with written Kanji characters of names or poems along the sides and/or bottoms of the scroll. I think this format would go good with her pieces. The “kanji” turns into Appleʻs computer app icons, a walking figure with coffee cup, a Cialis pill, and the local way to eat a mango: cut in half, cross hatch score, invert eat, then suck the seed.
Koi Series
Up to 1982, I’m painting a lot of “dead” fish.. (Although many of the fish of the fishing and fish study series were just caught and still alive)..nevertheless, the Koi series began.
There are a lot of serious koi breeders, ponds, and shows throughout the islands.
The initial pieces were fairly straight forward in the beginning and they slowly go into the abstract. Lately, I’ve been exploring twisting and folding the image in a 3D environment.
Plant Series
My brother-in-law, Leland Miyano, is a noted landscape designer and aficionado of the natural world. Walking through his Kahalu’u garden is a visual as well as an educational feast.
Besides this painting series, I produced a show for the Contemporary Museum of plant cibachrome photographs ,where, the majority of the images are from his garden.
I have also contributed photographs to Horticulture magazine and to a book that high-lights Leland’s garden.
Old Building Series
In the early 70’s, the local residences of Chinatown were faced with the major upgrade and renovation of the area. With this change, came forced condemnations, rallies and protest marches backed by the local university’s ethnic studies program. Instead of portraying this turmoil, I opted for those quiet facades. Beyond the protests, banners and drumbeats, they have stood for decades reflecting that unique flavor of community.
Ching Series
