Phil's Newest Art

On our very first visit to Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2011 we saw a beautiful bird called the Koa'e Kea who nests in the cliffs around Kilauea volcano. Info - Koa'e Kea.


We also purchased art done by one of the most widely recognized Hawaii artists, Dietrick Varez best known for creating over 200 linoleum block prints. Here is one of his beautiful block prints of the white tailed Koa'e Kea -- Tropicbird. INFO: D. Varez

Phil's wood shop is loaded with wood of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes a piece of wood will wait for a long time to reveal what it wants to be -- and Phil will patiently wait for that magic to happen. In this case, a special piece of koa spoke to him and he accepted the challenge. One piece of wood was split in half to create mirror-images of grain pattern for the wings. The base is also made of koa wood.

See more of Phil's art at:
One Gallery Downtown Hilo
Banyan Gallery- Banyan Drive Hilo
and at
http://www.onegalleryhawaii.com/pgphaysmer.html

"We're All in our Places...."

During the past two years Phil has been painting watercolor images of local native birds -- including two Io (hawk) which visited the Ohia trees in our yard!  Recently, he has completed a third painting in his series of native birds -- the handsome Nene (geese.)   He is now laying out his fourth painting -- Koa'e Kea (white tailed Tropicbird.) Yes its name is "Tropicbird" one-word.

The light in the art studio is perfect for painting, as Reba-Bo-Beeba offers her encouragement.


 In the meantime, with the help of our yard helper and friend Sam, Lunel is continuing on-going terraforming projects in another part of the property, using the accumulated lava for new terraces bed.

The cairn of lava was created by digging up and leveling areas of the yard, particularly as we dug holes for fruit trees and Hapu'u ferns.  The lava pile dwindles, however, as the walls are created for new beds. 

 

Koa'e Kea

White-Tailed Tropicbird or Koa'e Kea

Phil beautiful "Koa'e Kea" piece today at One Gallery in Hilo.  It was inspired by the navigational star chart used by the Polynesian Navigational Society.

He had this beautiful piece of Koa wood in his wood shop and knew there was a bird shape in it, but it took several weeks to bring the whole piece into being.  It is mounted on Mahogany.  This is his interpretation of the star chart that features 32 points associated with stars.

It is really quite interesting that Phil's mother, Margaret at age 96, left on her Final Voyage on the same day that the Wa'a (traditional Polynesian sailing vessels) Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia left from Hilo on their three year round the world voyage.  This week, they arrived In Tahiti...10 days early.

The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage will visit 85 ports and 26 countries, including 12 of UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage sites, through June 2017. The first stop for Hōkūle‘a and Hikianallia is Tahiti, where Hōkūleʻa made her first voyage in 1976. The voyage is made possible by many community sponsors and partners, including Hawaiian Airlines, the University of Hawai‘i, Kamehameha Schools, the James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and many more.

To read more about this amazing journey, please go to this link:
Polynesian Voyaging Society