Hoku'ula from Pa 'Eli Alanui 
Acrylic, 12 x 16 on Gallery Wrap
email the artist janewtaylor@icloud.com


Notes about this painting: It was begun on location and this is a real place. Cows are seen more often there, but I was in the mood for horses, which can also be found in the neighborhood. A favorite walk, this lovely spot invariably makes me happy. However second thoughts must dig deeper:

Every single plant in this view plane represents an introduced species. There are no indigenous plants in this location.

The plants in this picture are: Kikuyu grass, Cook Pines, Desmodium,  Bauhinia, and Wild Olive.

Kikuyu Grass - introduced from Kenya in 1925, this is a major pasture grass in Hawaii. It is probably the main pasture grass in both the green lush paddock and the distant dryer hills in this painting. When I was a child I heard the Parker Ranch cowboys discussing its spread. They liked it as pasture grass and related different places it had spread to.

Cook Pines were probably introduced from New  Caledonia by Captain James Cook. We used to call them  "Norfolk island Pines" and there is some confusion. 

The trees on the distant Hokuula hill were planted in the shape of a P to represent Parker Ranch.  Fortunately in my mind, the shape has deteriorated.  Those were pine trees.

Desmodium (lower left) is a legume introduced for pasture forage. It gets everywhere! There are several types. Desmodium intortum, also known as greenleaf ticktrefoil, was first reported in Hawaii in 1916.  Desmodium intortum is a naturalized cattle forage crop from tropical America. Locally it is often called "clover".

The flowers are Bauhinia. This plant is from Madagascar and  was introduced to Hawaii in the late 1800s or early 1900s, with Joseph Rock and Dr. Lyon of the University of Hawaii distributing seeds. Hawaii has 13 species of introduced Bauhinias. 

Wild Olive is the precursor to commercial olives. From Africa, it  was planted as a windbreak and ornamental ,and has spread widely since the 1950s as birds enjoy the seeds. There is not as much information available about this wide-spread tree as one might expect. 

Keokea - The Tide Turns and Wind Picks Up
Acrylic 18 x 24
Recently in the Mana Invitational Show
at Wailoa Center in Hilo

janewtaylor@icloud.com

 

Kaloko #3
Original
Acrylic on Arches Watercolor Paper
10 x 14
$375
email the artist 
janewtaylor@icloud.com

 Begun en plein air, this continues a sequence of paintings of the Kaloko Fish Ponds. 

South From Pu'ukohola
acrylic 12 x 16 on gallery wrap
$440
janewtaylor@icloud.com

 The nice ranger at the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site gave me permission to paint from the hill in front of the ranger office above the visitor center. It was a day of high surf, interesting light, and storms in the distance. Looking South from Pu'ukohola (the heiau is to my right and out of sight) I could see the campers at Spencer Park and the trail to Mau Mae beach beyond that. Surf was dramatic and I loved the vista from up there! I always love new points of view!

Cherry Blossoms at Cburch Row
Acrylic 8 x 10
Sold

 

Kikaua Storm with whales
Acrylic 8 x 10
available $250
janewtaylor@icloud.com

 What a day! I planned to join a group of plein air artists at Kikaua Point in Kona on the Big Island. The trades and rain that were normal around my 3000 foot elevation home stretched all the way to the shore. I had a lovely walk in the rain and was right there when the clouds lifted and the morning light came in. The whales spouted, the canoes went out, the surfer began to catch waves right there in the rocks - all very dramatic. You will have to zoom in to find all the activity! I did encounter one other intrepid artist but headed home to finish this after sketching in the rising wind.

Good Buddies at kaloko Fishpond
12 x 16 Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped canvas
Sold

 Down an unpaved road through the lava is a hidden gem - the Kaloko fishponds. I was out on the breakwater, looking back at the glassy and magical ponds. Newly arrived from Alaska, migrating birds were resting up and enjoying a comfortable inter-species companionship. (Ulili or Wandering Tattler, and Kolea or Pacific golden plover)

Gathering input is a huge part of making art

 On the first leg of my first mainland trip in ten years, I stopped overnight at an airport hotel near the San Francisco Bay in Burlingame. There is a nice little paved trail between the industrial area and hotels and the water. Before breakfast I took a wander along the trail and soon saw sea birds very busy a little way off shore. Most of the rest of the story I discovered after looking at my video to see what all the splashing was about! My best wildlife video of the year and I took it by mistake!

As mentioned in the title, being out in places is a huge part of making art. This probably doesn't need to go into a painting - the video says it all. I will definitely keep a respectful distance from seals...

Pukalani Back Door
Acrylic 12 x 16
Available at Gallery of Great Things in Waimea

The old green Parker Ranch gates used to be everywhere in Waimea. When I was young I learned to open and close them from horseback and got in trouble for swinging on them. Now most of them, including this one, have been replaced with modern materials. If any one knows where any are still in good repair, I'd love to receive a photo! Yes, those are night blooming cereus blooming in the bushes!

janewtaylor@icloud.com

 

Painting on location at Honokohau
Almost done...
email me for information
janewtaylor@icloud.com

 

Hapuna Moment

Brush Painting on Arches Watercolor paper

14 x 10 inches

$350

This painting is unframed and will need to be matted and framed.

A plein air brush painting on Arches watercolor paper, this captures a life-filled morning near a favorite tree. Surf pounds on familiar rocks below the steep hillside frequented by curious chickens and thriving Nene geese. I painted in watercolors before I moved to mostly canvas. This is acrylic used in a watercolor method.

 

Kohala Mountains Sunlit Moment
Acrylic on Gallery Wrap
18 x 24
Original available at Gallery of Great Things
 in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii

Giclee prints available at
janewordtaylor.com

I walk past this view several times a week. It is often hidden behind fog or clouds - the startling clarity of this moment caused an immediate rush home for canvas and paints. 

Having lived at the base of the Kohala Mountains for most of my 73 years, and explored them on foot and on horseback, as well as by flying over them more than once, I feel a deep connection to these rolling hills, sweet smelling pastures, and deep, mysterious rain forests. I was fortunate to grow up in a different era - nobody stopped me from walking or riding my horse in those hills or swimming in the streams. I now know my understanding was only of a transitory moment in the history of this amazing  and multi-layered place.