Iiwi with Ohia
5″ X 7″
Acrylic and Copper Leaf on Canvas
Day 14
Iiwi is an adorable little honeycreeper with a curved salmon pink beak. Found usually in the higher elevation ohia forests, this beautiful bird is an important pollinator for ohia, lobeliads, and many other endemic and native plants. If you go to Volcanoes National Park, you will hear them in the trees and see flashes of the brilliant orange-red feathers and black wings, but they are shy and it takes a quiet, patient observer to see them up close.
Ohia, a tree with green or gray-green leaves and brilliant red, orange, or yellow flowers, is one of the most common and important trees in high elevation pristine Hawaiian forests. The branches grow slowly and form sensuous curves that look like sculpture. They are truly a special tree. If you find yourself surrounded by a forest of ohia, you know you are in a pristine area that looks much like it did before humans set foot on the island. It is the tree that most of the honeycreeper birds use for nectar and shelter.
The painting features painted black gallery-wrapped 1″ thick sides with my signature painted on the side in red. It is coated with a top quality non-yellowing topcoat and needs no framing.