30 in 30 Aeo in Kalo Loi

Aeo in a Kalo Loi 
Oil and Copper Leaf on Wood Panel 
16″ X 20″

Sept 7, 2017
Aeo is the Hawaiian name for the Hawaiian Stilt, an endangered and beautiful wetland bird that gets its English language name from the long salmon-pink legs it uses to wade in the shallow waters.Here, I have placed it in a loi, a garden growing kalo (also known as taro). Both the roots and leaves are edible and nutritious. It is a staple food of the Hawaiians, used to make foods such as poi and lau lau. It is cultivated in terraced, shallow ponds called loi that are very scenic and iconic of Hawaiian agriculture.

I had been working on this painting off and on for a few months, inspired by the patina of the copper to create a wetland scene in order to allow the greens and browns of the copper shine through. I spent day 1 of my daily painting challenge finishing this piece.

You can see the entire series here:

30 Paintings in 30 Days 2017