Paniolo Country

Even though Maui is spectacular, The Big Island is more my type of place. Rugged, open, and paniolo country. Paniolo is Hawaiian for cowboy. Yes, The Big Island is the Texas of the Pacific islands. The island of Hawaii is twice as big as the other islands combined, yet only has 170,000 inhabitants. So it has a much more rural and local feel to it, at least when you venture outside the resort areas. But even the resort areas have a different overall tone, much more laid back and casual than Maui. I did this painting off Waikoloa Road, near Waimea which bills itself as one of the main paniolo towns in Hawaii. I had intended to paint Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in Hawaii (the state), but it was obscured by the vog which is basically smoke from the volcano. So instead, I picked this nice set of trees with the Kohala Mountains as my backdrop.