Hanalei Valley

Hanalei Valley

9 x 11 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

Miki Willa

The Hanalei Valley is one of my favorite places in the islands. Located on Kauai near the north shore town of Hanalei, this is a very fertile place that has a long history of farming. This view is from the overlook at the top of the ridge before you follow the highway down to cross the first of the one-lane bridges into Hanalei. If you turn left just past the bridge, you can follow the river past rice patches interspersed with taro patches, or lo'i. The valley has a long and interesting history. It is worth a visit to the Horiguchi Rice Mill, the second building on the right in the painting, to learn about this rich history. Much of the taro for the islands comes from this place.

I also wanted to show off my new portable morning studio. It is a far cry from the several boxes perching on my desk and surrounding surfaces. Bless my wonderful husband for this wonderful gift.

The perfect studio

Tom and I have had many discussions about where to set up a studio in the house. This is what evolved. In what was designed as a dining area part of the great room, we discovered a workable area. The kitchen portion of the room is just behind the photographer, giving us a sink and all the snacks we want. Tom has his French easel standing near the back wall, and I use the old dining table, covered with what I hope is a protective cloth. Of course, there is not enough room to put our pastels, so we move them around as we use them. We have a table for still lifes, a lamp we share, an overhead lamp and fan, and the kitchen lamp for lightening. I would love to have better lighting some day. I think we both dream of having a studio that is dedicated solely to painting in the future, but this space has done well for us for the past five years. The best part is it is big enough for both of us to paint at once.