I am sipping my morning tea in a delightful little art gallery in Holualoa. Colorful Hawaiian scenes adorn the walls, fun jewelry, purses and pieces of furniture are scattered purposefully throughout. My chair is next to an open window where the breeze blows gently through, clouds float lazily by and the blue ocean glows on the horizon. It is peaceful. The radio is playing in the background and a rooster is crowing incessantly somewhere down the road. As I sit here it is easy to imagine that this is my gallery, and my job is to fill the walls with my creations.
I am sitting in for the real artist, Sunny Pau'ole, that owns all this beauty while she gets some other projects done. It isn’t a paying job, but I have my basket of art prints sitting near by and the opportunity to paint if I feel inspired.
Sunny’s spot by the window is equipped with a small table covered in old paint and all the supplies necessary to whip up a small masterpiece.
Sunny opened her new gallery, Pau’ole, in 2010. She paints with oil in strong colors reflecting the sunsets, lava fields and palm trees that grace our island. Her husband is a koa woodworker and some of his paddles and frames are feautured as well.
Pau’ole is one of about 8 galleries nestled in the tiny town of Holualoa, a quaint place on Hualalai mountain. The gallery sits next to the famous Pink Kona Hotel and a coffee shop close by provides me with tea and tempts me with yummy treats. Surrounded by coffee plantations and tropical foliage it is a beautiful and inspirational place to be. An empty little building sits across the road and I imagine setting up shop there, making a studio and joining into the relaxed flow of this artist community.
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