Translation : The Endless Wave

He rides. The name changes. The face changes - but always he rides... and you can hear his laughter mingling with the throaty roar of the ever rolling sea. Time means nothing... the wave has no end. ..

I was standing alone on the rocks at Pua'ena Point late in the afternoon last January. O'ahu's winter surf was pounding the North Shore in a muffled thunder and the salt spray drifted high in the winds, shrouding Mokule'ia in mist. Not far from where I stood, some twenty surfers sat on their boards in the water, watching ... waiting...

I have seen that faraway look. I have witnessed firsthand that undeniable yearning - in my husband, Kamuela, Sr., a "veteran of the surf," if you will. Amid the ever-increasing clamor of O'ahu's daily grind, he mysteriously recovers his equilibrium somewhere out in the water. Early in the morning while it is still dark and quiet, he will nudge me awake with an apologetic, " I gotta go," his eyes appealing to me to understand his need to answer to a call I do not hear. And then he is gone...

Ola na iwi me na hana no'eau is that wonderful Hawaiian idiom meaning the skills are passed down from generation to generation. Kamuela's father was a Big Island fisherman whose legacy to his sons was his fervent love for the ocean. My husband is my spirit model, my stepson, Kamuela, Jr., my "real-life" model. Kamuela, Jr. Is a lifeguard on O'ahu's famous North Shore and he exhibits the same joy and carefree abandon in the waves as does his father.

My husband once told me that the longboard surfer always looks for that endless wave. To me, that wave represents the perpetuation of life from generation to generation. Thus "Ka Nalu Pau Ole" - the endless wave. From father to son and, in turn, to his son...

I have gently marked this painting, the fifth in the series, 'Ike Ho' omaopopo, with roses from the first one. The roses in the first painting are symbolic of the Hawaiian people. Queen Lili'uokalani referred to her people as her pau...

Therefore this is your wave, na pua a Lil'uokalani. Be it fishing, diving, paddling, surfing, or dancing, it is your amazing legacy from your ancestor and it is yours to pass along to your children and your children's children.

They humbly bow before the ocean's vastness and her awesomeness; and, at the same time, they are her rightful heirs and they rule, their laughter rising above the mighty drum rolls of her surf and blending into the crescendo of her music... and fading away... They ride. They are the sons of the sea and time means nothing... for the wave has no end...


Unframed Limited Edition Sizes:
Artist Proof: 75 Size: 60x48
Medium: 450 Size: 40x32
Small: 450 Size: 30x24