Artist: Wendell Kahoohalahala
Title: Pineapple Flippers, Day Shift
Medium: Original Oil on canvas
Size: 24" x 18", in simple wood frame (25.5" x 19" framed size)
Statement by Wendell: "Flipping pineapples is a technique that was used by field workers to work at a faster pace. With practice you could use both hands, which was a great help in production. With the twist of wrist, pineapples would flip off the crown and into the boom and conveyor belt of the picking machine and into the truck. For this painting, Wendell was inspired by a flat style of painting used by Gaugin and Les Nabis like Pierre Bonnard. This is a companion piece to ʻPineapple Flippers, Night Shiftʻ."
Artist bio: Wendell Kahoʻohalahala is a native Hawaiian artist born and raised on the Island of Lānaʻi. Primarily self-taught, Wendell discovered the magic of fine oil colors at a very early age; since then he’s been committed to telling the story of Lānaʻi through that tradition. Wendell makes the most of what he has, studying at the only institution available: the public library. Each painting is the product of painstaking research and reflection. Wendell's aspiration? To faithfully render the unphotographed story of Lānaʻi in a way that his ancestors would recognize and approve of. Wendell’s art is a story as seen through a native lens. It links the past and present as seen through the eyes of one whose ancestors have lived on Lānaʻi since time immemorial. It is the art of a true kamaʻāina, a child of the land.