The Diamondhead Diptych is from a series of paintings I made while spending six weeks in the Hawai’ian Islands. Diamondhead, Tantalus and Punchbowl are the three calderas on O’ahu; and this view is from Punchbowl of the other two.

I experienced Hawai’i as a gorgeous place with land that was sculpted by volcanoes and an array of exotic plant life nourished by volcanic soils and abundant rainfall. It is also a sad place. The tension between native Hawai’ians and Howlees (everyone else) was palpable and poignant. The more I learned about the history of its colonization, the less comfortable I felt. Visiting some of the wilder places there, I could imagine what the Islands might have looked like prior to the arrival of Europeans. It definitely had all the makings of Paradise.

Diamond Head and Tantalus from Punchbowl (O’ahu) — Pre-colonial Visions is a digital giclée diptych from an original watercolor, and it is archivally framed under U.V.- filtering glass.

Sara Steele, Website