Pepi Wines, a part of Kendall Jackson Wine Estates,Ltd

 Robert Pepi bought property south of the town of Oakville in 1966. He  retired in 1994 ,selling  the estate to Jess Jackson and his family.

Laura Lee and Mia Morelli of Pepi Wine commissioned my studio to create a wine and surf print for their new silk shirts. Hand drawn in pencil, then hand painted using gouache on paper. The entire process was completed via emailed images between Sonoma County, California and the Hawaiian Islands.

This silk shirt , manufactured by Island Traditions, is engineered with design matching from pocket ,all the way across the front.

George Clooney wears this aloha shirt --store front of Kahala Sportswsear

Pleiades Star Constellation,Makali'i, on Big Island of Hawaii

While facing the Pleiades Star Constellation,Makali'i, rising above the horizon one evening 100s of years ago, an artist etched the image of the Pleiades into this lava rock on the Big Island in Puna.This was part of a spiritual ceremony with a Hawaiian Kahuna present for Makahiki that was also happening around the world.

During my Big Island stay last year,after photographing this image, I had a dream that I was flying across the field of petroglyphs.

Wikipedia:
"The nine brightest stars of the Pleiades are named for the Seven Sisters of Greek mythology: Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygete, Celaeno, and Alcyone, along with their parents Atlas and Pleione. As daughters of Atlas, the Hyades were sisters of the Pleiades. The English name of the cluster itself is of Greek origin, though of uncertain etymology. Suggested derivations include: from πλεîν plein, to sail, making the Pleiades the "sailing ones"; from pleos, full or m; or from peleiades, flock of doves."

Initially I found this image in a book,comparing it to photographs of the actual stars while researching a project for a client's aloha shirt uniform.I was contacted by telephone, to enter a competition of a few designers to come up with a new design for Hawaiian Airlines for their new uniform that would be unveiled during their anniversary in November/December 2009.

It took 8 months to research,design and hand paint the print under the direction of a very large committee of Hawaiian Airlines employees.

Surfrider t-shirt handpainted original art,Kahala

Inspired by an old aloha shirt, this surfer was hand painted several years ago for a silk aloha shirt and now brought back on a t-shirt by Kahala Sportswear for their Summer 2010 line.

San Francisco Chronicle SF Gate, Hawaii Insider,Emma Howard Textile Designer

Jeanne Cooper's column, Hawaii Insider, San Francisco Chronicle's SF Gate mentioned my work because I was one of the lucky winners in her contest on Hawaii locations.

"... Rapa Nui moai, which include two nearly 20 feet tall (one deliberately unfinished) reclining on the ground.... and textile designer Emma Howard of Kailua, who cited Peter Buck's "Vikings of the Pacific" in her answer to explain how it got its English name: "The island was first sighted by the Dutch navigator, Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday, 1722." .

..."The creator of images seen on many aloha shirt uniforms in Hawai'i, including The Bus on O'ahu, Howard added, "The Polynesian Triangle, of which Easter Island is in the eastern corner, is the main source of motifs for my textile designs." (Check out her blog to see some of her recent work.)"

Old Surf board found on beach,used for carving block

I found this really short, old board lying in the sand for 2 days on Kailua Beach being held together with duct tape over cracked resin. After carrying back to my studio, I carved the board for a new Aloha Shirt print design commissioned by Dale Hope, art director of Kahala Sportswear.

After the project was completed, I gave Dale the board where it's now on display in their retail store at Ala Moana Shopping Center to illustrate to their customers that their aloha shirts are designed by hand. I've heard that men bought the shirt after seeing the board and hearing that the artist found the board on the beach.

Dale Hope owned Kahala Sportswear at one time and then stayed on as art director for years. He is author of The Aloha Shirt: spirit of the islands and known as the aloha shirt guru all over the world.

Stop in some time to check out this board when you're at Ala Moana Shopping Center .It will be like you and I are greeting each other sort of in person.

Aloha Shirt, "Kona" , Kahala Sportswear

Block printed motifs:
•Outrigger canoes on beach
•palm trees/fronds
•coconut tree climber
•fish
•petroglyphs
•hala tree
•plumeria blossoms

Maui Jim Sunglasses Surf Shirt ,Emma Howard design

Chris Abbruzzese,Maui Jim Sunglasses president of marketing, hand carried the original paper hand drawn, then painted in gouache and block printed Master art from my very rustic indoor/outdoor Kailua studio to his rental car.

Maui Jim Sunglasses had the artwork woven into this silk fabric that also comes in blue for both men and women.

Motifs:

•Plumeria blossoms and leaves
•Large stand of Palm trees with big wave and surfer
•Maui Jim logo
• Tapa designs inked by hand carved wood block

All hand drawn in pencil,then painted with gouache water based paint. .

Hand painted art for TheBus new uniforms: Island Traditions

Robert Jackson, owner of Island Traditions, and I met quite a few times with TheBus showing 3 different hand painted designs.

This is the one that they chose to have printed.

Motifs:

Diamond Head,ocean with sailing outrigger canoe,banana plants, t-plants,hibiscus flowers and palm trees all amongst TheBus and HandiVans driving around the print!

Maui Jim Sunglasses-Original hand-rendered art for Pouch/cleaning cloth

Vintage island motifs in background with outrigger canoes,palm trees,Bird of Paradise flowers, Hibiscus Flowers,Island with Palm Trees,Grass shacks.

The Maui Jim Sunglasses creative team was great to work with on this project.

Hand painted using gouache on paper, this design was chosen out of 3 that I created for them.

Lahaina, Maui resident, Walter Hester, CEO of Maui Jim Sunglasses says, "Living Aloha means acceptance and appreciation of others. It is looked upon as a gift given to one another, whose effect is one of responsibility and beauty. Its meaning encompasses the way Hester’s employees at Maui Jim conduct business and relate to their customers, suppliers, and community."

Makahiki, Aloha shirt print commissioned by Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines commissioned my studio to create their new aloha shirt print.

The Pleiades star constellation rises over the eastern horizon at the end of October or early November ,signaling the start of the great Makahiki Festival.

Because this time on our planet is recognized and revered internationally, it seemed to be a fitting theme for the new print,allowing Hawaiian Airlines to bring their own Hawaiian concept of the Pleiades star constellation to each of their destinations. It is a way to connect with mankind in a time of needing to connect with one another.

"Poets,priests,prophets,shamans,storytellers,singers and historians have all sung their praises down through the ages from Homer to Hesiod,Mohammed to Milton,Plato to Edgar Allen Poe. ....poets Byron,Keats and Tennyson. ...Artists have depicted these famous stars on bark paintings,in caves, on petroglyphs,in sculptures,on canvas,and in modern times,in cyberspace.Many important buildings,temples and other ancient monuments were aligned with the Pleiades including the Temple of the Sun in Mexico, the Great Pyramid in Egypt,the Parthenon in Greece,the 'Great Enclosure' of the ancient Mayan capital in Peru and the pyramid of the Chichen Itza in the Yucatan, to name just a few."

"The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades:stories from around the world"
by Munya Andrews

George Clooney filming The Descendents in Hawaii wearing Aloha Shirt print by Emma Howard

George Clooney shown with Elisabetta Canalis,is wearing Skilled, a print with individual blocks carved for each individual scene under the direction of Dale Hope, then art director of Kahala Sportswear.
Motifs:
Canoe paddlers, surfers, fishermen,beach shack,island with mountain

Original artwork was printed in navy on white and with a flip of the color tabs, the colors are reversed.

People magazine shows same shirt.

Thank you, George Clooney for making me smile this morning.