I just returned from the Waikiki Paddle Festival. A great time had by all. Really a special event. Hope some of you in Hawaii were able to see it on Oceanic Cable.

I want to thank George Kam, Wendell Titcomb, Gerry Lopez, George & Keone Downing and Glen Moncata for everything. A ton of people are asking for a giclee print of the festival art. We’re doing a limited edition print 36″x44″. Big and beautiful. Roger at Evolve Digital printed it and once again nailed it. He’s a wizard. You can get it with deckled edges as well. You can call Peter Orsatti at 541 306 1174 or order from my site by e-mail and he’ll follow up with you. Edition size is 250, price $1200.

My Bend neighbor, Pipeline legend and Waikiki Paddle Festival ambassador Gerry Lopez is going to sign the first few dozen with me. If early edition numbers are important to you get it now.

Another interesting bit of news is that I’ll be doing the poster for this years Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau ( The Eddie ) big wave contest at Waimea Bay. ( Thanks Glen Moncata ) George Downing is the contest director and the elder statesman of our surfing tribe in Hawaii. He was THE original big wave rider. I was blessed to spend a few hours talking story with him and son Keone at this years event.

I got a history lesson on the creation of the Ala Wai Canal and the wave at Ala Moana, The sand migration on the North Shore, Waikiki and a few other subjects. I’ll be working on a painting of Uncle George in the next few weeks.

I’ve been really busy this spring with a whole slew of projects as well as some new oil paintings which we’ll try to get up on a new paintings page early next week. Might be the best batch of paintings I’ve ever done. There’s quite a bit of American Indian stuff as well as Oregon landscapes.

I’ll be posting a story on painting theory for all you artists out there pretty soon as well. Thanks again to all of you that have signed up here and I’ll try to be a little more diligent in posting from here on out.

Best Aloha, Michael

One of the great things about Pendelton is the association it’s had from it’s inception with Indian people of the Northwest. There’s an Indian horse race that has to be seen to be believed. One rider rides 3 different horse around the track which his teammates hold. He rides at full gallop one lap around the arena jumps off that horse ( at full speed ) and right back on to the next one which his friends try ( often unsuccessfully ) to hold still. There is no saddle or stirrups. They grab the horse’s mane to swing on. There are 4 different teams all doing this at the same time on the same side of the track so pretty much every race has collisions and falls. The energy is unbelievable. a rider might go from first to last or the other way around in a heartbeat. There is in addition to that dancing competitions with tribal groups from all over the west. The main drag in Pendelton is shut down for rodeo week and filled with musician’s stages and vendors. We stayed in a really great old hotel that had been the town brothel up until 1964! The Baker’s rented the whole thing for their pals. I was honored to take part. I’m really inspired to paint this imagery and will post pictures as I finish them.

Aloha Everyone,

Just back from Honolulu and The Battle Of The Paddle. Lots of hard work and long days but a really great time. The artwork for the event was a hit across the board. I’ll have some posters from the event in a few days after they get shipped over. I had a great time hanging out with Gerry Lopez, George Kam, Dale Hope, Wendell Titcomb, Kimo Akaka and many others. I had the great pleasure of spending more than an hour talking story with George Downing who in his 80s is the senior leader of the Hawaiian surf tribe. Uncle George is the man who decides whether or not the Eddie Aikau contest at Waimea goes off or not. His knowledge of Hawaiian waters is without peer. He had a lot of complimentary things to say about my art and some good advice on life. To hear his stories about the “old days” of Hawaiian surfing is a real treat. I also spent some time with his son Keone who won the Eddie a number of years back. I saw many old friends and made new ones as well.

After the event we had a chance to surf for a couple days in beautiful offshore turquoise Waikiki. Had a great time at Number Threes, Paradise and Poplars. The timing of the swell coinciding perfectly with the end of the race. Will have some info on the posters shortly and let those of you that have inquired know. Aloha, M.C.