ABOUT THE ARTIST

Introduction - Any artist from anywhere can paint Hawai`i's beauty. However, only a handful of artists are able to capture the essence, consciousness, and beauty of Hawai`i's Big Island through experience. In other words, to be “local” to the Big Island is to have lived the Hawaiian experience first hand since childhood. Reuben b is such a person.

His Work - For those who seek local Big Island art will find his work to be historical, relevant, and special. His depiction of coastal life reflects relationships with nature, people, and time. His art is engaging, colorful, and in many ways prophetic. It restores to consciousness a realization that Kohala's beauty and access to open spaces are being challenged like never before. His art captures what some day may never be.

Although he had painted for some time prior, Reuben's first public Hawaiian art show was in 1981 at Waipio Woodworks. Over 30 paintings were purchased by Hawaiian art enthusiasts. Today, collectors continue to seek his work for which the artist says "I am very thankful."

His watercolors are as powerful as his oils and acrylics. His art documents many of the Kohala landmarks, some of which are no longer standing or not accessible due to industrial development, urbanization, or neglect.

His Life - Reuben Bumanglag was born in November 1942 and was christened Reuben Luke Bumanglag. As a youngster, he was raised in the small sugar plantation town of Hakalau. He later moved to the Kohala plantation town of Kapa`au where he raised his family and took up painting. The sugar mills have since closed and passed into time like many of the others that dotted the Big Island. However, the memories and images of growing up in such an environment continue to guide his sense of visual expression. He says he is "still making daily discoveries" and hopes "that it will bring not only pleasure, awareness, and Aloha toward others, but also inspire malama (care) and kuleana (responsibility) to our land."