A brisk morning paddle by a local Hawaiian man brings his outrigger into the serene waters of the Wailoa River from Hilo Bay, and artist David Howard Hitchcock was there to capture it for our pleasure. The radiant scene is of the breaking dawn’s light over Mauna Kea, “White Mountain” in the Hawaiian language, as it’s topped with a seasonal snow cap. Mauna Kea is the predominant dormant volcano of the Big Island, and is actually the largest mountain in the world when measured from its base some 20,000 feet down to the sea floor. It’s still the highest elevation in the Hawaiian Islands at 13,796 feet.

The protective expanse of the Wailoa River (today a protected State Park) on the southeast coast led partially to Hilo becoming a primary port of trade along with Honolulu for the islands, and in King Kamehameha’s rule it was his center of his political empire, where he built his fleet to carry his conquest to the other people of the Islands. In this moment, this is solely a Hawaiian scene by a Hawaiian artist. The water ripples and echoes the colorful swirls from on high, and the foliage tucks away one small home in its lush growth. A beauty of an early Hawaiian painting by Hitchcock.

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