East end Moloka’i from the vantage point of a sea going tropical bird. The skeletal remains of the historic Kamalo Wharf anchor the viewer’s eye, a reminder of the island’s agricultural past.

Beyond a dense ribbon of coastal vegetation, the volcanic iron oxide and ochre slopes of the mountain rise sharply to the peaks of Kamakou Preserve high atop the ridge. Tucked into the creases of the deepest valleys, the Seven Sisters waterfalls appear as silver threads. The illusive nature of the falls is due to sporadic rainfall and difficulty finding a vantage point to view them.

The original photograph that inspired this painting was taken by Richard A. Cooke III, a well-known local environmentalist and photographer who traveled the world for National Geographic magazine. Six of the eighteen paintings in the Moloka’i Landscape Series were painted with permission from Richard Cooke’s photographs in a collaboration to celebrate the best of Moloka’i. The series was reproduced on canvas and is currently on exhibit at the Moloka’i Airport in Ho’olehua.