Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos carries the standard of the Hawaiian warrior. His battlefields are the canvas and the forest. His mission: to fire a passion for art and for the preservation of the ‘äina, the land. In the process of his quest he has become one of Hawai‘i’s most prolific painters. His images bring legends to life in galleries and public places, and on the pages of the best-selling book, The Epic Tale of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele, recounting the life of the goddess Pele and her sister, Hi‘iakaika.

A Hawaiian woman of goodly years sits on a mat beside the beach, her feet bare, her head and neck adorned with flowers. She has been braiding ti leaves into sandals, but at this moment her gaze is fixed beyond her meticulous work, to the sea and sky. Her expression is peaceful, reverent, reflective...

Hikers walk on a remote mountain trail, dwarfed by towering trees shrouded in mist. So vivid is the scene you can almost feel the cool air and hear the crunch of their shoes on twigs and fallen leaves. You know it is quiet there. Very, very quiet.

Gold, silver, ruby, black onyx -- koi glide in a pond, their intriguing markings reflecting the brilliance of precious gems and metals. The water ripples and swirls, becoming an entity with as much life and beauty as the fish themselves...

Talking with Sue Swerdlow is like moving inside her art and tasting its bold vivaciousness. She gestures, cries, paces from painting to painting to emphasize a color or technique, and then, in one abrupt movement, throws herself at you and asks pointedly: "Do you get it? You get what I mean? My art is alive!"

Lori Higgins was on her way to Palau (a tropical island some 4,600 miles west of Hawai'i) for a diving trip when a layover in the Aloha State changed her life. She decided to check out Maui. "It felt so right I never left," says Higgins. Her fourth day on Maui, she started working as a scuba instructor at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa. Six months later, Higgins picked up a paintbrush and became a self-taught artist, consumed with the study of the old art masters and determined to find her own creative distinction.

"I am an Impassionist!" exclaims the artist. "If I had to label my artistic style it would be called ‘Impassionism,’ because my main goal is to deeply move the viewer. I want to show the viewer what I am really seeing and feeling. I want to say, ‘Look at these colors! Taste the salt in the water! Feel the sun on your skin!’"