Viewing page 4 of 69

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

2-24-39
2
She said after seeing my landsc. from a shore: You'll change. I replied - or tried to say: the sand beaches are my own. The lands of the world meet the sea, and there are shores of sand or rock. I was born in this island. I have known the shores all my years. The shores are universal - & they are of my life, mine. 

I thought she understood. But no, she makes some remark about herself - about something far removed. I smile, and try not to seem hurt.

She looks at my An Islander's World. I try to explain in words:

We are lost in a deep sea
Our islands are the summits of ocean peaks
We can see stars, but not the mainland.
Our islands are tiny: the land we inhabit.
But we have great depth beneath our land;
great height, and all around, the vastness of space.

She sees my etchings: Sand & Lava, and Pali Hills. She sees the Oriental influence

She says: "I was the first to do large flowers. Now everyone's doing them."

She says I am seeking fame. I deny it. (But I am) She doesn't care about fame at all. The fuss people make about her is annoying. One should paint for oneself only. Notices don't mean a thing - they're written, rewritten, etc by critic or reporter, editor, etc. They mean nothing. If you have done a thing that is wholly your own, your best, that is important I think: a painting should be complete self-realization. I shall paint beaches and islands in sea and space. The idea of painting islands in space fascinates me this very moment.

She says she is going to paint the scenery here; she does not profess to be able to do full justice. I say: when we young island artists read in the papers that so & so has arrived in Honolulu & will paint Hawaii's beauty, we