Colorful Ti Plant

I photographed these gorgeous Ti plants at a nearby Lowe's store here in Honolulu.  I am partial to the red shades of this evergreen plant, but they are all very lovely and grow to about 13 feet tall.  The proper name is 

Cordyline Fruticosa and they are a member of the Asparagus family.   I did a little research today on this plant which is native throughout Polynesia; there is interesting information on Wikipedia and other sources. It was probably brought to the Hawaiian islands around 300-500 A.D. by the Polynesians that settled here, as they brought many seeds, tubers, and roots with them.  Check out more of my photographs below.

I am not sure, but I think this Ti plant was labelled "Red Tip" at Lowe's

"Ruby"

"Electra"  (?)

The other day on this blog I posted this photo of my Ti plant in a container on my patio.  I am not sure of its name, but it has grown a lot and is now in a 16" pot.   For those of you not living in a tropical climate, this plant may be grown indoors as it tolerates partial shade as well as full sun.   The more sun, the richer the color in the red and burgundy shades.   From March to November the Ti plant has small blossoms of white, cream and tan.  Mine has not bloomed yet.  By the way, Hawaiians pronounce it "Tea" leaf plant.  In Florida and other places it is called "Tie" plant.   

I may post more photos of this beautiful plant in the future.

Horses On North Shore Oahu

"Famous" Tree on the North Shore of Oahu

This tree was always a landmark on the North Shore of Oahu, and I believe this is the exact tree filmed in an episode of the TV series "Lost".   Naturally I missed that particular episode.  :-)       

Below are more photos of horses.

Two of the reference photos above inspired me to paint two recent oil paintings shown below.

"Plumbago At Kawailoa Ranch"

9" x 12" oil

Available

Blue Plumbago flowers bloom year round in Hawaii's tropical climate. 

"They Board Horses Don't They"

8" x 16" oil

Available

Below is a interesting reference photograph of mine that might lead to my creating an oil painting of it.

All of these photos were taken in the vicinity of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu, across the road from the beaches.   Haleiwa would be a great future blog post.   

My Art Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Hibiscus of Oahu Hawaii

Isn't this a beauty !   I photographed this and the other Hibiscus below at a restaurant in Waikiki.  For the most part, these are all hybrids and not native Hawaiian plants.   I will save that for another post.   Unfortunately, I do not know the proper names for the Hibiscus shown but hope you enjoy the show!

I intend to paint these lovelies before too long.   I have prints of Hibiscus for sale at Fine Art America.  Once you arrive at that link, click on "Galleries" and then on "Photographs of Hibiscus".   Soon I will post more photos of Hibiscus on this blog.   

Thank you for visiting and please return again soon.

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Mount Waialeale, Kauai - The Wettest Spot In USA

This is the trail I took to get closer to Mount Waialeale on the island of Kauai.   Those two post on either side of the trail were where the gate was in a scene from the movie "Jurassic Park".   Parts of Jurassic Park were also filmed on the island of Oahu.   But I digress.  This area at Mount Waialeale is often called the wettest spot on earth, but there are actually two peaks in India that rival it for that description.  The volcanic mountain has an elevation of 5,148 feet and averages more than 452 inches of rain a year or up to 350 rainy days per year.   I was there in the month of February and there was no rain to speak of that day.  

We took a tour that met us at our resort and drove as far as the road would allow and then we hiked for awhile to the following area.

All of these photographs are excellent references for future paintings.   It was quite pleasant to visit this area and I highly recommend it .   The tour guide gave interesting information on the plants as well .   Below are a couple of photos of flowers on Kauai.   Yes , there are plenty of Hibiscus there and poinsetta plants grow year round on all the islands.   

Below is an excellent video you might enjoy (not my video).   There are other You Tube videos as well about Mount Waialeale you can check out. 

Thank you for visiting !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Oahu's Foster Botanical Gardens' Orchids And Cannonball Tree

These orchids stand a little over 5' 3" in height.  If anyone happens to know the name of this particular plant, please leave a comment on this post or email me.   The volunteer at Foster Botanical Gardens in Honolulu did not know the name of this orchid and it had no name plate near it.  Below is a close up of the flower.

It is not a spectacularly beautiful orchid, but it was my first time to see this type and I am curious as to its name and where it is native to....what country.  Below are some more orchids at Foster Botanical Gardens.

I intend to paint from the above two photographs one of these days.  I have about 5000 reference photos I have taken.... think I will ever paint from them all??  :-)

Below are some images of the cannonball tree and its flowers and fruit.   It is called "Cannonball Tree" because of its large, brown cannon-ball-like fruits.  When mature, the fruit falls to the ground (and hopefully not on someone's head) and splits open often causing the sound of a small explosion.    This tree is native to Northeastern South America and also the Southern Caribbean.   It has been growing for the past two or three thousand years in India, so it may be a native there as well.

Thank you for stopping by to visit !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Diamond Head Beach - Oahu, Hawaii

Diamond Head Lighthouse at Diamond Head Beach, Oahu

Diamond Head Beach is about a half mile walk from the Southeast end of the beach at Waikiki.  The lighthouse is still functioning.  It is built on the cliff of  the extinct Diamond Head Volcano.  The original Diamond Head lighthouse was built in 1899, and today's structure in 1917.   It stands 55 feet tall and is about 147 feet above sea level.   You can see from this photo that the beach is very narrow.

This is another narrow beach section opposite from the lighthouse.   It is not as rocky in this area.   The swimming here is pretty good; it is less crowded than Waikiki beaches and many surfers frequent this area and snorkeling is popular here as well at Diamond Head Beach.   Below are some photographs taken above the beach along the main road, where there is also limited parking.

The photo directly above with the surfboard was perfect timing.  As I was walking along taking photographs, a surfer walked from his car nearby and temporarily laid his board in the perfect spot just as I walked up.   I quickly took a few shots and felt like it would make a great painting.  Later I did a small acrylic study from the photograph and hope to do a larger painting of this scene in the future.

"Anticipation"

6" x 6" Acrylic on panel

Available

Please return again soon for more inspiring photographs.  I hope I have inspired you to visit Hawaii soon !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl

This is a handsome fellow - Hawaiian Red Jungle Fowl - I photographed on the island of Kauai.   Most of the true red jungle fowl are found on Kauai, primarily at Koke'e State Park and Alaka'i Swamp.  They are shy birds of dense rain forests.    They were brought to Hawaii by the first Polynesians and are called "Moa" in Hawaiian.   They are not as widespread now, and many have bred with other chickens so a true red jungle fowl is hard to find.   There are some feral jungle fowl on Oahu and the other main islands.   

Sometimes it seems like there are more wild roosters and chickens on the islands than there are people !   You see them almost everywhere, and some are so use to humans that they are almost tame.   Below is a painting of mine of a not so wild rooster that I photographed  right on the beach at Hanauma Bay on Oahu.  One of his female companions thoughtfully laid an egg right in front of me while I took photos !  I am not inclined to eat their eggs, however, and they say the wild chickens themselves are pretty tough to eat cooked.   

"Hanauma Bay Resident"

12" x 16" Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas

Available painting

I have only painted one red jungle fowl, and that was a miniature and can be found at my other blog by going here  .   I intend to paint more jungle fowl and other roosters in the future.