Artist-historian Herb Kane’s career was a journey through advertising art, architectural design, writing, painting and sculpture; but his greatest work of art had its home in the waters of Hawai‘i. Here he describes how his vision for the building of Hokule‘a developed.

In these pages, Herb Kane offers glimpses of his own voyage into the world of art, from his fervor to draw during childhood to his many contributions to understanding the history and culture of those voyagers who discovered and settled on his island home of Hawai‘i. This revised edition includes insights into Polynesian life, culture, and many aspects of voyaging in the Pacific. His extensive research on the Polynesian voyaging canoes and their navigators eventually led him to participate in the design and building of the sailing canoe Hokule‘a, ushering in a new era of voyaging.

Herb Kane’s art covered a multitude of fascinating images including the ships of the discoverers; canoes for fishing, racing and ocean travels; cultural crafts and sports of an ancient people; myths of goddesses and ancestral spirits; and struggles for power among the chiefs. Some of his paintings express the gentle peace of a people who enjoy music and dancing, and relaxing in their island homes, illustrating a feeling or a moment that he describes as “having nothing to do with any history but my own.”

Softcover