Waimea Arts Council

67-1201 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela • 808-887-1052

36th Annual Nā `Ōpio Youth Art Show

2019 Na `Opio Youth Art Show Winners

The Waimea Arts Council located at the Firehouse Gallery in Waimea celebrates National Youth Art Month which falls in March with the 36th Annual Nā `Ōpio Youth Art Show and Competition. The show features young artists from grades 6 through 12 from schools and home schooled students in the North and South Kohala and Hāmākua districts.  For years this event has provided an opportunity for young artists’ works to be shown to the public, sometimes leading to their own one person shows. Some have even gone on to professional art careers having had their start with the Nā `Ōpio.  Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners are awarded to each grade level and presented at the reception held Sunday, March 8th from 3:00-5:00 PM at the Firehouse Gallery located in Waimea in the Waimea Historic Corner Park. The judge for this year’s show is Janice Gail a long time Waimea resident who is well known for her art.

Janice Gail came to Hawaii more than 30 years ago, attracted by the beauty and the light, and drawn to the Aloha Spirit of the Hawaiian people.  From her childhood home in California where she began drawing at age three, her education and life as an artist has led her through a multitude of experiences.  Self-taught as an artist, trained in Design and Illustration, she has drawn and painted her way through a multitude of subjects, in a variety of media:  Portraits and the Figure, Floral and Still Life, Landscapes & Seascapes in Oil and Pastel, with a particular passion for Watercolor.  Recently, the addition of handmade and imported papers to her paintings in the creation of textured collages, have captured collectors’ interest.   
 
The Interior Design community, as well as homeowners here and on the Mainland,  have recognized her ability to conceptualize, collaborate, and create murals, wall effects, and specialized installations that now grace many of Hawaii’s homes and businesses.  
 
Janice has enjoyed participation in numerous exhibitions and one-woman shows, both in Hawaii and on the Mainland, and Juried Exhibitions resulting in First and Second Awards; the most prestigious of these being a Purchase Award by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and inclusion in the Schaefer Portrait Competition at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.   
 
 Many of her paintings and designs have found their way into private collections world-wide, a large number having been commissioned by residents or visitors.  She is currently represented in Waimea by the Firehouse Gallery and The Gallery of Great Things; and at Waipi`o Valley Artworks in Kukuihaele. Janice also teaches group and private lessons at various locations, for the Waimea Arts Council, at Anna Ranch Historic Home in Waimea, and in Honokaa at her home Studio. For more information,  Call 936-1449, or E-mail  janicegailart@gmail.com.