HB 069: Maui Artist Patrick Parker

**AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED**

Patrick Parker 0:00

There are moments where there's so much beauty you're sitting there in a in a sunset and a perfect waves come in. It's backlit and offshore winds are hitting it and you get these memories of these moments. And that's kind of like what I like to paint. But I like to create as artists are trying to capture that moment.

Bryan Murphy 0:18

That is Patrick Parker, who lives on Maui. And in our conversation today, we talk all about what led him to move to Hawaii, his path and becoming a professional artists. We even talked about surfing in ecotourism and even the current conditions on the road to Ana, and a whole lot more. So stay tuned for this one. as we learn more about Patrick Parker. Let's go.

Hawaii's Best 0:43

Welcome to Hawaii's Best Podcast, where we help you prepare for your next trip to Hawaii. Discover the experiences businesses and stories that make Hawaii the Aloha state. And now your host, Brian Murphy.

Bryan Murphy 0:58

Welcome to a another episode of Hawaii's Best where we help prepare you for your next trip to Hawaii. I'm your host, Brian Murphy, the owner of Hawaii's Best and I just want to say thank you so much for joining me today. And I can't wait for you to hear more about Patrick and my conversation with him. You can find Patrick online at Patrick Parker art.com. And on Instagram at Patrick Parker art, one of the things I love about podcasting is being able to connect with amazing people, and just hearing their story. And this episode is all about just hearing Patrick's story and his story to Hawaii. And as he was born and raised in Southern California, like myself, it was cool to hear about his move to Hawaii about 11 years ago and and how that has changed him and how he's continued to create art and enjoy the amazing inspiration that is the Hawaiian culture and islands. So Patrick's been professional artists for about 15 years. And he specializes in paper collages of what he calls fantasy scape. And we unpack what that term is, throughout this conversation, and also creating tropical imagery. Now honestly, my conversation with Patrick kind of went all over the place we talked, like you mentioned in the intro about ecotourism about road ohana, about his creation process and about his move to Hawaii. It was great to be able to hear his story in his heart for art in his heart for Hawaii. And I'm sure that in this conversation, that there's going to be some nuggets that you're going to be able to take away and be able to apply to your own life and into your next visit to Hawaii. So without further ado, let's go ahead and let's talk story with Patrick Parker, on the island of Maui.

Patrick, thank you so much for coming on Hawaii's Best today. Love to hear a little bit about you and what brought you to the island.

Patrick Parker 3:05

I grew up in Los Angeles area near the beach. And I've always been a surfer since I was like nine years old. So I've always had a love affair with Hawaii since about that age. Because when you learn about surfing, you learn about Hawaii. And that's the roots of surfing. And so as you grow up as a surfer, you get this fantasy of like this tropical island in the middle of the Pacific and it has great waves. It's beautiful. It's warm, there's mazing beaches, just beautiful. And then as I grew up and became an artist, the two combined where I was painting and collaging and doing surfer art. So I think naturally for me, it was an easy like way to immerse myself in my inspiration was to move to Hawaii. I did that about 11 years ago. And it's the greatest day of my life. I don't think I'll ever want to leave Hawaii live anywhere else. I've traveled to a lot of places and they're amazing places to visit. But every time I go to a place, I almost get homesick of wanting to come back to Hawaii. And if you've ever lived in Hawaii or been here for an extended period of time, you probably kind of feel that as well. Or you you don't want to leave so I always say that. I don't want to leave. I wish I could extend my vacation or maybe one day I'll live here. And for me, it's the other way I travel when I go oh I can't wait to go home. So it's kind of

Bryan Murphy 4:24

offset. That's awesome. So then what was your first visit to Hawaii?

Patrick Parker 4:31

I believe I was five and I went to Maui. That's where I live right now. I don't have much memory of that but when I was 19 is when I first came out like as a surfer and you know challenged the waves and really got challenged because the waves are so much different than la right you know warm water big bigger waves reef breaks, like instead of sand goes like shark coral. A lot of a lot more intense. And after that I made when I was 28. So like it was almost 10 years of coming like twice a year. Three times a year wanting to stay longer, right? doing a little bit of art and realizing this is the inspiration like I need to move here. So eventually just decided to take that chance.

Bryan Murphy 5:11

So growing up surfing, that kind of came first and then the art was inspired by that culture.

Patrick Parker 5:18

Yeah, definitely, when you really get into that sort of culture, and you really are inspired by the ocean, there are moments where there's so much beauty, you're sitting there in a in a sunset and a perfect waves coming in. It's backlit, and offshore winds are hitting it and you get these memories of these moments. And that's kind of like what I like to paint. I like to create as artists are trying to capture that moment, not in a photo, like photos are great. But like there's an energy that's different when you can create it yourself, or you, you look at a piece of art that's created by someone else, and you feel the energy that they put into it. I think it'll be forever for me to want to paint the ocean, and it's different form. And then backdrops like Hawaii, where it's tropical, there's waterfalls, there's rivers, and palm trees and huts. And like that's, to me, that's just this idyllic thing that like I go to when I think of how beautiful Hawaii and the beaches here are in the ocean itself, like surrounding it.

Bryan Murphy 6:14

It sounds like the same or similar energy when creating art and when getting out in the ocean are very similar. Is that accurate?

Patrick Parker 6:25

Yeah, it can be. So there'll be some moments when you're creating when you're in the flow. And I'm sure I see your guitars in the background right? musician, you know what that flow is, it's similar with art, it's similar with surfing, you're just really in touch, all your senses are firing, nothing else matters. You're so in tune what's happening, you're so present the correlation between the both of those and to combine those, like, I'll get lost for eight hours and not eat, not drink and just come up for a breath of air and go wow, like, I just created something and it was so magical. And, and you just fall in love with it. And it's it's very gratified. And it's very humbling to and it's so grateful. It's amazing.

Bryan Murphy 7:05

It's really those moments, I think, a lot of us who are creative, and I, I tend to believe that we're all creative. And it's, it's those moments that are like, makes what we do worth doing and living and like getting back in that flow and trying to recreate that. Definitely. Yeah. So surfing in LA definitely different than in Hawaii. Yeah, I'm curious. That moment you got out into the lineup, the very first time in Hawaii, what was that experience like?

Patrick Parker 7:39

pretty overwhelming and a lot of ways because when you paddle out from the shore, most sponsor paddling over shark coral. And before it's like the water in Los Angeles isn't that clear, but you know, it's sand, then you might you might see some fish or a turtle, or maybe a whale or dolphin or some seabirds. And in LA, you don't really see that. I remember like the emotion of just being out there. So surrounded by nature, in a different way than I ever had before. And if you've ever visited Hawaii and went swimming there for the first time on snorkeling, and that energy, the energy of the islands is so much stronger, the natural energy, the mana, call it it can be overwhelming, but then it's so seductive, you want to keep coming back and back and experience over and over again because it It fills your heart and makes you feel good. It makes you feel connected to nature. It's really amazing. Yeah,

Bryan Murphy 8:32

so similar question moving 11 years ago, immersing yourself full time into the community, the culture, what was that like for you?

Patrick Parker 8:42

I was on the North Shore of a walker. So that's where all the contests are pipeline, like Waimea Bay, all these amazing spots, and I wanted to live there, right in the middle of all that energy. Sure, because I did surf art and that's at the epicenter. I felt accepted right away. I mean, I'm not from the islands. And there's a term called poly which means not from here like there is some you know, just like anywhere in the world if you search before like there's some localism you know, people are coming to travel to your break to take your waves, so you got to kind of fight, fight for it. There's rules in place, but I was very aware of that and very respectful and haven't had any kind of major problems. I've been yelled at, you know, I've dropped in on people accidentally, like oh, shoot, sorry, I didn't mean to take your wave, my go circle over there. Now. I'm sorry. Like, that's not my intention. The more respectful you are anywhere you travel, you'll feel good. They'll want to meet you. And when you're living here now that I've been here long enough when you do experience someone and you meet them and they have that same kind of mano that same kind of energy like oh, I'm just so grateful to be here. It makes the experience so much better for both people. You know if you're the if you're coming just to take to take to take on they have a few days. I want to hit this well. I want to get I want to get the most waves I want to just or I'm sponsored, I deserve these waves. There's someone taking phone Grab some me, I want to get the best barrel and so I can further my career. That's gonna backfire very quickly here.

Bryan Murphy 10:05

All right, I've been trying to unpack this thought this concept and since you're a traveler yourself curious and how you would define this or unpack this thought, the difference between being a traveler versus being a tourist,

Patrick Parker 10:22

a traveler, to me is someone who wants to experience the culture. They go there to immerse themselves, not just to go sit in that hotel and and drink, monetizing. That's a tourist, they want to hit the bus spots. And it's almost like peeking in a lot of ways. But there's a way that you can combine the two. And that's kind of the best, I think, yeah, you want to hit the you want to see the beauty of the you want to experience the best places. But you also have to have that respect and want to, like, what is this culture? Why is this place so special? Is there like for Hawaii, there's a lot of ancient artifacts and ruins and places that you you want to stay away from, even though it could be beautiful, like observed from afar. If you go to the Big Island, and you take lava from the Big Island, you're gonna have bad karma. There's stories of I talked to one of the people who worked and say, Oh, yeah, people send rocks back lava back in the mail all the time, right? Because they took something. And, you know, they tried to make it their own when it's for everyone to enjoy. And it's meant to be on the islands. And this bad karma came about them pretty quickly. So they decided, well, I need to send her back. That karma for traveling. I think, you know, if you come with that respect, good karma will follow you wherever you go. What's funny, is,

Bryan Murphy 11:45

we did a whole episode about the legend of Pele and how some post offices are filled with these lava rock that people you know, send back. Yeah. So it's it's very true. And it's really about being true and respectful, like you said, and no matter where you go, and I think that's really been the conversation of Hawaii's Best is. Yeah, you can travel to Hawaii, technically part of the US, but technically not. It's its own culture, its own people's own language. When you travel to another country, like Australia, for example, or you kind of have this preconceived notion that you're traveling into another culture. And I think, when travels traveling to Hawaii, they forget that they're traveling. And it's not just like crossing the border. If you live in Southern California, heading over to Arizona, it's not the same thing. And I think that is kind of what I'm

Patrick Parker 12:42

hearing. Yeah, no, not at all. Maybe some of your listeners will know that Hawaii was annexed by the US. So the deep roots, there's like a, there's like a deep pain there. And you feel it when you're here. If you really want to get into the culture of it here, you're gonna feel that.

Bryan Murphy 12:57

Yeah, so knowing that as someone who's traveling into Hawaii, no matter where you are, no matter where you're listening to this right now, this is important to know. And I know, you're not going to be able to know the entire history, but having some of the cliff notes of the history is super important. And when you travel into a ye having that knowledge and this that having that on your heart as you engage in conversations is super important. So Patrick, a little bit more about being on Maui right now. Love to hear just some of your talks being on Island, the red, the ohana, what is the current climate situation right now?

Patrick Parker 13:37

So I'll backtrack with that question in a second. Because there's more like what what Hannah is right now compared to what it was during the pandemic? Sure. So I was on Maui when the pandemic started. And the tourism was at its peak 1000s of people a day travel the road to Honda. It's gorgeous. There's, I don't know how many little bridges one, one lane road you have to go across every other turn. There's just jungle and there's waterfalls right by the by the row, you can stop and take pictures and even jump in. And usually there'll be 2050 people sometimes it's some of these spots, if you have to keep driving because there's just no parking. There's just a lot of people you're like, maybe that's not my energy at the moment. During the pandemic when that hit. Honda was closed off. It was actually secluded from the rest of the island by the government like police, you have to have show residency or proof of like you have to have work to get over there. Fortunately, I live pretty close to the backside on the south side. So there's two main roads that go to Havana. I was able to secure a work path to go to Honda and do some stuff. And on my visit, I'd see only like two or three cars coming back the other way. Go into places where you could hike or there'd be 2030 cars on the side of the road ready for this hike. There was nobody hiking with my girlfriend for an hour, two hours with no Nobody, and it was great. It was a great thing. But it also it's like, that's not normal. And if you live in Hong Kong, you might really like that part of it, that there was not a lot of tourism. But also there's a lot of struggling businesses because of that. Sure. So there's there's just a real given take on Maui with tourism being like, it's really back the all time high right now, again, almost more. So there's frustration, the tourists have be frustrated, because there's a lot of people, it's a high value destination in the world. Everyone wants to come here, everyone was so frustrated, being at home, can't travel to Hawaii, had all their tickets and everything all booked. And now here's their opportunity again, and I want to get there. And, wow, there's so many people here. I didn't really expect that. But it kind of has always been like that. And to have that perspective during the pandemic and living here and being like, wow, that nature got to breathe. They got to breathe for like a year. Yeah. And the beaches are better. There's less trash, the whales came closer. It's kind of nice.

Bryan Murphy 16:03

So I mean, this is probably the million dollar question. But where do you see the balance between tourism and ecotourism? Maybe that's the better term like where do you see the balance there?

Patrick Parker 16:15

I might have an opinion. I don't know if it's the right one. So there's a lot of different ways to approach that, in terms of how does it benefit the community first. And then second, you know, how many people are allowed on the island, you know, there's only so much any infrastructure can handle. That's true. And there's always constant erosion on the roads, there's lots of trash that's being not finding the right places, or just a lot of things that this island gets shipped into the island to support the tourism, like stuff that wasn't grown here. You know, there's a lot of pollution through that there's a lot of airplane flights and cargo ships, and everything that is in the best for the environment, all these products that people have the water bottle, right, a plastic water bottle, how many millions of people a day are going to grab that water bottle, hold on to it for 10 1020 minutes, and then kind of trashcan for it. And Hawaii doesn't have the best recycling program either. Right? So like you're saying about ecotourism. Hopefully, that's something that can come more to the forefront. Now there are places that do that. I'm not in the know, and all the best places to go to do that. But there's a lot of problems with a lot of people on a small little island in the Pacific, hopefully, it can become more eco friendly, and help the community as well as the people who live here, because it's a really hard place to live. It's very expensive. There's a term called kamina. Local price, there might be anywhere from 10 to 50% difference on a price because it might not be affordable with your salary living here, because the prices are so high for gas, or food, everything internet, electric housing costs for a single like a single person like myself, living here on Oahu, renting a one bedroom place, or sorry, on Maui, my living expenses could be anywhere from four to $6,000 a month, depending on your your lifestyle. That's a lot of money. Right? And the tourism can bring that in, you can make that money is when you live here. But then also there's what about something more sustainable? Because when that pandemic hit and all that tourism stop, right, and there was a lot of people that had to rely on unemployment, government benefits to survive to pay their rent, to get food. So there's a give and take with all that for sure. Yeah.

Bryan Murphy 18:37

So living on Maui. Maui is rich in a lot of culture and a lot of artists especially yet for industry line and town. Let's back up a little bit. How would you unpack your creation process? Like, you know, do you get get up and like, Okay, I'm going to start creating that eight or is it more of feeling it and vibing in and pressing into when inspiration hits?

Patrick Parker 19:00

There's a lot of factors, I think it's pretty easy to get distracted here. So you look outside, you're like, Wow, it's so beautiful out let's go down to the beach. Let's go surf the waves. And you kind of flow with it. You know, some days it's like we're in a tropical island. And it'll be raining for like a week straight. Can't go really go hiking or you know, the beaches aren't really that awesome when it's pouring rain, but I'm that's the time where you'll really get involved with your art really get into that flow. It's It's not like I just get up and not condoning nine to five jobs. But that's not my schedule. Yeah, I chose not to do that. It's also not as secure. It's not as consistent. And that's the risk you take. But it's also super gratifying when you are able to create something out with your with your hands and present it to the world and be like Qantas is what I like to do, and I hope you like it and if it supports your career and allows you to live here or anywhere in the world. As artists, you know it can can be very difficult. There's no there's Really no security, but the day to day is surround yourself with whatever you can that inspires you, whether it be people, the ocean, I surround myself with some of my friends art, I like to watch movies that catch my eye, noticing the colors, the depth, the subjects, and then kind of start some days, you'll just Well, I get really inspired right now. And you'll pull out a piece of paper and start sketching, and go, Oh, yeah, I want to make that into a piece one day, or right now I'm feeling it right now. Let's go. Sometimes it's the flow. But I think as a professional artist, the professional side of me the one that's like, Okay, do you want to make this your your living for the rest of your life, you got to be a professional, and it's not something you can just oh, I'll do it here and there. And you got to learn the marketing, you got to learn the business aspect of the art, you were just talking about galleries, there's a lot of galleries in Hawaii, especially in China. And you got to learn the business side of that, too. You can't just show up and go, look, I'm a cool art gallery and say, Well, look at the gallery, just this is the kind of art that is going to fit in here. We're going to sell that kind of art, what's your client base who wants to buy your work? Do you have to have your online website, your Instagram, whatever it is to sell your work, that's as a photographer, you know, it's not like you're just taking photos the whole time. There's the post production, there's the pre production, there's making sure your equipments running, right. There's the marketing, there's the podcasts, there's everything to get that product out, there is something that you don't learn when you're first start out being artists, right, you kind of just go, Oh, I'm going to be an artist, I'm just going to paint a lot. And I'm going to love it. It's great. And yeah, it can be amazing. But then rents do and you're like, Oh, I didn't sell any art this month, or this week, I have to go get a job that will support that. So maybe it's a side job that the art is. Or if you want to become a professional, you make the sacrifices and take that risk. And we do it all the time and, and learn as you go. I've been doing it for 15 years. And I feel like I need at least another 15 years before I really understand even a little bit of it.

Bryan Murphy 22:02

I love that always posturing yourself as learning growing. I'm curious how a gallery works like is a network or how do you

Patrick Parker 22:10

get in every gallery is a little different. Some are like Co Op galleries, where you there's a bunch of artists that will pay rent on a space. And if you want to get into something like that you meet the other artists, you see if you guys gel together, you feel like you want to support each other, there's other other galleries are, you present a portfolio of work, and you go, Hey, this is my best stuff. This is the kind of work I produce. This is my medium, these are the sizes, this is my wholesale costs, what I would want for the piece, and they might give you a chance they might be Oh, here's three months, here's a wall space, we'll see how you do if you do really well, you're selling a lot will expand your wall space. But then you also have to be able to fulfill that gotcha. So if you can only make three pieces a month, and you sell five pieces a month, it's not sustainable. It's great that you're selling your work. But how are you going to keep up with that pretty soon you won't have any wall space. So there's a there's a lot of give and take on on each gallery, like, how is it going to fit with your style of art? How fast can you produce the art get really popular, and all of a sudden, you're on like all these different travel websites. And this is the go to artists, this is the art that you want to have. All these people come in and looking for your art and you can't, and you just get sold out in a couple months. Now, these other people are coming like Well, where's the art? Oh, I don't know that we sold it all. So there's like, that's a great thing to have in some ways, but at the same time, can you sustain that work? Are you going to keep it fresh? Are you going to keep it new and exciting? Do you want to reproduce similar artwork? Or do you want to always try to do new things, it's like a musician, you know, like, they get kind of pigeon holed on the same kind of sound, right? Like the Beatles are great, because every album was so different. Because they just deleted themselves, they had a great support. And they, they went off and just did their thing. And then some other artists like they have the exact same sound their entire career, right, because that's what people expected can be like that, as that I've learned is people might come into the gallery and see your art and then expect all your art to be that same kind of look. So that can be a little daunting as an artist if you want to be very creative, and always trying new things. So like a musician and try new instruments, different kinds of guitars, bees, whatever they can to, like keep that fresh. It's kind of similar with the art too. So you might get pigeonholed into or typecast that say like as an as an actor like, oh, you're only a rom com actor. You can only do that. If you try to go outside of that and you try something new and presented like whoa, well, what are you doing over there like this is that don't expect that? Well, it's so you got to kind of try not to get typecast but at the same time want to kind of keep it consistent so that it's kind of expected there's a there's a total play on that that's I'm still learning.

Bryan Murphy 25:03

Sure What galleries are you are gallery Are you currently in?

Patrick Parker 25:06

Well currently I'm in a gallery on the Big Island, okay and waikoloa village called Genesis gallery. And also by the end of summer I'll be in two other galleries, another one on bigger and then one in Waikiki. I was in a gallery in Lahaina, but it wasn't quite working for me. So I'm going to try to look for another one in the future. I live on Maui. And if anyone wants to contact me through my website at Patrick Harker art calm, I live up in a country. It's a cooler on Haleakala, I live like this, I have this amazing view. It's like 3000 feet. so inspiring. Look out the window right now I can see it, I can see like four different islands. It's awesome. It's awesome. If you're in town, and you want to check out my home studio, I have a bunch of art here, all different kinds more than just what's on the website. And I'd be welcome to, you know, to meet you. There's also another way to contact me is on Instagram at Patrick Parker art, I have a lot of work on there. pretty consistent with posting new stuff. It's a great way to connect, and show the world what you do. There are people from Germany, Japan, and Australia that look the work and comment and buy prints originals. I just shipped a printer France for the first time, sold an original to Australia last month. And that's pretty cool to see this international thing. I'm on this little tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. And people who are interested in Hawaii and ocean themed art. Nowadays, instead of just being in a gallery where you can only see it in person. So the only people who are really going to see it, the internet has allowed the whole world to access your stuff, which is really awesome.

Bryan Murphy 26:42

Yeah, super awesome. I mean, that's how you and I connected over Instagram. And we've done a few giveaways together and even you guys can't see this, but I'm sure you can't see it. It's got a glare. Huh? But yeah, that's a solitude right there one of Patrick's art pieces, and something about that just really spoke to me. I'll be sure to post a picture after this episode comes out. But yeah, I mean, so fantasy scape is how your art is described. Maybe you can unpack that a little bit. And obviously, for someone to get more visual, you can go to either one of our Instagram accounts and see that. But for someone listening right now, how would you kind of unpack that?

Patrick Parker 27:23

So I came up with that word, combining fantasy and seascape, God, it just flowed so nicely together fantasy scape. My favorite subject is to paint an unreal world that's like a fantasy. So like most people ask, Oh, is that a place in Hawaii? I'm like, No, it's just my own creation and what I feel when I'm here, like, what I place that I would want to step into, and feel what I feel when I'm here. So like, like we were talking about Honda earlier. And there's places over there that you'll be hiking and you'll come upon this 200 foot waterfall, you're just like, oh, that feeling of just Yes. And it's I'm getting the chills even just thinking about it right now some of those experiences. And that's the kind of experience that I want to capture. Fantasy scape is because I always usually like to put water ocean in there, like a wave, maybe a turtle or beach. Because I grew up surfing all the time. But some of the works just want more waterfalls and rivers. The fantasy scape is the idea is that you can look at it and kind of mentally transport yourself to that place. So I'll put like a little hut or some steps or a tub of tiki torches or something real small, that's human, that kind of you can relate to. And it makes nature that much bigger. Because there's small little huts and I you get the perspective of Oh, if the huts that big, that waterfalls got 600 feet tall, or that waves like 20 feet tall, and that beach is super long, or that whatever it is, so to me, I draw that energy, that fantasy scape energy from being here, and trying to get all that feeling out into the art and the colors I use are like very saturated. It's bigger than life here. It's not like there's a lot of pollution or light pollution to block out the sky. You get to see all the Scott stars you see the moon rise coming over Holly Aquila, it lights up the entire island and you go in the water and it's so turquoise and clear and clean and you walk down the beaches and your toes are in the sand and it's a feeling and if you've never been here and hopefully this this podcast will be like that extra little thing to say, Okay, I need to go now because it's just a magical place.

Bryan Murphy 29:39

I love that and I think that's a good spot to end it. What are you excited about looking into the

Patrick Parker 29:44

future? The future? lots are living in Maui.

Bryan Murphy 29:49

Nice. You're in it right now, man. I love ya. Patrick, thank you so much for coming on today. I appreciate you and I thank you for your time. Thank you, Brian. I wish the best view. Mahalo to Patrick again just for his time. And coming on today. And, again, you can go to Patrick Parker art.com. And you can see all of his amazing creations. Also go over to his Instagram page, because that's where he's really active at Patrick Parker art. And you can see all of his incredible creations over there, as well. I mentioned in this episode, about a piece that I have a Patrick's called solitude. And I'll be sure to post a picture of that. You can go to our Instagram account to see that at Hawaii's Best, or you can go to Hawaii's Best travel.com slash episode six, nine. The next time we talk there's going to be a huge update on travel. So stay tuned for that. And until then, be well. Aloha.

Hawaii's Best 30:58

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