In this woodcut print the beekeepers tending their hives in the wilelaiki thickets of Kohala go about the routine activities involved in maintaining healthy honeybee colonies. The second beekeeper from left is smoking a hive to calm the bees so he can open the hive without getting stung. The third beekeeper has just pried the lid off a hive and will lift out the frames examining development of the honeycomb, the location and state of the queen and looking for the myriad of subtle clues that tell the story of how the hive is functioning. The first beekeeper is carrying a hive loaded with honey to the truck, where they will transport them to the warehouse for harvesting. "The Beekeeper" is a homage to the 1568 drawing of the same title by Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel. Scholars have analyzed this mysterious drawing of three beekeepers and a boy in a tree, indicating that it refers to the conflict between the Catholic and Protestant churches. In this Hawaiian version I recreated Bruegel's distinct composition and added modern day implements and technology. The tree is modified slightly to evoke the wilelaiki tree. Some scholars believe the foreground plant in Bruegel's image is an indigenous plantain, which I transformed into the endemic Hawaiian plantain, kuahiwi laukahi, which is endangered. The palms in the upper left corner are a feature of the Kohala wilelaiki bee yard Part of the Hawaiian Honeybee Woodcut Print Series designed exclusively for Big Island Bees by award-winning artist Andrea Pro. Image Dimensions: 17" x 12" Digital Reproduction printed with archival ink and paper These reproductions (giclees) of Andrea’s original art are printed with the highest quality archival inks on beautiful paper, and will last a lifetime when framed with UV protected glass and displayed away from direct sunlight [split] About the Artist Andrea Pro is an artist on the Island of Hawaii whose passion for preserving native Hawaiian plant and bird species inspires her handcrafted woodblock art. Her beautiful original woodblock prints convey the essence of a special part of Hawaii that often goes unnoticed. To learn more about Andrea and see more of her art visit www.andreapro.com.
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