Rebekah’s Studio

I sold my first oil painting in 1989 when I was 40. Uncle Walter bought “Garden at Moanalua” from the trunk of my car, and I was thrilled because he was a man of good taste. After he died I learned that my cousin Millie inherited it. I’m happy the painting is still in the family.

In 2011 another Native Hawaiian artist reminded me to reserve “one work per year” for a retrospective collection. The pieces I selected are either paintings I already decided to keep, what I have taken off the market for this purpose and like, or works in the private collections of people I felt comfortable enough to ask, “May I come to photograph the painting?” I’m still in the process of gathering the electronic images.

My most prolific period so far (35 original oils) was 1993-1994 when I devoted my time to recording Ka‘a‘awa town and the ‘ili of ‘Īoleka‘a on canvas. Most of the paintings from the one-person shows were purchased.

There was a 5-year hiatus from 1998-2002 when I concentrated my energy on developing the Hale Kū‘ai Cooperative that bought and sold Native Hawaiian made products. In 2003 I began to paint regularly in the landscape of Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden in the Luluku area of Kāne‘ohe.

In 2014 at 65 I was honored to deliver a commission that was a collaboration of visual ideas between me and the patron.  Starting 2015 I began making collages with hand-dyed tissue paper. — Rebekah Luke

Garden at Moanalua – 1989 – Mildred Lui Collection

Kalama Beach – 1990 – Ariel Krape Hylton Collection

Pine Trees at Kalae Oio – 1991 – Artist’s Collection

Harriet the Cat – 1992 – Artist’s Collection

Mitchell’s Miss Hawaii – 1993 – Artist’s Collection

Valley of the Temple – 1993 – Artist’s Collection

Gas Pumps in Paradise – 1993

Anita’s Place	Kaiwikee	Edge of the Forest

Unforgettable Iolekaa – 1994 triptych – Artist’s Collection

Yellow Plumeria – 1995 – Carol Takahashi Collection

Annie, We Love You – 1996 – Al Pi‘ikea Miyamoto Collection

Where She Took Her Bath – 1997 – Nani Ho Collection

Wild Orchid Faces – 2004 – Ruth Sinclair Collection

Luluku Patterns – 2005 – Art and Rosemary Eberhardt Collection

Rain Fantasy – 2006

Golden Retreat at Ho‘omaluhia – 2007 – Diane Bennett Collection

Looking Down Upon the Path – 2008

Morning Destination: Kalaeokaoio Beach – 2009

Welcome Spring – 2010 – Maile Williams Collection

Good Morning Kaaawa! – 2011 – Artist’s Collection

Kalo diptych – 2012 –
Eva Weiss Collection & Kingston Weiss Collection

Makapu‘u – 2013 – Kathy Cho Collection

Bluegrass Hawaii – 2013 – Maile Kim and Bren Chun Collection

Pi‘ikea’s Lo‘i Kalo – 2013 – Al Pi‘ikea Miyamoto Collection

Tantalus View from Pu‘u ‘Ōhiʻa – 2014 – Robert Tam Collection

Bromeliads – 2015 – 18” x 24” hand-dyed paper on canvas — Leslie Miller Collection

Water Lilies in Paper – 2016 / 18″ x 24″ hand-dyed tissue paper on canvas panel — Susan Arnett Collection

A Lovely Afternoon — 2017 / 20″ x 16″ hand-dyed tissue paper collage on canvas — Rebecca L. Covert Collection