“Breath is sacred in part because it carries the words of the pule (prayer).” (Pukui, Haertig & Lee)

I believe the spirit of a friend whispered this painting to me at his memorial service. The islands lost Anthony Natividad this past November very unexpectedly. At Anthony’s memorial service I sat behind his family who I do not know and watched as life long friends greeted each other. I was deeply impacted by the way the men embraced, forehead to forehead and nose to nose in silence and breathed together in honor of their friend’s life.

   I was raised on the east coast in a community where men were very reserved in how they expressed emotion for one another and rarely did more than shake a hand. This formality and lack of emotional connection always made me feel like something was deeply missing. To me, it seemed clear that in this short life we have so little time to experience love… so why hide from the depth of what we are capable of feeling and expressing to one another?

  Moving to Hawaii I met Anthony Natividad. He was my first friend here on Maui. When I was struggling with my health he shared his healing ability with me. He was deeply intuitive and a gifted teacher. He was a great storyteller and carried a special wisdom, which he channeled into his heartfelt music. Over the next six years we continued to connect rarely but always at the right time. He was very supportive of my work as an artist and seemed to feel the visions I had were important to share.  We had planned to collaborate in my painting studio someday. The idea was that I would paint to his flute music and see what visions would come through to us. I of course assumed there would be time ahead for this. In the many moments of doubt I have had as an artist Anthony helped me listen to my path. In honor of Anthony Natividad this painting was created.  

“A Prayer For Our Brothers” is about respect between all men, between brothers, sons and fathers, feeling the love of family, honoring the ancestors that stand behind us in time, remembering those that we have lost together and a shared prayer for the future of our families. In this painting a father and son embrace with strength and grace and a deep knowing is shared between them in this moment that they will support and love each other always. The silver leaf is meant to symbolize the Mana that flows from them, between them and around them as they share the sacred breath of life.

 Mahalo to Ke’eaumoku Kapu and his son Kaulana Kapu for posing for this painting. Thank you for helping me bring this painting to life and trusting a total stranger with such a sacred expression.

http://earthmedicineinstitute.com/teachers/anthony-natividad/