This matched pair of paintings, “Winter” and “Summer,” show the Pacific’s most beloved navigators, the humpback whales, as they rendezvous beneath the towering sea cliffs of both the Na Pali Coast of Kauai, their winter habitat , and the Alaskan Coast such as Glacier Bay, their “summer” residence. The artist was struck by the climatic extremes and geographic diversities of their habitat , while at the same time, noting the similarity in geometry of their habitats. The eroded rocky pinnacles of the Na Pali Coast and the angular planes of the glacier face as it breaks into massive pinacle-like columns that “calve” and return to the sea , both creating caves, are striking in their similarity.
The humpback swim over 6,000 miles from Alaska to give birth to their calves in the warm Hawaiian waters. Once they depart from Alaska, they do not feed again until they return. For the past decade, Massey has studied their courtship and play and their fantastic aerial displays in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands. This pair of paintings is his tribute to their magnificence which can only leave one awed and humbled.