cover image Easter Island Sketchbook: An Artist's Journey to the Mysterious Land of Giant Stone Statues

Easter Island Sketchbook: An Artist's Journey to the Mysterious Land of Giant Stone Statues

Susan A. Sternau. Sausalito Press, $29.95 hardcover (96p) ISBN 978-0-9898455-8-8

Through a series of finely wrought watercolor and ink paintings, Sternau provides a glimpse of her time on Easter Island. The island, located in the South Pacific, is mostly known for its moai%E2%80%94large stone statues that are relics of the ancient Rapa Nui civilization%E2%80%94and an air of mystery and isolation seems to linger over the artist's illustrations of them. In Sunset Moai (Tahai), the statue seems regal, as it stands in silhouette, jutting into a vivid yellow and orange sky and seascape. There are also some striking, if tragic, renderings of statues that were toppled or never completed, indicative of the chaotic nature of the indigenous civilization's decline. Sternau also captures some of the island's other vistas: the wild horses of the interior, craggy cliff sides crashing into the water, idyllic beaches, and a church decorated with traditional tablets and images of the Madonna. Sternau's work seems to be the product of keen observation and reflection%E2%80%94a record of travels through a vibrant, mystifying landscape.