Gupton to be featured on Japanese television

Kailua-Kona watercolor artist Penny Gupton will be featured in a Japanese television program, talking about her artwork and Hawaii’s famous sunsets.

Producer Noboru Kinoshita, of the Honolulu-based location and promotions company Luna Hawaii Hadowin Inc., spotted some of Gupton’s work at Wishard Gallery in Queens’ MarketPlace and asked her to share the stories behind some of her paintings.

A film crew was “only here for four days, so we had to move pretty quickly,” Gupton said. “They were interested in sunsets, so we set up a scenario where I would show some of my paintings to a potential customer and take her out to Anaehoomalu Bay to see the real thing.”

The crew also filmed at Gupton’s home studio to flesh out the portrayal of an award-winning Hawaii artist.

Gupton spent between eight and 10 hours with the four-person crew and was impressed by their expertise and professionalism.

“I even had to take down the wind chimes on my lanai because they were interfering with the sound recording,” she said. “We all ended up sitting on my living room floor, chatting. It was a little surreal as they were speaking in Japanese and I had to wait for the translator to ask me questions so I could join in. But it was great fun.”

Gupton said she is eager for Japanese TV viewers to get a glimpse of the Hawaii beauty she loves to paint.

“It’s a huge honor that they picked me. But I felt a little apprehensive when I thought about me representing the Big Island and our diverse and wonderful art community,” she said. “I hope they will be proud of how I represented us all.”

The travel and culture program, “Chikya Zetsukei Kikou,” typically airs Fridays on Tokyo Broadcasting System. The program featuring Gupton is scheduled to air in June.

For more information, visit lunahawaii.com and pennygupton.com.