Sunrise at Haleakalā will forever be a cherished memory of mine. It is where my now husband proposed to me. He had taken me there a year or two before, and we watched the sunrise completely unprepared for how cold it was. We were definitely shivering in our thin sweatshirts while waiting what felt like hours for the sun to rise. But once the sun came up, it was all worth it. As the sun rose, hues of purple, orange, and blue were radiating through the sky and reflecting off the clouds. I was in complete awe of the magnificent show above the clouds. Plus, it got infinitely warmer! 

Fast forward a year later, he took me back to the same spot and proposed. This time, we came prepared wearing thick winter jackets :D

Haleakalā means "the house of the sun," so I thought it was only fitting to depict the beautiful sunrise on this towel design. The center of the design is the sun and its rays. I also featured the silversword plant, which only grows on Haleakalā. I added cinder cones, the nēnē goose, and the ʻiʻiwi bird to the design as well.

I love kapa patterns, so I added them to the backdrop and cinder cones. I just love how it adds texture to the design.

For the colors, I chose a muted green-blue shade for the front to represent the sky and greenery, and purple for the backside because it reminded me of the colors I saw when the sun began to make its appearance for the day.

This was such a special design to work on!