Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou [Paperback]

Douglas Simonson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Bess Press; 1St Edition edition (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935848916
• ISBN-13: 978-0935848915
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Simonson is one of the world's best-known interpreters of the male figure. His work hangs in collections in over 80 countries on 6 continents.
Born and raised in the dry, dusty cattle country of the western U.S., Simonson was encouraged in his art by his mother, also an artist. When he was 19, Simonson left his home town of Thedford, Nebraska to move to Honolulu, Hawaii.
In Honolulu, Simonson studied art at the University of Hawaii and the Honolulu Academy of Art. He also drew, painted and studied voraciously on his own, absorbing the influence of such diverse masters as Velázquez, Vermeer, Rubens, Sorolla, Sargent, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso.
Simonson also found time for an amazing diversity of experiences and careers, from sign-painting to typesetting to writing radio and television commercials. Then, in 1981, with the help of two close friends, Simonson wrote, illustrated and published a book called Pidgin to da Max, which went on to become one of the best-selling books ever published in Hawaii. Since then, Simonson has created or co-created 14 books, which have been published in 3 countries and in 5 languages, with a total of over 350,000 copies in print.
At around the same time as the success of Pidgin to da Max, Simonson began experimenting with fine art again -- something he had not done for several years. Although he'd been fascinated by the male figure for most of his life, his own fears and insecurities had kept him from exploring it in his art. But around 1980, Simonson put aside his fears and began focusing on the male nude as his primary subject matter.
At first he was concerned that the male figure might be too narrow a focus, that it might limit his growth as an artist. But the opposite proved to be true. For the first time, Simonson felt that he was painting what he had always been meant to paint. He found the male figure to be a continuous source of inspiration, and he began producing art--paintings, drawings, prints--with an energy and enthusiasm that he had never felt before.
Today Simonson is as committed to, and inspired by, the male figure as he was then. In the interim he has shared his art with hundreds of thousands of admirers, been interviewed in dozens of newspapers and magazines and on television and radio, has shown his work in many venues, and built a worldwide reputation.
One of the most unusual aspects of the career of this unusual artist is the fact that galleries are not his primary means of reaching collectors. For the first 15 years of his career, Simonson communicated with most of his clientele by mail, sending color slides, and sometimes printed flyers, to interested collectors. In this way the artist built a global following.
Thus Simonson was uniquely positioned to benefit from the advent of the Internet. He built his first website in 1995 and within a few months his art was selling briskly online. Millions of visitors later, his website is his primary gallery, showcasing thousands of his works, and offering a broad range of Simonson art-related items, like posters, limited-edition prints, calendars, cards, books, e-books and more. You can also read Simonson's Artist's Blog (a Wordpress blog also accessible through the Simonson website) to get an entertaining and profusely illustrated insight into the artist's creative process.
In 2010 the artist added a new website for admirers of his photographs, Simonson On Location. This subscription site showcases uncensored photographs from Simonson's photo shoots in Hawaii, California, Brazil and other beautiful parts of the world.
Douglas Simonson currently lives and works in Honolulu. You can contact the artist directly at [e-mail], or by postal mail at: Douglas Simonson, 1542 Young St., Suite 340, Honolulu, HI 96826, USA. Phone: [phone].

Exhibitions
Group Exhibitions
* 1981, 1991: Artists of Hawaii, Juried Exhibition
* 1991-92 Association of Hawaii Artists Annual Show (1992: Award)
*
One-Man Shows
* 1982: Kuhio Federal Building, Honolulu
* 1982: Manoa Gallery, Honolulu
* 1987: Che Pasta, Honolulu
* 1988: A Different Light, Los Angeles
* 1990: Hawaii Maritime Center, Honolulu
* 1990: Life Foundation AIDS Benefit, Honolulu
* 1991: Hula's, Waikiki, Honolulu
* 1992: Ramsay Galleries, Honolulu
* 1996: Treats, Honolulu
*
Tours, Lectures, Traveling Shows
* 1987: San Francisco
* 1988: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego
* 1989: San Francisco
* 1990: Boston, New York, Washington D.C.
* 1990: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago
* 1991: Seattle, Chicago
* 1994: Atlanta, New Orleans
*
Books
* Pidgin to da Max Series, 1981-1986, Honolulu (over 300,000 books in print)
* Hawaii, Paintings and Drawings by Douglas Simonson, GMP Publishers, London, 1986
* Islanders, Paintings and Drawings by Douglas Simonson, Alyson Publications, Boston, 1989
* brush & camera, Paintings, Drawings and Photographs by Douglas Simonson, Douglas Simonson Fine Arts, Honolulu, 2006
*
E-Books
* Tropical, Male Nude Photographs, Honolulu, 2011
* Classic Simonson, Male Nude Paintings and Drawings, 1980-1990, Honolulu, 2011

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hana Hou! (Do it Again!), February 1, 2008

By 

Robert H. Command "Bobby" (captain cook, hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou (Paperback)

Ho! Da origino local-kine talk books is back.

(Translation: Eureka! The essential volumes of Hawaii creole English have been reprinted.)

Oh wow laulau! "Pidgin to da Max," stay 25 yeas old? Whea da time wen stay go?

(Oh my gosh! "Pidgin to da Max," is celebrating its 25th anniversary? Where did time fly?)

Was so funny when dey wen furs print um. Had comics and all da words we wen grow up wid.

(This unique publication was incredibly humorous when it was first released. Richly illustrated, it contained many of colloquialisms that were commonplace in our everyday language as we matured into adults.)

An den was so populahs dey wen make "Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou!" and "Hawaii to da Max!"

(The appeal of the unique book prompted the equally popular spinoffs, "Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou" and "Hawaii to da Max.")

But we wen look um so much da pages wen hemo an den my fren wen spill his Baby Milla on um and came so hemajang we wen jus fling um.

(However, our books were so well-read that the pages began to detach from their spines, an acquaintance accidentally soiled them with his cocktail, and the volumes eventually became so befouled they were discarded.)

Now we all get keikis an dey tok li dat too, an us guys tink about da kine small kid days. So Bess Press wen say quarta of a centree, tubulah books, les go foa it hana hous.

(We have currently started families of our own, our children also utilize a similar form of Hawaii creole, and we have grown nostalgic about the days of our youths. Therefore Bess Press has decided to reissue these masterpieces.)

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dis book, November 17, 2005

By 

Lance (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou (Paperback)

Dis book is da kine. You say you try learn, no get nuts eh, just get da book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good taste of Hawaii's local English, November 21, 2010

By 

B. Hirata (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pidgin to da Max Hana Hou (Paperback)

I bought this book 25 years ago and lost my copy. So when I saw it being sold I had to get the book. The book is written in dictionary format with accompaning illustrations (cartoon type) that is just hilarious. Once a native Hawaiian, now transplanted to the mainland, this book brought back fond childhood memories and a whole lot of nostalgia. One word of caution however. If you purchase the book Pidgin to the Max 25th Anniversary Edition,this book is contained in it.