Patrick Ching

Early life

Ching was born in Oahu. He received his alma mater from the Otis College of Art and Design where he trained to be an artist. In 1984 he moved to Kauai in order to do volunteer for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife ranger. This took him to remote areas of the Hawaiian islands where he worked a great deal with sharks, seals, turtles and other marine animals. He then became a ranger at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

As a painter

A painter since age 16, Ching gained international recognition because of his painting's remarkable likeness to the photographs he took while in the field. His most notable works of art can be seen on Hawaii's first Wildlife Conservation Stamp featuring the Hawaiian state bird the Nene, a species of goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. and the Hawaiian Telcom Phone Book Cover featuring Haley's Comet.

In 2008, Ching painted the hundred foot mural for the Salt Lake Public Library. which was featured in national magazines including Wildlife Art News, Audubon, and Birders' World.

Works by Ching are included in the collections of Hawaii's Bishop Museum and the Smithsonian Museum in New York.

As an author

Ching has written around twenty books, most of which are about wildlife and nature. In 1998 Ching started writing children's books.

Naturally Hawaiian Gallery

In 2008 he established the Naturally Hawaiian Gallery in an old gas station which served as a popular roadside gallery until 2011 when it was moved to Princeville, Kauai.

Publications

Ching has written around twenty books, among them are: