Sunlit rays bounce off the ocean’s surface above a humpback whale mother and her calf, and a cinematic underwater coral reef shimmers on the second floor of Building-Q at Kealakehe High. Two ocean-themed murals at the school reflect both the creative artistry and career aspirations of senior Love Trujillo-Murphy. 

When teacher and homeroom advisor Elizabeth Clemens asked Trujillo-Murphy if she would like to create a mural for the bare wall fronting their advisory, Trujillo-Murphy eagerly took up the challenge. With the help of her mother, Victoria Trujillo, a muralist herself, and Clemens, each mural was painted in just four days. 

The artistically gifted Trujillo-Murphy has been creating art her entire life. She took three years of art at Kealakehe High and her artwork was recognized with Silver Key awards in the Hawaiʻi Scholastic Art competition and with the Judge’s Choice Award and Judith Hara Award in the Young at Art, Hawaiʻi Regional Art Competition. 

The design of the murals was inspired by the beach and ocean that can be viewed from campus. The first mural, framed in pink, showcases a Hawaiian reef with invertebrates, native fish and sharks teeming about. The mural houses 21 species of plants and animals ranging from corals to cephalopods to mammals and rays. The clever octopus was originally hiding among the coral, however, a design decision moved him upfront, traversing out of the tank and into school. 

“There was a lot of collaboration in painting the animals so I definitely can’t take credit for all of them. The most challenging one to paint was the whitetip reef shark,” said Trujillo-Murphy. “My favorite fish that I painted was the blackside hawkfish and the octopus. I’m super happy with the way they both turned out and I think they really fit the style of the coral too.”  

Whale season inspired the second mural. The Kona coast is a sanctuary for whale calves and their mothers. Trujillo-Murphy saw some breaching and decided the pair would find a home in the mural. A subtle, tribal design floats along the bottom, creating pilina (connection) to Hawaiʻi and ʻāina. 

Clemens has served as Trujillo-Murphy’s advisor for the past four years and also as her AP Environmental Science (APES) teacher. According to Clemens, the benefit of being a homeroom advisor is seeing students grow from awkward freshmen to seniors ready to fly. 

“Every school’s big thing is to have a sense of belonging for every student,” explained Clemens. “I just talk to them and ask about their weekend, and they show me pictures and we talk about that. I am lucky because most of the kids are interested in the ocean in Kona, so it is a natural segue.” 

Through these morning chats and taking Clemens’s APES class, Trujillo-Murphy began expressing her interest in marine biology her junior year. So much so that she plans to attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to study marine biology.

Trujillo-Murphy is looking forward to graduating from high school this May and discovering more about the ocean in college. She says of her mentor, Clemens, “She is the best teacher ever, such a good teacher. She helped me be inspired to do what I wanted and guided me towards that.”

Clemens, while happy to be an inspiration for Trujillo-Murphy, added, “Love has a bright future ahead of her no matter what she chooses to do.”