Wayne Jacintho was born on Kaua'i, Hawai'i, the oldest of 4 children, to third-generation parents whose ancestors had come from Madeira and the Azores. At the age of 5 he was voraciously reading books, and showed an early proficiency in drawing. Arts and crafts were his favorite subjects in school, as well as all things mechanical and electrical.
He graduated from high school and entered the US Air Force where he realized 2 of his dreams: an education in eletronics, and a 5-year stint in Japan. There he purchased his first professional camera and learned darkroom techniques. He also worked as an instructor in the Wood Hobbyshop, making pieces of furniture, some of which he still has. In love with Japan, he nearly stayed there upon his discharge, but the lure of Kaua'i's beauty and sweet air brought him back.
A job at the westside Navy base kept him in electronics maintenance, but, dissatisfied, he began taking night classes in photography and creative writing. After 3 years he quit the Navy job and began to pursue a career in woodworking. Buying a lumber mill, slabbing his own trees, he constructed fine furniture in the Scandinavian style. He also began writing professionally, doing a monthly column of humorous "fish stories" for Hawaii Fishing News. In 1984 he realized another of his dreams when he was accepted into the woodworking school of the man whose books had led Wayne back to woodworking. James Krenov had set up his school in FT. Bragg, California, on the Mendocino Coast, and while there Wayne completed 4 major pieces of work, and of the two pieces which sold at the end-of-year show, one of those was his.
All through this time he had been doing photography, but in 1987 he began to photograph one of his greatest passions, the fine-art nude. This blew open the doors of creativity and he immediately began photographing the natural beauty of his island home as well.
Several career changes and a 2-year move to Northern California followed, but by 1994 Wayne was back on Kaua'i where he took up woodturning and continued with his photography. In 1996 he met Nancy Dawson, and they've been together since.
Today Wayne continues his award-winning turning and photography. He is active in the preservation of native forests in his favorite part of Kaua'i, Koke'e. He is a storyteller for school kids who come up to Koke'e on field trips, and is a volunteer hike leader for the Kokee Natural Histrory Museum. In addition, Wayne plays Slack-key guitar, and is a ukulele player in Taj Mahal's Hula Blues Band (the band's second album, "Hanapepe Dream", was cut in Germany in August of 2000, and will be released in February, 2001).
One of his current projects involves the history of Koke'e. Wayne is the photo-restoration member of the team, learning Photoshop on the fly. His other major project is the publication of a collection of his "fish stories".
