Hiroki Morinoue was born in Kealakekua, Hawaii. He received his BFA with high honor from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1973. Morinoue studied in Japan on two occasions: Sumi-e (Japanese Brush Painting) with Koh Ito Sensei in 1976 and Mokuhanga (Japanese Woodblock Printmaking) with Takashi Okubo Sensei in 1973. Since then he has developed his own techniques and application of water-based printmaking that he has taught and shared with his students for the past 30 years.

Morinoue was instrumental in starting the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture in Holualoa, Hawaii in 1994 and in 2002 opening its home under the name of the Donkey Mill Art Center, an art educational center that offers art-making opportunities to children and adults, including Artist-in-Residence Program. He has served as the Artistic Director for 20 years. He has taught Mokuhanga printmaking by giving workshops, lectures and demonstrations at numerous art centers and universities across the USA, including Anderson Ranch Art Center in Colorado, Burlington City Art Center in Vermont, Kala Institute & Fallbrook School of the Arts in Calif., Paper Works in Arizona, Holter Museum of Art, Montana, Whitman College in Washington, Honolulu Printmakers and Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center in Hawaii, to name a few. Because of his presence at the Donkey Mill’s Print Studio it is becoming a home-base and center for Mokuhanga printmaking studio outside of Japan.