2020 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

I’ve been waiting almost two full years to post about this project! At the beginning of 2019, Vans commissioned me to create the poster for the 2020 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. It was a dream project, working with a dream team. As a lifelong Vans fangirl, I am beyond excited to cross it off my bucket list. (I was also hired to do a “prequel” poster for the 2020 Vans Pro, but the event was cancelled… so I’not sure where I stand on being able to share the artwork.)

Because of the pandemic, many events have been cancelled this year, but the VTCS is still on and going digital —the competition will run without a spectator audience.

Above is the official 2020VTRCS trailer that Vans released a couple of weeks ago. Below is the original poster artwork and design I created last year.

My original design for the 2020VTCS poster (with mock dates and sponsor logos).

The competition historically has three main events that take place at three different beaches on the North Shore of Oahu, during Hawaii’s infamous winter swell. I took design inspiration from the “high surf” warning signs that take up permanent residence along the coastline during this season. Like the high surf signs, my illustration centers around a diamond shape that houses the infamous North Shore waves, vignetted by trees, spectators, local cars, and a lifeguard tower. All surrounding elements are a collage of the three event stops: Haleʻiwa Aliʻi Beach, Sunset Beach, 'Ehukai/Pipeline, (and even a little bit of Waimea Bay).

Process work

Custom surface pattern, and typographic treatment to the VTCS logo/event locations.

Before the final typographic treatment was approved, I pitched an idea that included a little crown icon with the logo. We moved in a different direction, but I thought it would be fun to add a “Where’s Waldo?” element to the poster, and hid a number of little crown icons throughout the composition (this would have been more entertaining had the big tents and event banners been printed, and you could search for them on site). Many of the crowns are covered by the logo up top, but who doesn’t love Easter eggs? See below for the ones I can remember putting in.

Hidden crown icons

You can find more info about the competition at vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com, and official merchandise at www.vans.com.

Special thanks to Jenny, Nate, Seb, Chase and the rest of the VTCS crew!

"Small Victories" Group Show @ Thinkspace

My new piece “Welcome Back” is on display at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History in California, with Thinkspace for their group show “Small Victories,” focusing on suicide prevention and mental health. The show is up from September 12 through December 27.

“Welcome Back” 12x12” Acrylic, colored pencil on wood panel

'Ride the Sunrise' WOW x WOW Group Show

I’m excited to have a new piece featured in WOW x WOW Gallery’s  Ride the Sunrise group exhibition. The show is online from August 7-28, 2020. For purchase inquires please visit the WOW x WOW website here.

“Next Left” Acrylic, colored pencil on wood panel.

This illustration is inspired by a road I routinely traveled this summer for a job in the next town over. It’s one road in, and one road out. After driving through dense forest along both sides of a straight road for several miles, you’re suddenly met with a sharp left turn that puts you at the base of the majestic Ko’olau mountains. A little blue house is the first thing that welcomes you into the sleepy town of Waimānalo.

"Mother Worth"

I was invited to participate in “Mother Earth: We Are All One,” a group show curated by Thinkspace. On view in Culver City, CA from June 27-July 18. Over 50 artists were tasked with creating a new piece that reflects the current state of the world.

As an illustrator, I am a storyteller and documentarian. I wanted to create an illustration that serves as a time capsule of these tumultuous times. I especially wanted to depict the hope and optimism I see emerging from this tidal wave of change, despite the darkness that could so easily overwhelm us.

“Home Front”

by Norman Rockwell

A World War II housewife ready to do battle against the Axis powers with the weapons available to those who fought on the home front.

My illustration was heavily inspired by Norman Rockwell’s “Home Front” illustration, a cover for Post Magazine in 1943, which depicts “a World War II housewife ready to do battle against the Axis powers with the weapons available to those who fought on the home front. “ (Finch, Norman Rockwell 332 Magazine Covers, pg 24). The composition is perfect. Rockwell’s “Miss Liberty,”  literally wears multiple hats while juggling an arsenal of cleaning products, mechanical equipment, and gardening tools. Her look of determination is powerful as she marches forward.

“Mother Worth”
By Kate Wadsworth

A Black American Mother ready to do battle against the United States Government with the weapons available to those who fight against systemic racism, discrimination and prejudice.

I wanted to portray a modern Black American woman, specifically a mother. She marches for the Nth time for a better future for herself and her child. Stacked behind her is the weight of hundreds of years of systemic racism, discrimination, and prejudices she faces every day, both directly and indirectly. Rockwell’s blurb about the WWII house wife felt like a mad-lib I could easily switch out with more pertinent words: “a Black American Mother ready to do battle against the United States Government with the weapons available to those who fight against systemic racism, discrimination and prejudice. “

There's a lot to unpack… and this is the ultra condensed version, but here we go:

Protest + Covid-19 gear:
Armed with a face mask, gloves, water, hand sanitizer, a protest sign, and a megaphone, the woman marches forward demanding a better future for herself and child. In a time where being Black in America means fearing for your life when a police cruiser starts following you or when you go into labor, the Covid-19 virus swept through the country and shined a spotlight on these disparities. In the wake of a virus that kills Black Americans at three times the rate of white Americans, the Black mother must risk her present health to fight for her child's future while the stars and stripes on her face mask attempt to silence her.

White Picket Fence:
She carries a dismantled white picket fence on her back that represents the unattainable and flawed idea of the “American Dream.”

Graduation Cap:
She proudly wears a graduation cap. This cap is both an achievement and another thing in her way as she is saddled with student loans while jobs are statistically harder to get and pay a Black woman less than her white counterparts.

Baby Onesie:
Attached to the fence is a laundry line where we see a baby onesie emblazoned with a “Bright Future” graphic. It hangs in front of a striped wall meant to reflect prison bars symbolizing the school-to-prison pipeline, which the ACLU describes as “a disturbing national trend wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.”

Birth Certificiate:
Also clipped to the laundry line is a birth certificate, which represents the upsetting reality that many people of color invariably have to prove “where they’re really from,” what their “real name” is, or what ethnicity they are. America's first Black President was famously not immune to this callous othering by fellow citizens. It is also a reference to how people of color are pressured to “whiten” their given names on resumes to get more call-backs.

Framed Pictures:
The framed photos behind the woman represent her mother, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, friends, all women who came before her, marching the same march, holding the same signs, demanding the same respect and equality.

Binoculars:
There is a pair of white hands grasping binoculars from the branch of the tree, pointed straight at the woman. This represents Black surveillance, from being followed for no reason in a store, all the way up to the FBI monitoring civil rights and Black liberation leaders.

Dollar + Late Bills:
The ripped dollar represents the gender pay gap in America and occupational segregation. In 2020, women make only $0.81 for every dollar a man makes. Women, especially Black and Latina women, are more likely to work in low-wage jobs.

Bed:
The bed behind the woman honors Breonna Taylor, a young Black EMT who was shot to death by police in her own home while she slept.

Car:
The car honors Philando Castile, a young Black man who was fatally shot during a traffic stop, with his partner and child in the car. He was pulled over for a broken tail light.

Running Shoes:
The running shoes honor Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was shot and killed by two white men while he was out for a run.

Olive Tree & Peace Lily:
I feel optimistic and encouraged by the momentum created by the marches, protests, and demonstrations that are being held across the world. The peace lily and olive tree represent peace and hope for a better future. As the woman marches forward into the unknown, she leaves behind little seeds of hope on the road to revolution that began with her ancestors and will only end with equality and justice.

"Mother Earth: We Are All One"

I’ve been invited to participate in Thinkspace Gallery’s “Mother Earth: We Are All One” group show, on view June 27 - July 18, taking place at:

Thinkspace Projects
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, California 90232
www.thinkspaceprojects.com

Words from Thinkspace:
"Mother Earth: We Are All One” will bring together 50+ artists,  all of whom have been asked to work within the same space confines of 12×12 inches and to take into consideration the general state of our Mother Earth and how much we have scarred her for our own gain and how many species of animals have gone extinct due to our constant advancement and taking over of lands near and far. We’ve asked them all to also consider how the current pandemic has so clearly illustrated that we are all in this together, and when we work together as one, anything is possible. To single out any one person due to their race, religion or sexual orientation is an archaic way of thinking that needs to be abolished. Fundamentalist extremism has been rearing its ugly head all around the world over the last couple years, and it needs to be stopped.

A portion of the proceeds from this special exhibition will be donated to our longtime partners at Born Free USA to help them in their goals of ensuring that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs.

A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to the NAACP in the name of Ahmaud Arbery.

Check my next blog post to see the piece I created for the show, “Mother Worth.”

Hawaii Artists for Racial Justice

Admittedly, it feels very uncomfortable to be promoting my work right now, but I am reposting my instagram announcement from yesterday: I want to use my little platform and not stay silent, but to help shine the tiniest light on these dark days. This week many of my fellow Hawaii artists pledged to donate their sales to causes and organizations that fight against racial injustice.
I am donating 100% of the proceeds from my online sales through Friday, June 5th to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Black Lives Matter organization.
Link to my store.

Big thank you to those of you who have already purchased something🖤

Thank you to Honolulu Magazine for spreading the word.

Additional sources to support and donate:

Black Lives Matter

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Communities Against Police Brutality

Black Visions Collective

Reclaim the Block

Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2020

Back in February, before the corona virus reared its ugly head (in the US), we were happily slapping paint up in the streets of Kakaako for the 10th anniversary of Pow! Wow! Hawaii.

This year was extra special because I shared the big street-facing wall of Fisher Hawaii, with my dear friend Punky Aloha (Shar Tuiasoa). We treated the wall like two separate murals with a simple narrative to connect them —because we’re illustrators and that’s what we do!

Here’s the quick and dirty:
On the left side of the wall, I painted a girl camped out under her desk, escaping her responsibilities and getting lost in a book. (She left a note on her chair that says she’ll be back at 12:30, but if you peep the clock she’s been MIA for a couple of hours).  Shar’s side of the wall features an amazing “Tita in Wonderland” that illustrates the captivating story the girl is reading/daydreaming about/escaping to.

Huge mahalo to everyone who stopped by to send words of encouragement up the janky scaffold, and drop off refreshments.
And of course to the Pow! Wow! sponsors:  @hawaiihta, @xlargejp, @xlarge_us, @montanacans, @montanacans_usa, @hawaiianairlines, @monstenergy, @alohilaniresort, @heineken_us, @thinkspace_art, @ourkakaako, @wardvillage, @zippys, @scotthawaii, @kahala, @citymill

Quick documentation of my and Punky Aloha's Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2020 mural on the Fisher Hawaii building. Kakaako, HI.

StreetArt Hawaii 2019

I was invited to participate in StreetArt Hawaii 2019, a two day mural event in Kailua, Hawaii to beautify the traffic signal boxes around town. The mural was painted in four ~3x6ft sections. Big thanks to Jennifer Noel who organized the event, and all of the artists who participated!

Participating artists: Patrick Ching, Punky Aloha, Kate Wadsworth, Heather Almeda, Andrea James, Kelley Fitzgerald, Wendy Roberts, Bethany Georges, and Christian Bendo.

Abduzeedo Summertime Feature

A couple of days ago Abduzeedo reposted my “Endless Summer Vibes” feature their site and their twitter account. The article was graciously written last year by Gisele Muller. Big thank you to Giselle for initially reaching out, and for the very kind words!

Endless Summer vibes with Kate Wadsworth's stylish illustrations https://t.co/vPn6fQ55t4 pic.twitter.com/dBWmKrYpai

— ABDZ (@abduzeedo) August 13, 2019

Aloha From Hawaii Festival

I was recently asked to do some artwork for this year’s Aloha From Hawaii Festival. The guys from The Green liked the styling and subject matter of my recent Pow! Wow! mural on Coral Street (Kakaako, HI), which incidentally is the same location as where the festival will be taking place. Can’t wait to see the show!

The first pic is my illustration, the second and third are their festival posters done by their designer.

Big thank you to The Green, Kamea Hadar and Kimo Kennedy! You guys rock.

Boooooooom x Thinkspace: ‘Seeing Red’ Exhibition

A couple months ago I was invited to create a piece for “Seeing Red,” a show curated by Jeff Hamada of Booooooom presented at Thinkspace. It is an honor to even be included in the same roster as some of these legends (?!!?) Big thank you to Jeff and Andrew!

From Thinkspace:

For more than a decade Booooooom has championed visual artists from all over the world, presenting a unique mix of high and low brow work from both emerging and established artists. Curated by Jeff Hamada, “Seeing Red” presents all new works from a wide array of artists who’ve been featured on Booooooom over the past ten years, and with the spirit of the site in mind, there are legendary names and relatively unknown ones showing alongside each other. Each artist was given the same challenge, to work within a 12×12 inch (30×30 cm) frame and to incorporate the color red into their work. The simple visual theme serves as a common thread connecting all the works—a pathway for the viewer to travel into and out of each piece—and provides a reference point to help understand the way this diverse group sees the world around them.

On View: March 30, 2019 – April 20, 2019

Featuring works from:
Aaron De La Cruz, Alessandra Maria, Alex Roulette, Alice Fennessy, Alina-Ondine, Andrea Wan, Andrew Schoultz, Andrew Tavukciyan, Andy Busc, Angela Gram, ASKEW, Audrey Kawasaki, Bagger 43, Ben Bauchau, Bráulio Amado, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Brendan Monroe, Caratoes, Céline Ducrot, Cinta Vidal, Daniela Carvalho, Drew Young, Emily Lovejoy, Eric Louie, Erik Jones, Erik Mark Sandberg, ERMSY, Esao Andrews, Evah Fan, Evan M. Cohen, Fafi, Fumii Nakamura, Hanna Lee Joshi, Hellen Jo, Herikita, Hola Lou, Hope Gangloff, Huntz Liu, Ilya Milstein, James Acrow, James Chia Han Lee, Jasper Wong, Jean Jullien, Jean Nagai, Jen Mann, Jet Martinez, Jon Boam, Joshua Barrigada, Julia Petrova, Julian Glander, Kamea Hadar, Kami + Sasu (Hitotzuki), Kate Wadsworth, Katie So, Kayla Mahaffey, Kellie Orr, Kenichi Hoshine, Kevin Lyons, Kim Leutwyler, Klone, Kristina Collantes, Laura Bifano, Lauren YS, Linsey Levendall, Low Bros, Lucie Salgado, Luke Ramsey, Madsteez, Mandy Tsung, Marco, Mazzoni, Mark Sarmel, Marsi van de Heuvel, Martine Johanna, Mary Henderson, Mina Hamada, Nate Burbeck, Neva Hosking, Nomi Chi, Nosego, Ping Zhu, PREF, Rob Sato, Sam Rodriguez, Sam Vanallemeersch, Simon Landrein, Smithe, Tatiana Suarez, Tierney Milne, Tiffany Bozic, Tran Nguyen, Tyler Keeton Robbins, Wakana Yamazaki, WAONE, Will Gaynor, Will Laren, YESNIK

“Lost and Found” 12x12” acrylic, colored pencil on wood panel

My piece is called “Lost and Found,” inspired by the surfers and lifeguards on the North Shore (Oahu, HI). I had been working on another surf-heavy project at the same time, and made a few research trips to take reference photos. The official red and yellow lifeguard colors lent themselves perfectly for this project, as I was drawing a blank for a few weeks on what to paint for this show… (the pressure!) not to mention I’m still obsessed with fluorescent red and the “High Surf” signs scattered about the the beaches. (Why? I’d tell you if I knew!) The painting isn’t necessarily sequential, but I wanted to illustrate enough little bits for the viewer to piece together their own narrative.

If you’re in the LA area, I hope you can make it to the show!

Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2019

Photo of my mural taken by LeaLea Market. Official photos coming soon.

I’m so stoked to have been invited back to paint a wall for Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2019! I was given a 36.5 X 6ft wall on Coral Street in Kakaako. Having to create a composition for another long skinny wall caused a little bit of stress, but not having to use any kind of ladders or scaffolding made up for it ;)

Not wanting to paint a giant landscape, I realized if I broke up the wall into smaller sections, I could create a series of sequential images to form a narrative (think like a graphic novel or comic strip). It became a pretty straightforward story about a young girl’s bus commute from point A to point B.

Big thank you to my skater girl Teisa and bus riders, Shar (Punky Aloha!) and my mom, paint wranglers Jill and Diego who worked over time to help me get it done, and Pow Wow directors Jasper, Kamea and Gress, and to all the Pow Wow sponsors who helped make it possible: Hawaiian Airlines, Monster Energy, Montana Cans, 47, Alohilani Resort, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Heineken, City Mill, and Thinkspace.

See the gallery below for a few close ups and process shots throughout the week. Official photos coming soon.

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Spoke-Art Miyazaki Pop Up

I was invited to create a Hayao Miyazaki inspired illustration for the Spoke-Art x Pow Wow Hawaii pop up show at Ala Moana, #MyNeighborHayao. I chose to represent the movie Ponyo.

My favorite scene from the movie is when Ponyo turns Sōsuke’s toy boat into a life-size vessel they can navigate across their flooded town. Its made clear throughout the film that Ponyo loves ham, so to give my piece a little local flair, I made Ponyo eating a spam musubi :)

You can purchase the original here, or email events@spoke-art.com for more information. 

Closing 2018 with a Full Circle

"Only the Important Things" 12x16" acrylic, colored pencil on wood panel.

Here’s my last piece of 2018!

This painting is a pre/sequel of sorts to the mural I did for Pow! Wow! Hawaii last February (see it here). I wasn't completely satisfied with my mural because it was missing an integral part of the equation: the Roy half of my “River Bandit” neighbors, Kala and Roy.

Between Pow! Wow!, a couple of group shows, and my 28 Summers solo show, I created a new body of work and became more comfortable in my approach to illustration this year… All the while, the cogs were turning in the back of my head trying to figure out how to utilize the reference photos I had taken of the River Bandits, and recreate a (smaller) illustration that captured the antics I imagine these boys get up to, speeding up and down the canal in our backyard.

With the same inspiration I had at the beginning of the year, the end of 2018 came full circle when I painted “Only The Important Things,” a pseudo re-do of my mural. Its nice to see the progress I’ve made in a year. Looking forward to seeing what happens in 2019!

Happy New Year!

"28 Summers" Solo Show at Kailua Gallery

A huge thank you to all of those who attended the opening reception of my solo show "28 Summers" at Kailua Gallery! Special thank you to Ruth Sorensen who made the entire show possible, and special guest Kim of Kyote Designs for displaying her beautiful jewelry.

"28 Summers" is a series of illustrations inspired by a recent move back to my hometown, after spending many years across the country. The pieces vary a bit in subject matter, but are tied together by nostalgic interpretations of my childhood/adolescence growing up in Hawaii. With warm saturated colors, I wanted to depict joyful reflections of endless summer days covered in sun, sweat and outside antics.

I have an assortment of hand embellished, very limited edition prints for sale exclusively at Kailua Gallery. Contact Ruth for availability and purchase info. I also painted a 20x10ft temporary mural on one side of the gallery. Check it out by September 17th, before it gets painted over!