Name: Jaime Cunnane | Alohapost HI

Instagram handle: @alohapost

Medium: Watercolor, Pencil (and now polymer clay ;) )

Artist Bio:
As an artist who was born and raised on Oʻahu, I have always found inspiration in the beauty that surrounds us in Hawaiʻi, especially with our native and endemic flora and fauna.  I grew up drawing and painting as much as I could, took classes, ended up graduating with a degree in Art from the University of Oregon.  After living in Oregon for about a decade, I came home in 2017 with a renewed appreciation for everything I grew up with before moving away.  I’ve been doing very deep dives into our native species, our manu (birds) in particular.  I hope my art not only brings joy to people and helps people appreciate how incredibly lucky we are to call Hawaiʻi our home, but also calls awareness to our native species that need our help.

How would you describe your art style:
I tend to be tight with my artwork, even though I mostly do watercolor now, which is much more of a “flow” type of medium.  I love using lots of color when painting, and lots of lines when drawing.  I am fond of clear cut edges and love Japanese woodblock prints, patterns, and imagery.  I prefer realism over surrealism in my own work, but love and appreciate all styles of art. 

What are your creative inspirations?
Some of my favorite modern artists include Audrey Kawasaki, Linnea Strid, Miss Van, Jeremy Fish, and Heikala.  What inspires me most is our native flora and fauna, especially our endemic birds.  The feeling of responsibility I have to advocate for them.

Name of featured print:
Nā Lei Helelei

Inspiration behind your featured print:
I created this image of many lei draped over a green velvet chair, which ended up looking like a beautiful waterfall of lei.  I put this image together as a gift for my best friend for her birthday last year.  I wanted to gift her something special, handmade, with imagery I knew she would enjoy.  The colors and imagery remind me of her- bright and positive, colorful, a whole array of lei.  The lei featured are puakenikeni (poepoe style), carnation, pua melia (plumeria), ʻakulikuli, pakalana and pikake twist, kou, and ti/kī.

What was your journey to becoming an artist?

I grew up with a constant yearning to create and in particular, to draw and paint.  I got my point and shoot camera when I was in elementary school as a gift from an uncle and that became another avenue to express my creativity.  I tried to explore as many mediums as possible while at Punahou, and furthered my exploration at the University of Oregon.  Drawing and painting were and will always will be what I gravitate to most, but I loved and appreciated the many courses at Punahou for photography, and eventually printmaking and oil painting at the University of Oregon.  I am constantly trying new ways to create, and I hope I never stop learning.

Where can we find your art?
Most of my artwork, including things like prints, cards, pins, and stickers, can be found on my Etsy page. I like to do a couple of pop-up markets every quarter on Oʻahu.