2014 Communication Arts Illustration Annual

The Communication Arts Illustration Annual is something I've pored over for inspiration for 20+ years. It's thrilling to have two of my images included among the gorgeous, amazing work of other illustrators in the 2014 edition. The images included were created for BeachHouse Publishing's board book, Twinkle, Twinkle, Small Hoku. For me, the images are a love letter to Hawaii and it's unique culture.

School Benefit Poster

HI, this is Jing Jing. Here's one of my latest—another Leche de Tigre poster image. This time for WHEA's (West Hawaii Exploratory Academy) school benefit on April 13th at The Script. WHEA is a charter school whose campus is right on the beach. From the road you can see all sorts of amazing things the kids are working on: hydroponic gardens, fish farming, trail building, etc. Sometimes when Mike and I take the time to surf early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, the first kids to hit the beach are WHEA students—they are directly involved in the marine environment they are learning about on a daily basis.

Peaceful

A friend described a recent experience of swimming in very close range within a mama whale and it's calf—it sounded dream like. The fact that we share the ocean with these gorgeous creatures never ceases to delight me.

My Favorite Time of Year

Humpback whales make their yearly migration to Hawaii to birth and care for their calves. It's a magical sight I will never tire of.

Ocean Jewels

Around this time of year, humpback whales make their yearly migration to Hawaii. When I sit out in the early morning surf, the sight of a whale breaching, or slapping it's tail against the ocean's surface never fails to inspire awe. It's pure magic to know I am sharing the same space with a creature that weighs several tons. Sometimes they are so close you can smell the fishy ocean in the spray from the whale spout. I've been exploring some Hawaii themed images. The one I'm sharing today is of diatoms. They are the microscopic plant life that are part of plankton. Whales grow to their enormous size simply by eating about 4400 pounds of plankton every day. They do this by filtering the ocean water through their baleen. These tiny jewel like diatoms which we can not see, sustain the lives of these magnificent 30-50 ton creatures—beautiful.

Kicked in the Butt

Landing on one's surfboard fins dictates a week long break from the ocean. Ouch. Maybe the time could be spent drawing. Or daydreaming about the next wave I will ride...