Nick Kuchar Portfolio - Hawaii Vintage inspired Surf Art Travel Prints – Tagged "Illustration"

ANA Hawai'i Capsule Collection

ANA is Japan's largest airline and you might recall that in 2018, they introduced the Flying Honu. As the first Japanese-operated Airbus 380, the Flying Honu brings hundreds of passengers on a direct flight from Japan to Hawai'i. In celebration of their Flying Honu aircraft, which if you don't know is painted like a turtle (or honu in Hawaiian), they came to me to explore some of my favorite things about traveling to the islands.

Parks Project Parklands of Hawaii Tee

“A grove of giant redwood or sequoias should be kept just as we keep a great and beautiful cathedral." - Teddy Roosevelt You didn't think I could write about the National Parks without quoting Teddy Roosevelt did you?! Well just like Teddy, the great folks at the Parks Project believe it's our responsibility to promote, protect, and preserve public lands, which is why every purchase supports conservation projects in our national parks.

Kaimukī Print for the Historic Hawai’i Foundation

While I usually stick to mountains and beaches, I dove into a piece of town that is certainly worthy of every inch of nostalgia I could draw. I designed this print in collaboration with the Historic Hawaii Foundation. It was fascinating looking through 100 year old photos and learning about the the town's buildings, signage, and place in Honolulu history.

Moloka'i-2-O'ahu Race Art

Established in 1997, the Moloka'i-2-O'ahu Paddleboard World Championship is the world's most challenging paddle race. The 32-mile race that begins on the northwest shore of the island of Moloka'i and ends in Maunalua Bay on O'ahu, is known as the fastest downwind route in the world. I was honored to create the art to embody this year's competition.

Queen Kapi'olani Hotel Lobby Art

The Queen Kapi'olani Hotel in Waikiki is just finishing up their newly renovated space and I was honored to create a large-format illustration for the lobby. The magic of Waikiki has always been it's historic presence and it's beautiful mix of people, so I created a piece to reflect that and welcome hotel guests to step into the blend with us for the duration of their stay.

JuneShine Cans

Organic hard kombucha. Yes you heard that right. The folks over at JuneShine came up with a drink you can enjoy at night and not regret in the morning. Having seen some of my travel prints before, they asked if we could adapt existing artwork for their new cans.

ANA Promotional Poster

Japan and Hawaii have had a special relationship for some time. Around 1.5 million Japanese travel to Hawaii annually. And thanks to my good friends at Greenroom Gallery, I was able to create a vintage-inspired travel print for the debut of ANA's 'Flying Honu' aircraft.

Forward Magazine Illustrations

Ward Village puts out a quarterly lifestyle publication called the Forward Journal. For their most recent edition, I was interviewed about my life on island, my inspiration, and what I have in mind for the future. But they also asked me to create some illustrations for the cover and a few interior pages.

Spam Jam Postcards

Hawaii is the top consumer of Spam products worldwide. So it's only fitting with our love for Spam that we have a festival to celebrate it each year in Hawaii. SpamJam is such a fun event, so it was a joy to create a custom promotional postcard for Hawaii Magazine.

The SplashBar Rebrand

Built on land that was once the estate of Hawaii's last and most beloved princess, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani is a garden oasis in the heart of Waikiki. When they wanted to rebrand their pool bar, they came to me to create a fresh look. One that was inspired by the Polynesian Tiki roots that have plenty of history in Waikiki.

Birdwell Beach Britches Sizing Illustrations

It's no secret around here that I love to surf and am inspired by the surf culture. So when Birdwell Beach Britches reached out to get some illustrations done for their size chart, I jumped at the chance. I got to design these guys in different sizes to help prospective customers looking for trunks visualize what size shorts they should purchase.

Jamba Juice Holiday Gift Cards

Drew these kooks for Jamba Juice Hawaii's holiday gift cards. For the smoothie/acai bowl fiends, I mean friends, in your life. It was a blast to create these fun illustrations to celebrate the holiday season with a tropical and also uniquely Hawaiian way. Complete with a party wave and tiny mango shakes.