Featured Cover Artist: Nelson Mākua
Nelson Mākua has been an artist and designer for more than 35 years in Hawai‘i. It all began with him drawing on napkins at his grandmother’s house at the age of four.
Born and raised in Kailua, O‘ahu, he and his ‘ohana moved to Hawai‘i Island in 1975, where they made their home in Puna.
“My ancestors were part of the migration from Tahiti to Hawai‘i, and they settled in the Kalapana area in the district of Puna. Moving to Hawai‘i Island felt like coming home for me.”
A 1968 graduate of Kailua High School, Nelson attended UH Hilo as a fine arts major. While he was a student there, he was offered his first job in the design field as an illustrator for a design firm in Hilo.
After a few years, he and his son, Kainoa, started Nelson Mākua Design. They presented their new line at the Merrie Monarch Festival in 1999 and it took off from there.
Nelson is well known for his design work and specializes in image development and logo design with clients in Hawai‘i, the mainland, and Japan. His range of work includes photography, illustration, package design, retail store design, book design, computer graphics, and digital art.
Nelson is a two-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winner for best graphic design. He designed the packaging for the Hawaiian Slack Key Masters series produced by Dancing Cat Records.
He is the only artist who has designed six years of Merrie Monarch Hula Festival posters, of which his first poster in 2003 has now become a coveted collectors item. His 2008 Merrie Monarch poster received a prestigious Pele Award by the Hawaii Advertising Federation for best illustration.
Nelson is also known for his paintings and art and has had exhibits in many shows in Hawai‘i. Though classically trained in drawing, painting, and photography, he has been a digital artist for more than 20 years. “The digital age has opened up a whole new world of creating for artists, with countless possibilities.”
Nelson works exclusively in Photoshop on a Mac with a digital tablet. “I am not a ‘techie’ by any means. Instead I use a more intuitive approach to creating art in digital form. I push pixels instead of paint, just as if I was working in paint on canvas.”
“Guided by my kūpuna who came before me, I draw from this as a source of inspiration, although I see myself as a Hawaiian living in my own time, creating images that reflect my own time and place.”
Nelson has been the director of the annual Merrie Monarch Invitational Hawaiian Arts Fair since 2004, which has become one of Hawai‘i’s premier events. He and Kainoa are also producers of the Nā Mākua Invitational Christmas Gift Fair held in Hilo every December.
Nelson and his wife, Linda, reside in Puna with their dog, Keahi, their cat, Maka, and their pua‘a (pig), ‘Ele‘ele. ❖
Contact Nelson Mākua: NaMakua.com, 808.969.7985.
