Hawaii - Blog Posts
HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! ^_^ It's the Year of the Wood Snake, a time for transformation and growth. This year urges positivity and change. The Wood Snake symbolizes intelligence and strategy, hinting at significant opportunities, especially for Tigers, Rabbits, Dragons, and Snakes, who may find prosperity and success. Keep smiling and stay safe, all! :)
DOH! I missed National Sticker Day on January 13! No worries, though! LET'S STILL HAVE A SALE! • Head over to my online store: jonjmurakami.bigcartel.com and use the code STICK25 to enjoy 25% off ALL STICKERS for the remainder of this week, until January 18, 2024! SOME DESIGNS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT! SNAG THEM NOW BEFORE THEY'RE GONE!
Wishing everyone a joyful and prosperous New Year! Let's embrace the adventures that await in 2025 and celebrate new beginnings! ^_^
Aloha, all! Just a random observation about how much wrapping paper covers the floor on Christmas morning. I usually put presents in bags since I'm terrible at wrapping gifts... and even that's an issue, how many bags we've amassed over the years 😊 I hope everyone had a great Christmas and hunkering down before the end of the year! ^_^;
Aloha! Join me TOMORROW at @poindextersbooks in Mililani on Saturday, October 12, 10am - 2pm for a special signing event! I’ll be signing the Hawai’i’s Joke Book for Kids published by @beachhousepublishing featuring my original illustrations! I’ll also have other children’s books and stickers for sale! Hope to see you there! ^_^ #BookSigning #Mililani #Hawaii
Finally wrapped up the piece I was working on the past couple of days. Keep smiling and stay safe all! 😊
Btw, why are there no bug, or steel, or fighting eevolutions? ^_^;
🎨🖼️ ART SALE EXTENDED!!! 🎨🖼️ Due to popular demand, I've extended the weekend sale for one more day! Don't miss out on the chance to get your hands on several 4x4" original pieces at reduced prices! Contact me via PM or email to specify the pieces you're interested in by their numbers. Your support means everything! –Mahalo! 😊
***UPDATE: # 54 SOLD***
#ArtSale #OriginalArt #SupportArtists #fanart #jonjmurakami
One of the highlights of @cardpartyhq this year was designing an official card for the show at the request of @deeppocketmonsterofficial! I created one of the 10 original trading cards and received recognition from Pat during the morning ceremonies. It was a great honor, and I'm looking forward to contributing more to upcoming shows! #jonjmurakami #cardparty #pokemon #pokemontcg #tradingcard #cartoon #comic #creators #gottacatchemall
Mahalo everyone who attended the Librari-con Cosplay event! It was a great turnout and a lot of fun, with cosplays from different ages. It was wonderful to see many faces that I didn't see at Kawaii Kon. The event was a big success, with over 300 people in attendance, and it seems like the library is planning to organize more events in the future! 😊 Looking back, wearing the 35-pound proton pack in ghostbusters attire while manning the table for three hours may not have been the best idea, but it was worth it. Many thanks to Amanda Lei Perron, Gail, and the rest of the staff of the Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library for organizing such an amazing event! 😊
"Official recognition is valuable because the shaka is so culturally resonant, so much a part of this place. The gesture is a source of origin stories, family stories, and a way to talk about life in Hawaii."
This is the final Generation Gap comic strip as the hawaii_herald is folding up publication. I'm taking a break due to managing numerous events and projects. Instead of "Sayonara," my farewell greeting is now "Arigatoo Gozaimasu." I'm grateful to the Hawaii Herald and Hawaii Hochi for hosting my comic strip for over 20 years. Thanks to all my fans and readers who enjoyed my comic strip.
I wish you all a safe & joyful holiday season!
Aloha & Ja mata!
-Jon J. Murakami ^_^
December 01, 2023
Here’s a repost of my “Calabash” comic strip from the Honolulu @staradvertiser newspaper, originally published 5 years ago. Happy Halloween everyone!
#jonjmurakami #comic #cartoon #comicstrip #calabash #musubi #halloween #jackolantern #hawaii #riceballs
ALOHA, ALL! ART SALE CONTINUES on all my 4x4" & 4x6" sketches! • Aug 25-31, 2023 • Remember Saturday morning cartoons? Here are a few I drew, along with some older comic and cartoon characters 🙂! 🙂 *E-mail me at gordonrider@hotmail.com and let me know which number image you'd like to purchase! *Check comments here for updates on sold items 🙂
***** From now til the end of the month, I'm donating 100% of the sales to Maui Mutual Aid Foundation bit.ly/mauimutualaide to aid those affected by the Maui Wildfire *****
#jonjmurakami #artsale #comicart #cartoonart #fanart #SaturdayMorningCartoons #MauiWildfire
Comic Con HNL COUNTDOWN #2 • On SAT 08/05/23, I'm in 2 PANELS back-to-back! Both in Panel Room 2, RM 314
•Art Improv
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Think of "Whose Line is it Anyway," but instead of acting out scenes, artists from COMIC JAM HAWAII will sketch out the scenes. Ever wondered what Mission Impossible would be like if it starred Totoro, or what comic book character would be the worst to date? These are the kinds of things you'll see at Art Improv. Bonus; the sketches will be given away at the end of the panel!
•Um, Actually
7:15 PM - 8:45 PM
From Comic Con to Kamehameha, nerds are passionate about a lot of things, but there’s one thing they love above all else, and that is correcting people- This is the Um Actually panel- the game of nerdy corrections where contestants compete to find out the King of the Nerds!
*** ON SATURDAY, I AM SHUTTING DOWN MY ARTIST ALLEY TABLE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY AROUND 5:00 PM ***
• Aug 4-6, 2023, Hawaii Convention Center • I'll be at ARTIST ALLEY #744 • Hope to see you there! 🙂
I'm set up for SUPER SATURDAY : Sat-Sun 6/17-18 Hawaii Convention Center • Artist Alley #1276 • supersaturdayhawaii.com for info, tickets, vendors, guests, events, and more! 🙂
An updated version of my musubi design is up at Mochi Momo. Apparently, using the name of the famous luncheon meat in my original design was a no-no, and Hormel requested it taken down. Live and learn. After removing the name, it needed a few more adjustments to balance it out. That led to a few more, until we arrived at the new result above.
I am rather pleased with the new version. If you like it, too, it's available as a t-shirt design at Mochi Momo's Summer Store. Click the design to see it in action.
Aloha Duckies
Yes, it's silly. It's still cute, even though the little guy in the middle is wearing lipstick.
Summer doesn't have to be over! Let the fun last a little longer with our 'Fly'n Hawaiian Spam Musubi' design. Available on t-shirts, polos, and gifts.
From Japan to Hawaii in Five Years
In 2006, an elementary school girl from Kagoshima, Japan, and her friends dropped messages in bottles into the ocean as a graduation celebration. Little did she know that her message would be found by a sailor in Kauai, Hawaii, five years later.
Read more about the incredible story at Bytmarks.
Sea turtle at Hawaii 🐢
Credit: Wade Morales
This is beautiful! I love this song; I learned the lyrics a little while back and it’s such a pretty language to sing in. (I’ve kind of made a hobby out of learning songs in several different languages.)
I’m also a trained dancer, and I’ve been fascinated with hula for a long time. It’s so different from the kinds of dance I’m familiar with, and it’s so graceful and rhythmic! If I ever got the chance to learn about hula dance in a respectful and authentic way, I would definitely do it.