Local artist adds gyotaku art – Japanese fish printing – to portfolio

Oʻahu-born and raised Jade Fernandez is the owner and artist of Hapa Girl Studio.

Inspired by the local culture, flavors and activities like surfing that she enjoys as a "hapa girl," Fernandez said she is taking a “slow growth” approach to her business, while also working as a full-time hardware engineer.

She described the evolution of her business as “natural,” starting with drawings of surfer girls, then creating collections of native birds and plants, and, more recently, trying her hand at gyotaku art, or a Japanese fish printing technique. The brand also carries clothing for men, women and children, home décor and stationery – all featuring vibrant “colors that blend well together,” she told Aloha State Daily.

“Doing art comes naturally to me. It is really fun and helps me relax at the end of the day,” she said. “I’ve been learning a lot on the business side and continue to focus on relationship building and collaboration.”

Fernandez has been doing art her whole life.

“My grandma was an art teacher in Pālolo and would often babysit me and my brother, so art has been in my life for a long time,” she recalled. “During the pandemic, I moved back home [in 2020] and since I had more free time, I thought I’d just try starting a business where I could make art accessible and affordable. That’s been my motivation behind it all.”

Today, Hapa Girl Studio products are sold online and through social media, as well as at local markets and stores, Fernandez said. She also has one wholesale account in Washington state and has sold her prints in Japan.

“My art style is very bright and happy," she continued. "The goal is to be open and inviting and to spark joy in people’s homes. I tend to focus on colors, content and composition.”

It was her curiosity that got her into gyotaku, as well as a chance to spend quality time with her boyfriend, a fisherman and spear diver, she said.

“We go diving quite a bit, so I wanted to capture the average thing we eat and make it really beautiful, putting it on fabrics or different mediums,” she said. “It’s also helped me become a better cook – he’s been teaching me how to catch, clean and cook – a process that usually happens over the course of several days to a week. We’re learning together.”

Alongside her standard digital prints, Fernandez plans to debut her gyotaku artwork in-person at the Made in Hawai’i Festival this year, which runs from Aug. 15 to 17 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

She said a few of her long-term goals are to get back into acrylic hand paintings on large canvases, paint more murals, and, eventually, open a studio space — she currently does everything at home.

In the short term, “Right now, I’m more pulled toward affordable art. I want to keep growing my business at a sustainable pace,” she said.

As for finding balance, Fernandez said her sweet spot is “prioritizing the things that need to get done and the things that bring me joy, i.e. surfing. A lot of times that overlaps with art."

Her advice to other artists and small business owners?

“Just start, start anywhere, wherever you feel curious and interested, even if it’s small. I think it’s pretty easy to feel intimidated, especially with social media. Once you start, it’s easy to learn from others, too, on social media. That’s how I learned, seeing how other people do it.”

Made in Hawai‘i Festival is scheduled for Aug. 15 to 17 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Ticket sales for the general public begin Aug. 1.

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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.