Self-Taught artist Jay Nakamura has been airbrushing in Hilo Hawaii for more than 26 years - everything from shirts to signs, surfboards to cars, along with velvet paintings and wall murals as well.  Nakamura's latest venture is on aluminum.  Creative as always, he employs several different techniques in etching it onto the panel with a grinder, Swirls reflect throught the paint, giving he piece a 3-D effect.  Fine methods are used to detail the subject away from the background.  After each step, Nakamura uses two coats of clear urethane for protection.

Inspired by the ocean and natural beauty of the Hawaiian islands, Nakamura continues to paint scenes of sea life, surfing, the sun and the moon.

In 1995 Nakamura was seriously injured in an accident.  Since then he has found his artwork to be a good therapy.  He suffered severe nerve damage, and found that simple things are now difficult.

"Most of my paintings take me back to when I was normal.  It lets me feel a little of what it was like," says the artist.  "So much we take for granted and don't realize it until it's gone.  I try to give each piece my all, and there within, lies my Heart & Soul"