Clark Takashima
Clark Mitsuru Takashima was born in Hawaii on May 28th, 1963 , raised in Pearl City, on the island of Oahu. Clark began drawing at the age of 5 with the basics of line drawing taught by his father. From that point on, art became his passion along with surfing and hiking. He would explore the islands beauty, come home and convey his pleasurable experiences on canvas. His Summers were spent on Maui with his grandmas every year, inspired by the Valley Isles spectacular sights he kept painting and was successfully painting seascapes at the tender age of 15.
Turning 18, he enlisted into the Marines, after serving, Clark has grown into a proficient Carpenter/Painter, a High tower worker, and a Live Concert & Television Lighting Crew Chief.
Clark was primarily self-taught but also earned an Associates of Arts degree at Leeward Community College - University of Hawaii. He also worked for an art gallery as a visual merchandiser where he studied various modern masters works. He traveled the world from Japan to Europe, reverently visiting the works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and many influential artists works of all time. He has painted and sculpted in different styles and developed his own blend of impressionism and realism that create "magically breathtaking" pieces that give the viewer a feeling of being there. He also became a freelance artist/graphic designer for various companies and created many timeless designs-still parading Hawaiis streets today. It is easy to understand how versatility has added to his confidence in his natural artistic abilities.
Clark has continued to delight us over the past 25+ years with paintings and sculpture. In 1999 he wowed us with an 18 x 32 foot mural of the world famous Banzai Pipeline. His biggest surf painting to date, this mural was featured along the dance floor at now famous Honolulu nightclub, Pipeline Café. That rendition was so well received, it opened up a whole new medium for Clark and he has thrived in a world of murals ever since. He has painted countless scenes in nightclubs, restaurants, wine bars, clothing stores, surf shops, numerous other business and private residents. Recreating themes from Hawaiian, Egyptian, Japanese to Itailian. In as many different genres including seascapes, surf scenes, underwater scenery, landscapes, portraits and more. Clark constantly is, and will be for years to come, commissioned to paint something new, challenging and exciting.
His original Surf Art paintings depict insightful views of the sport of surfing, one-of-a-kind art, perspectives only a surfer can explain or begin to share. He brings the non-surfer, as well as the expert to experience this feeling so many, but so few, live to feel. With this mix of impressionism and realism, his work has shown mood through color and depth, almost hypnotically, you are magically transported to the place where a feeling or action is realized.
Clark Takashima Prints