On any given day, at a private studio in Kīhei, you can find Welzie, an artist whose surf- and sea-inspired fine art decorates galleries around the islands and beyond. Here, he works on creating his signature resin murals and sculptures. Welzie’s capacity for creating different combinations of abstract expressionism and graphic pop art seems endless, which is why his artwork has remained popular for years. When he’s not in his studio, you can find him at the Welzie Art Gallery in the Andaz Resort at Wailea, where his colorful artwork and art-related events delight visitors and locals alike.

His process for creating playful, vibrant pieces is the same as making a surfboard, a technique he has perfected over decades. Each piece begins with a layer of surfboard foam, which is then covered in fiberglass and layers and layers of colored and clear resin. To create the background, he uses different brush-stroke techniques like large palette knives, drips and pours, or painting his signature asterisks and waves in various pastel-colored hues. Once sanded down to a smooth finish, it is ready for him to illustrate. On top of this layered marbled surface, he’ll often paint fun, cartoon-like images of subjects like sharks, tropical fish or surfers, which are then covered in clearer gloss and polished to a shiny finish.

Welzie grew up in the Santa Cruz, California skate and surf culture, and watched his father, a landscape painter and graphic designer, always working on one project or another. It was just a matter of time before Welzie began making his surfboards. He later got a job at a local surfboard manufacturer with his friend Carl Olson, now a renowned board shaper and founder of Two Crows Surfboards and Welzie’s frequent collaborator. Welzie’s love of art and illustration led him to draw designs on surfboards, which he continued doing when he moved to O‘ahu to attend the University of Hawai‘i. For the next 20 years, he lived on O‘ahu’s North Shore and worked out of a studio in front of the Banzai Pipeline. “The North Shore and Hawai‘i in general has had a massive influence on my creativity and how I can express myself with my art,” he says. “There is so much energy in the water, from big waves at Waimea to amazing interactions under the water with whales, turtles and reefs in Maui. All of this comes out in the color and abstract style of my art.”

Since 2018, Welzie has been the Artist-In-Residence at the Andaz Resort, a partnership that has proven fruitful for the hotel, artist and the community. The focus of the residency has been for guests to be able to experience his art first-hand. “From the time they walk into the resort and gallery, there is an influence of artwork and creativity around them,” he explains. “We love having local families and visitors come for art class and leave with huge smiles. Our team in the Welzie Art Gallery does an amazing job of helping create this feeling of Aloha.”

Together with the Andaz Resort, Welzie’s team has created a schedule of interactive art events for the guests and local Maui residents. The Signature Art Class is held daily and allows participants to paint with posca paint pens over graphite images transferred onto fiberglass and resin art panels specially created by Welzie to create their artwork to take home with them. The gallery also hosts a “Print & Press” night for larger groups to make artwork using block prints carved by Welzie and monthly “Paint Your Partner” and “Wine & Welzie” events.

Not only does Welzie create more miniature paintings for purchase in galleries around the islands, but also large-scale murals and life-sized sculptures of marine life like turtles, dolphins and whales. The sculptures are created by a time-consuming process that combines the smooth lines of Carl Olson’s handiwork with Welzie’s freestyle and playful painting style. Each year, he installs a new Artist-In-Residence piece at the resort and is often commissioned to create custom pieces for private clients worldwide.

“I believe in showing up daily for creativity,” says Welzie, who turns to the ocean and the beauty of surfing and the island lifestyle for inspiration. “Spending time surfing with friends and enjoying the ocean just makes me want to go in the studio and make a piece of art that others can feel the same happiness and inspiration.”