BIO
Debra Lumpkins is a Maui based gyotaku artist. Using ink, paper, and locally caught fish, Debra’s mastery of traditional fish printing celebrates the beauty of Hawaii’s sea life.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Debra was an avowed artist from early childhood. Inspired by her grandfather who hand-crafted musical instruments and her parents who encouraged creative exploration, she spent her childhood drawing, singing, dancing. In early adulthood she moved to Oregon and established her career as an illustrator and graphic designer, working many years as the senior creative director for an international corporation. Debra studied scientific illustration, screen printing, papermaking, and graphic arts and in 2004, she opened her own design studio. It wasn’t until 2008, when Debra and her husband moved to Maui that her love of art, nature, history, and science gave way to the nature printing she now pursues as her primary focus.
When Debra isn’t busy in the studio she spends her time outdoors on Maui’s sunny beaches and in the ocean.
Debra has studied with the following artists: Paul Blake, Lisa Congdon, Aubrey Hord, Joel Ito, Jim Kelso, Richard (Dick) Nelson, Vickie Schumacher, and Jennifer J. Woodward.
STATEMENT
I became captivated by the Japanese art of fish printing, known as “gyotaku”, when I first saw it many years go at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The technique was originally used by Japanese fishermen to record their catches and dates back to the 19th century. I was immediately taken with the simple beauty and refined details of the art form.
The subjects of my new passion were caught by my late-husband, who was an avid free-diver and spearfisherman. He regularly brought home fish for us to eat and I began making prints of them before we put them on the grill. I saw it then, as I do now, as a way to memorialize and honor the fish.
It wasn’t long before his fishing buddies and neighbors began bringing me their prize catches to print. As word spread around this island, I now have a perpetual waiting list from local fishermen. I work in my studio nearly every day. I use nontoxic inks so that every fish may be enjoyed in a meal.
Marine conservation is important to me and I support only sustainable fishing practices. Beautiful but endangered marine creatures like sea turtles and many of Hawaii’s endemic reef fish are threatened. I use replicas when creating prints of endanagered native species and a portion of the proceeds from each sale is donated to local organizations that are working to protect and restore healthy reefs and native fish populations.
My hope is that my work helps raise awareness and appreciation for Hawaii’s most magnificent and vulnerable resource.
Debra is a member of:
Artist In Residence, The Grand Wailea Resort
Hui No`eau Visual Arts Center
International Game Fishing Association
Maui Arts and Cultural Center
Maui Crafts Guild, treasurer
Maui Historical Society
Maui Nui Marine Resource Council
“Meet Maui Artist Program”, Wailea Beach Resort
Nature Priting Society
PADI AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Certification
