The U.S. Postal Service will unveil the commemorative 50th anniversary statehood stamp next month at the Hawaii Statehood Conference.

The stamp, featuring a longboard surfer and two paddlers on an outrigger canoe, will be issued and distributed at post offices nationwide on Admission Day, Aug. 21. Stamps will also be available for sale at the Hawai'i Convention Center that day.

Daryl Ishizaki, postal service Honolulu district manager, and Gov. Linda Lingle will display an oversize image of the stamp at 10:15 a.m. at the convention center, according to the postal service.

“;The Postal Service is proud to play a part in this significant anniversary for Hawaii and especially proud that the stamp will serve a lasting reminder of this special occasion,”; said Ishizaki.

The painting on the stamp was created by Herb Kawainui Kane, artist, historian and author from Kona. Kane also participated in building the canoe Hokule'a and was recognized as a “;Living Treasure of Hawaii”; in 1984, according to his Web site.

This will not be the first stamp painted by Kane; he has already designed 41 stamps for the United States, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia. Kane also designed a stamp marking the 25th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood which featured a Polynesian voyaging canoe approaching the island with a volcanic eruption in the background. The 20-cent stamp also showed a kolea, or golden plover, leading the way.

Kane was chosen to design the 50th-anniversary commemorative stamp and spent 18 months working on numerous sketches before the design was finalized.

“;I wanted to show something that was indigenous, but I wanted to get away from the usual idea of a surfer coming in and Diamond Head in the background,”; he said.

“;Nobody had seen anyone surf until Capt. Cook got here. The sport was invented in Hawaii, and now it's worldwide. It all started right here.”;