Dip Into Serenity in the Heart of Downtown Honolulu

In busy downtown is the lush tropical Foster Botanical Garden. Here you’ll escape amongst mature trees and an impressive plant collection in this 14-acre garden. The real test is what will you sketch. The Conservatory? The Outdoor Butterfly Garden? Maybe the Prehistoric Glen Cycad Collection? Whatever you choose, please join us:

Saturday, July 26, 2025
10am to Noon
Foster Botanical Garden
180 North Vineyard Blvd.

Let’s meet just inside the entrance.

Parking is onsite. Admission is $3 for Kama’aina, $5 for non-resident.

Please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Friday, July 25, so I’ll know to expect you. Looking forward to peaceful day of sketching in nature.

Terri

Learn About Botanicals and Sketch on Campus

Under the canopy of lush mature trees, Urban Sketchers O’ahu joined Hawai’i Botanical Society at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa for a morning of learning about campus trees, plants, and pests. A big mahalo to Arby from HBS for a very informative tour about native and non-native plants and trees. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us so we can appreciate the beauty around us.

Thank you to everyone who came out today to sketch. Although the Center for Korean Studies building is indeed challenging, it was very fun to capture the colors and details of this cultural, icon architecture.

SAVE THE DATE:
Saturday, July 26
Details will be post in July

Until then, happy sketching!
Terri

Pick up Your Sketchbook or Gardening Gloves

Hello Urban Sketchers! So excited for our next sketching event in combo with the Hawai’i Botanical Society. We will be joining their UH Manoa Community Malama ‘Aina Day at the University of Manoa.

Sunday, June 22, 2025
8:50 to 11:30 a.m.
University of Hawai’i
3190 Maile Way (In front of St. John Plant Science Lab)

This is different from our normal events. We will be gathering to introduce ourselves, taking a short botanical tour and then sketching at the Center for Korean Studies.

If you rather participate in the campus cleanup, instead of sketching, fill out this form.

Parking is free on campus.

Please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Saturday, June 21, so I’ll know to expect you. Looking forward to fun day learning about plants and sketching!
Terri

Join us for a Day of Food and Sketching

It’s May! We’re back! Before the heat of the summer, let’s gather for a fun day at Kaka’ako Farmer’s Market.

Saturday, May 24, 2025
10am to Noon
Kaka’ako Farmer’s Market
Corner of Ward Ave and Ala Moana Blvd.

Let’s meet at the less crowded corner, across from the activity of the Farmer’s Market. Choose to sketch the crowd, the booths, the food, boats in the harbor or whatever you want.

Check-in with me at 10 a.m., sketch for 1.5 hours and we’ll meet up at 11:30 to look at each other’s sketches. In between, you might want to treat yourself to delicious local food from the many vendor booths available.

Please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Friday, May 23, so I’ll know to expect you. Looking forward to fun day in the sun! Until then happy sketching!
Terri

Malama Aina (To Care for the Land)

Urban Sketchers O’ahu honors Earth Day with community sketches celebrating the beautiful place we call home.

If you did a sketch, please send it to uskoahu@gmail.com and I will add it to the slideshow. I am participating in UH Manoa Community Malama ‘Aina Day tomorrow! Happy Earth Week!

Sketch Your Earth Day

We are cancelling our in-person meetup on April 26. The Hawaii Book and Music Festival will not happen on that date. Sorry for the poor intel.

Instead, let’s celebrate Earth Day on your own. There are many Earth Day events happening tomorrow and next week. Just search the web to find an event to sketch (beach cleanup or volunteer opportunities) or sketch what Earth Day means for you. The door is open to your creativity. But please keep to the guidance of Urban Sketchers and sketch what you see.

Email your sketch with description to uskoahu@gmail.com by Saturday, April 26, 5 p.m., and I will post your beautiful sketches later that night.

Get out there and sketch,
Terri

April Event – Save the Date April 26

Heads up! The tentative plan is to sketch at the Hawai’i Book and Music Festival at Honolulu Hale on April 26. It looks like the organizers have not updated their website so I cannot confirm the event yet. But keep the date open so we can gather and sketch together. I’ll update this post when I find more information.

Keep sketching,
Terri

Celebrate Art in the Downtown Honolulu Alongside Other Artists

There’s energy when you are creating art with other creatives.

Thank you Urban Sketchers for celebrating sketching in our city! Thank you to all other plein air artists. You are an inspiration just sketching near you. There’s nothing better than a community that lifts each other up.

Next Event: Hawaii Book and Music Festival on April 26 on the grounds of Honolulu Hale. Bring friends and we can sketch together!

Until next time,
Terri

How About a Little Music with Your Sketch (Updated)

Do you like to sketch while listening to music? Now, we can all sketch to the soothing live guitar music at the Guitars & Plein Air in the Park in downtown Honolulu!

Join us:

Guitars & Plein Air in the Park
Saturday, March 1, 10am to Noon
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park Memorial Park
1041 Bethel Street

This event is hosted by the Downtown Art Center and Hawai’i Theatre. Beside showcasing live music free to the public, there is also a Quickdraw Plein Air Painting Competition. If you want to participate in the competition, check-in time is 9:30 a.m. and judging will start at 2 p.m. You can find more details here. This is totally optional. Urban Sketchers O’ahu will be meeting at our regular time at 10 a.m. and sketching until 11:30, then gathering to share our sketches and take a group shot.

If attending, please RSVP uskoahu@gmail.com by Friday, Feb. 28. I look forward to seeing all of you on March 1!

UPDATED 2/26/25: Our wonderful friend, Artist Mark Brown has offered to bring a table for us to display our sketches for this event. We normally sketch in our sketchbooks, but for this event, it would be great if we participated with a single finished framed artwork. Remember, if you are entering it for the competition, you should check in at 9:30. Other details: Participants should either provide a wired frame for their work or use a gallery-wrapped canvas. Judging will occur between 2:00 and 2:45 PM, with the final announcement made at 3:00 PM, marking the conclusion of the event. There is no cost to participate in this art competition. THREE winners will be chosen, in First, Second, and Third place.

Happy sketching,
Terri