The Seduction of Iolani Palace

If you’ve been to Iolani Palace, you know how majestic and historic this grand treasure of Hawai’i is.

Built in 1882, Iolani Palace was the home of Hawai’i’s last reigning monarchs and served as the official royal residence and the residence of the Kingdom’s political and social life until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893, according to the website. It is also the only official royal residence in the United States and one of the most recognizable buildings in the state.

Being there is a return to a dream-like past. Sketching the palace, however is a task that cannot be taken likely.

Urban Sketcher Sergio looked at my unfinished sketch and said it best. “You’ll fallen into the seduction of Iolani Palace, trying to capture every detail.” So true.

When you are surrounded by something this grand and every fixture and architecture detail is so spectacular, you want to capture it all on paper. But when you have less than an hour to do it, it’s difficult to give it justice.

That’s the power of sketching and the best part of Urban Sketching. You learn from others without negativity or judgement. Art is a powerful tool. It not only is beautiful but it feeds your soul.

Thank you fellow sketchers. I learn so much from you.

Terri

Sketching History

Join us this Kama’aina Sunday as we tour ‘Iolani Palace and then sketch what we see.

Free tours are available to the first 500 guests this Sunday, July 9th starting at 9am. Come early as street parking is free and will go fast. There is also free parking at the Civic Center Municipal Parking Garage (entrance on Beretania St). Instead of meeting at the start of sketching, we’ll meet at 11:30 near the front gate on King Street. It shouldn’t be as crowded there.

If you can’t get inside the Palace for the tour, feel free to sketch outside. There will be entertainment, booths, and other family-friendly activities.

Visit the official website for more info.

If attending, please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Saturday, July 8th. Hope to see you there!

terri

Honoring Those Who Serve

What an honor it was to tour the Honolulu Fire Museum.

Thank you to the Honolulu firemen for serving Hawaii with their bravery on the front lines every day. We are in awe of courage and valor to serve our community.

Thank you Urban Sketchers for coming out today. I love seeing your sketches. It always amazes me that we can see the same things and our sketches look completely different.

See everyone again on July 9th. Save the date! We’ll be at Iolani Palace for Kamaaina Sunday! Stay posted for details.

Honolulu Fire Station Museum

Sorry this is late!

Please join us this Saturday, June 17th at the Honolulu Fire Museum for a tour and sketching session.

Note, we are meeting at 9am, instead of 10am. The tour will end at 10am, which will give us time to sketch. Let’s meet outside the fire station at 11am, as there will be other tours after ours. There is parking available at the station for the tour.

I know some of you have posted on the previous blog that you want to attend. But please email us if you are planning on attending. We only have 6 spots saved so it will be first come, first served. Thank you for understanding.

If attending, please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Friday, June 16th. Hope to see you there!

Save the Date – June 17th, 2023

Sorry we’ve been MIA recently. Life happens. We got busy. But now let’s get back on track.

SAVE THE DATE

SATURDAY, JUNE 17th, 2023

9 to 11 am

Honolulu Fire Museum Tour

620 South Street

There’s a free tour once a month and I’ve booked 6 tickets for anyone who wants to take the tour and sketch. Free parking at the fire station.

I’ll post more later but wanted to let you know so you can save the date!

Happy sketching,

Christine, Ivan, and Terri

Canceling This Saturday’s Event

I’ve told some of you in person that we will be meeting this Saturday at the Heart of Honolulu Street Festival. Well, we just couldn’t get it organized in time. Sorry about that. So we won’t be meeting as a group. But I encourage you to attend if you can to check it out. It looks like a great event.

https://www.downtownarthi.org/heartofhonolulufestival

Interested in sketching this week?

Hi all. One of the perks of living in Hawai’i is that we frequently get out-of-town sketchers who are vacationing and want to join us for sketching. Since we only meet once a month, it doesn’t always work out for everyone’s schedule. Today, I received a message from a visitor from California that is on Oahu until March 25th and would like to get together informally as a group to sketch. If interested, email us at uskoahu@gmail.com and I will connect you to make arrangements.

Happy sketching,

Terri

Sake and Sketches

Just a small group sketching at the Honolulu Festival but what a fun morning of sketching crowds, taiko performers, the Convention Center, sake, and flowers.

I’m not very good at photo editing without Photoshop.

Thank you for coming out today. I hope you had a chance to enjoy the festival and the sketching.

Celebrating the Honolulu Festival

One of the largest cultural exchange events in Hawai’i will be happening March 10-12, 2023. Let’s capture what we see with our urban sketching.

Let’s meet at 10am near this statue.

You’ll have 1.5 hours to sketch what you see. We’ll meet again at the statue at 11:30 to share our sketches.

Honolulu Festival took a break because of the pandemic. It’s now back. The Festival attracts thousands of attendees who wish to experience the rich and vibrant blend of Asia, Pacific, and Hawaiian cultures. There will be live performances from regions such as Japan, Australia, Tahiti, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hawai’i. Enjoy art exhibits, crafts, and food galore. Admission is free. There is a parking fee.

If attending, please RSVP at uskoahu@gmail.com by Friday, March 10th. Hope to see you there!

Saying Aloha to Aloha Stadium

So grateful that Aloha Stadium was open to the public for one last Aloha ‘Oe. Although we didn’t buy orange stadium seats to take home, we did get one last look and the opportunity to sketch Aloha Stadium one last time.

Just a small group of sketchers today. Sorry Ivan, we missed you. Those of us that did get to go inside, were treated to view a museum of great memorabilia including concert posters, football jerseys, helmets, and more. We got to walk inside the locker rooms that the players were and be on the field of many touchdowns and famous live performances including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and the Eagles.

After a week of heavy rain, we were grateful for a nice sunny day to take part of this final farewell to Aloha Stadium.