Next Event!
Posted: May 23, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: event announcement Leave a commentAlthough the museum is closed for the holiday, the grounds and, of course, all of Nu‘uanu Valley are at the mercy of ours pens! :)
-
- 06/11/2016
Honolulu Fire Museum
Posted: May 22, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: fire station, firefighter, Honolulu Fire Museum 2 Comments
Our visit to the Honolulu Fire Museum on Saturday combined education and sketching, thanks to the support of the Honolulu Fire Department. Fire Inspector Kendall Ching set the scene with a brief overview of the grounds and an insightful and touching account of the history of firefighting in Honolulu, with emphasis on its origins under the Hawaiian monarchy and the determined response to the Pearl Harbor attack. In the 1 1/2 hours that followed, we found ourselves almost overwhelmed by the choice and richness of detail of firefighting paraphernalia from a bygone era.
In our traditional show-and-tell session we shared notes and thoughts on materials and techniques, and contemplated why it is so much harder to sketch scenes on location rather than from photos. Tentative conclusion: It is our brains that get in the way – in particular when it comes to proper perspective in close-up views like the ones we encountered frequently here!
We hope to be back at the Honolulu Fire Museum to hear more about historical events and developments – and to again tackle sketching all the chrome and brass, bells and nozzles, ladders and pumps.
Until then, we hope that you will check out our sketches on Flickr and join us at our next event!
Oldies but Goodies
Posted: May 18, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: cars 3 CommentsI came upon these two old cars from the ’60s and ’70s in Mānoa last week: a Jeep Gladiator and a Mercedes-Benz 280 SE cabriolet. Drawing the Mercedes at such an extreme angle was a particular challenge. Never before have I sketched a car sitting within a foot of its front bumper. Although in the end I was sweating over the checkered grill more than the perspective!
Florian Afflerbach
Posted: May 10, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: Flaf, Florian Afflerbach Leave a commentWe were shocked to learn of Florian Afflerbach‘s death recently. Florian, a much admired veteran of urban sketching, is remembered by fellow artists in touching tributes. He will remain an inspiration to us.
Go Bows!
Posted: May 8, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: softball, UH, UH Mānoa Leave a comment
At UH Manoa’s Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium the Bows went up against Cal Poly yesterday. It was an afternoon of bewilderment and thrill for those of us who had never attended a softball game before, especially when a ball hit the bench just two feet away from one of us. Lesson: do not look at your sketchbook for too long – always keep a close eye on the ball!
After bearing with the afternoon heat, we gathered in the shade for our show-and-tell. Figuring out how to convey motion became the theme of the day. Various strategies were discussed, such as using just a few lines to capture a posture, combining information from multiple subjects in a similar stance, as well as completely avoiding motion and sketching stationary targets – a favorite :) .
Don’t forget to check out our sketches on the USkO Flickr page!
See you at the next event on May 21!
Next Event!
Posted: April 26, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: event announcement Leave a comment-
- 05/07/2016
Takeoff for Leg #9!
Posted: April 23, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: Si2, solar, Solar Impulse 2, solar plane Leave a commentHarald and I sketched Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) at its departure last Thursday morning. Arriving at 4:00 a.m., we witnessed final preparations, as well as camera crews getting a pre-launch interview with pilot Bertrand Piccard. Shortly after, the plane was rolled out of the hangar and onto the airfield. Incredibly, only a handful of people are needed to push the plane. Soon all we could see in the distance were the flashing lights of the support vehicles and the dark silhouette of the plane, as the team waited for the breeze to die down.
The takeoff at sunrise was amazing. Within seconds Si2 was off the ground and gliding through the air above us, the propellers spinning so slowly that one would almost expect them to be pedal-powered. The plane had looked visibly fragile on the ground as it was moved to the runway, but once in the air it was as graceful as a giant albatross. Swinging around to face the open sea, Si2 continued to rise slowly into the morning sky, before disappearing from view on its three-day journey to California.
Check the Si2 blog, for updates on this amazing journey. They will be landing in Mountain View, California soon!
AIA Central
Posted: April 17, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: AIA, architecture month Leave a comment
Positioning ourselves at AIA’s headquarters on Fort Street Mall not only made for a fitting end to our participation in Architecture Month but also offered varied views, from Aloha Tower to modern skyscrapers downtown. Our home base was fully equipped, sheltered, and lit, all courtesy of the AIA Honolulu Center for Architecture. Nice!
We were joined by many newcomers, including professional architects and students of the trade (the latter after an extensive courtship), which allowed us to form an almost perfect oval around a square desk during show-and-tell. Lloyd shared with us his philosophy of documenting his travels exclusively through sketches, rather than photos, as well as some of his work from trips to Malaysia, Nepal, and Bhutan. A professional architect by day, Lloyd uses HB pencil and a mini ruler to quickly position his sketches and keep those straight lines straight. Eyes were also drawn to Purnima’s full-size pastel painting which stood out among the (mostly) pen and pencil sketches.
Homemade mochi and a raffle closed out our day. Although this was our final sketch event for Architecture Month, AIA Honolulu has many more activities planned for April. Mahalo nui to Mayumi for suggesting and helping set up this fitting collaboration – we hope to do it again in 2017!
Don’t forget to check out the day’s sketches on the USkO Flickr page.
See you at the next event on May 7!
Next Architecture Month Event!
Posted: April 9, 2016 Filed under: USkO | Tags: AIA, architecture month Leave a comment-
- 04/16/2016
AJ Tauber
Harald Ebeling
Terri Dux
noah kutaka
Susan Li
Sebastian
uskoadmin
Urban Sketchers O‘ahu 