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Working hard on Maui

Posted on Nov 12, 2014 in Maui | 4 comments

A vacation in Maui with my parents

I did this as an assignment for Sketchbook Skool, Danny Gregory’s “klass”. It was fun to try something different. And I had time here on Maui to do my “homework”.

To see and read all the detail, click on the image and it will take you to Flickr where you can see it much bigger.

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Mega Maui

Posted on Nov 8, 2014 in Maui | 0 comments

It’s been great to have had a full week here on Maui without any work. I have almost another week left, but yesterday a scheduled project punctually arrived in my inbox. I’ll have to suffer and squeeze in some work in the evenings here — my specialty.

Between windsurfing, swimming, snorkeling, yoga, walks at the beach, cooking and making happy hour drinks for my parents, I’ve squeezed in a bit of drawing and painting. The intense sunlight and tropical fauna here are inspiring me to go a bit abstract off and on, and to pour on the colour. I can’t help it, it’s just too hard to find gloomily-lit subjects here.

Palm trees on Maui

Scenes from Maui

Lemon Butterflyfish

Maui abstract 3

Maui abstract 1

Maui abstract 4

Maui abstract doodle 1

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Body boarders at Kamaole III Beach in Maui

Posted on Nov 7, 2014 in Maui | 0 comments

Body boarders at Kamaole III Beach in Maui

You should have seen my 84-year old mother trying to use a body board at the beach today, here in Maui. She caught a wave alright — or rather, it caught her. I took a video of her, and it was clear that she never saw that wave coming. I called out to her, but the wave knocked her over. All I could see of her for split second was one foot sticking up out of the surf. She was disoriented for a few seconds when she emerged, but she’s quite tough. I am assuming she’s breaking age records for body boarding here.

To be fair, she caught a good wave earlier. I really should have drawn her, but I was too busy worrying and filming at the same time.

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12 days on Maui

Posted on Mar 17, 2014 in Maui | 0 comments

I was in Maui from March 5 – 17, visiting my parents who have rented a condo here for all of March. My sister joined us from March 6 – 13 as well. We left our husbands back in Canada; they couldn’t get the time off. And there’s only room for two on that sofabed anyway. We had a great time as a family, knowing that there may not be many chances to get together like this again.

Since it’s warm year round in Hawaii, it’s almost always perfect sketching weather (sitting in the shade helps, though). That together with lots of relaxation time meant that I had no excuses not to draw. Below are some of my drawings from this trip. You’d think I’d be tired of drawing palm trees, beaches and the ocean, but I am not.

Wailea, Maui

My sister and I went for a long walk from Kamaole III Beach to Wailea, where we stopped to draw. She worked on a stained glass design for her house, while I drew her doing that. She had found an interesting position in a gnarly tree. I am surprised that the groundskeepers at the fancy hotel right there didn’t come to shoo us away. But maybe I just always expect troubles with security these days, even though it’s not their job to protect the world from sketchers.

My sister, reading on Maui

It was raining, but my sister and I walked down to the beach and found a bench under a large tree. She wrapped herself in her beach towel and read, and I drew, while the warm tropical rain drizzled on us intermittently through the foliage. Things could be worse.

Kapalua Bay, Maui

Kapalua Bay. We spent a pleasant afternoon here, the weather was changing constantly. We had wind, rain, and lots of sun. And a good snorkle where my sister and I saw a giant sea turtle. That is always a highlight. What you don’t see in postcard photos of this bay is that there are condos right beside it. There is a walking path and a large lawn separating the beach from the development, but the scenery is not as natural as the advertisements make it look. Still, it’s beautiful.

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, Maui, Hawaii

We spent a bit of a rushed hour at the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm but managed to squeeze in drinking a lavender coffee, buying a bunch of products containing lavender, walking around the vast gardens with exotic plants, and I even did these two very quick sketches! Good thing I’ve been here before, otherwise I would have wanted more time.

Woman on Kamaole III Beach, Maui, Hawaii

I found a great unidentified model at Kamaole III, our “home” beach. Beaches are excellent for free (but unobtrusive) life drawing.

Pool at Kamaole Sands, Maui, Hawaii

Almost every morning at 8 a.m. when the pool at Kamaole Sands opens, we go for a swim, or else I go to yoga at the beach.

Kamaole Sands, Maui, Hawaii

The view towards the ocean from the condo rental complex, Kamaole Sands in Kihei, where we were staying.

Tree at Makena Landing, Maui

Snorkelling, drawing, reading, walking at Makena Landing: a beautiful, quiet, grassy spot with an easy and sandy entry to the bay, but no beach to speak of.

View from Makena Landing, Maui

The view across the bay at Makena Landing.

Maui beach abstract

Another one of my “maze” drawings, as I call them. I tried to sort of draw the beach I was sitting on, looking at a very nice rock.

Hibiscus abstract

And a hibiscus as a maze drawing. Goodbye, Maui!

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Follow the whales to Maui

Posted on Mar 16, 2014 in Maui | 0 comments

What do you do when your parents insist on renting a condo for a full month on Maui? You go visit them for 12 days and sleep on the sofabed, which doesn’t cost you anything. You bring your laptop to take care of as little work as possible, and only if absolutely necessary. You catch up on blogging. And on Campari sodas.

This breaching humpback whale animated gif is from a stop motion sequence of photos I took on a previous visit. There’s even a bonus whale doing a head lunge on the left. While I was taking the photos, I didn’t even notice him!

This is what it’s like on Maui from November to May. The humpback whales use Maui as their breeding grounds, and Alaska and the West Coast of North America as their feeding grounds. The waters around Maui are warm and like a giant, pleasant bath tub for baby whales.

The photos for this animated gif were taken from the beach. I can sit there and watch the whales for hours; definitely had to sit around with my trigger finger on the camera button for a long time to capture this full breach. Nobody really knows why whales breach; whether it’s play or a gesture of threat or dominance appears to be subject to debate. I like to think it’s an expression of joy and exuberance. The whale just wants to fly. And make a big splash. Who doesn’t?

Whale drawing on Maui

A continuous line/maze type drawing. This is a fun and meditative exercise I’ve invented. I start with a line and I have no idea where I will end up or what the drawing will look like, but the challenge is to just draw one single line and connect it to its starting point eventually. Then I start filling in the complex but single shape I’ve created. I was trying to capture the humpback whale’s playfulness here, not draw an anatomically correct representation.

Drawing on flight to Maui

Another example of a single-line drawing. I actually have a slight red-green colour blindness, which is probably why I go for intense colours.

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A rainy day on Maui

Posted on Mar 12, 2013 in Maui | 1 comment

Hibiscus flowers on Maui, Hawaii

I went to yoga at the beach at 8 a.m. It was stormy and rainy, but yoga felt good. Right after yoga, the sun even came out for a bit, that’s when I took the photo below of Kamaole I. Then breakfast, then a walk. Took a nap. Did a drawing of hibiscus. Grilled steak. Started watching Downton Abbey for the first time — my mother brought her Season I and II DVDs along. We are now hooked.

Kamaole I Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Kamaole I Beach, Maui, Hawaii

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Searching for the wild side of Maui

Posted on Mar 11, 2013 in Maui | 0 comments

Makena Landing, Maui, Hawaii

Not much to tell. It’s very mellow here. It’s hard to make any kind of tormented art on Maui. If I stayed here too long, I’d only be painting rainbows, beaches and sunsets. Maybe even orphans and unicorns, God forbid. But don’t get me wrong, I feel great here. I am loving the warmth, the sun, the relaxation time.

The tree I drew at Makena Landing in black and white, at least, is not as much like a pretty tourist postcard. Maui does have a wild side, it is born of volcanoes after all. And the ocean storms can pound its coastline. It has a large variety of climate zones, its tiny size encompasses elevations from 0 to 3000 metres, thanks to the Haleakala volcano.

The watercolour sketch below contrasts nicely with my orange nail polish. I love orange.

And I am feeling very, very sleepy now… I think I’ve drunk the Maui Kool-Aid.

Hawaii postcard 3: Makena Landing, Maui

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Yet another beach day on Maui

Posted on Mar 10, 2013 in Maui | 0 comments

Abstract watercolor

Maui is really boring to write about, because I am not doing much, except resting: sleeping, eating, snorkeling, and sketching at the beach. It is wonderful.

I almost forget that I am squeezing in some work too. Yes, I brought my laptop along and am actually meeting a few deadlines this week.

Hawaiian postcard 1: At Kamaole III Beach, Kihei, Maui

Hawaiian postcard 2: At Kamaole III Beach, Kihei, Maui

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It’s beach time. And turtle time.

Posted on Mar 8, 2013 in Maui | 0 comments

Makena Landing Beach Park, Maui

Yoga at the ocean in the morning. Then to Makena Landing for a long snorkel-swim where saw three sea turtles while snorkeling and one turtle resting on the beach. Then we relaxed in Makena Landing Beach Park overlooking the water. My sister had to fly home in the evening, and now it’s our turn to stay for a week here in Kihei.

Giant sea turtle on Maui

This giant sea turtle was resting today near Makena Landing, Maui. They are endangered and one should not walk or swim up to them but admire them from a distance. We saw three more giant sea turtles in the water when we were snorkeling near here.

Maui sunset

I decided to add another Maui sunset to the vast number of Maui sunsets already on the interwebs. Just this one.

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