A Painting Field Trip with Janet Meinke-Lau
We are devastated to hear about the rapid-fire effects on Lahaina, Maui Island, Hawaii. Please click here for a document created by three local women heroes to help you donate directly to the families affected by the fires.
Mahalo to everyone who joined our first painting field trip with local artist Janet Meinke-Lau.
Our workshop started by meeting at Polu Gallery Hale'iwa from 9:00 am to 9:30 am. Later Janet and the participants walked to our "secret spot" behind the Surf N Sea Haleiwa. We thank Surf N Sea Haleiwa for providing a beautiful space for our participants.
We were sitting on a 100+ years building porch while kids were running to paddle out with their boards. The leaves of the palm trees covered the beautiful view of the historical Hale'iwa port surrounded by turquoise ocean and fishing boats when Janet started teaching techniques to relax body and mind.
Photography by Moon Mele.
We started drawing our hands without moving the pencil; this technique is called contour drawing. Once we completed drawing our hands, we went downstairs to pick an object to draw and eventually color it with watercolors.
Photography by Moon Mele.
Some picked leaves, and some fruits, like coconut, are easy to find on the beaches of Hawai'i. One of the participants said, "Janet shared her secret techniques with us. She is such a good teacher. I'm impressed."
Photography by Moon Mele.
Janet gave a quality watercolor set for each participant and beautiful notebooks made from watercolor paper. All the supplies were included in the price for us to use during the workshop.
Photography by Moon Mele.
Janet Meinke-Lau is a professional watercolor painter and teacher who enjoys sharing the magic of watercolor sketching to capture everyday moments and memories. She has taught workshops for the Hawaii Watercolor Society and Ward Village and enjoys taking beginner watercolor students on sketch outings/ field trips.
Janet gave extra care and attention to each participant and shared her tips and tricks in watercolor painting that she had gained over the years.
Photography by Moon Mele.
After painting the objects, we all went downstairs to the beach to paint the beautiful scene of Hale'iwa. Each participant picked a scene they wished to immortalize through art.
Everyone seemed in tune with the paper, pen, and watercolor painting.
Participants were in their world of creation, and you could feel the serenity surrounding us.
After a while, we had a 10 minutes break and were provided fruits, snacks, and water. It was nice to know both locals and tourists attending our workshop. Everyone shared a love for art and an appreciation of Hawai'i's breathtaking scenery. We love making new friends joining our community.
We went back to painting, and after we finished, we started walking back to the gallery to discuss our art in positive light back at the Polu Gallery Haleiwa's walls.
Lastly, we matted, and Celo packed our paintings and took pictures together to remember this beautiful day.
While some purchased the painting set with brush, watercolors, and notebook, some didn't, and we ended our painting field trip with gratitude for art and community.
If you want to join our next Waikiki workshop, click the button below.
We are devastated to hear about the rapid-fire effects on Lahaina, Maui Island, Hawaii. Please click here for a document created by three local women heroes to help you donate directly to the families affected by the fires.