One aspect of art that Evelyn loved in California was painting en Plein Air, which is painting on site, outdoors. Because of the weather in Hawaii, outdoor activities are the standard. In Cuenca, the opportunities were quite limited, whereas in Oahu, there are four different groups that paint outdoors weekly. As a result, Evelyn gets a chance to to explore different scenic spots around the island, and learn more about how to paint outdoors. Evelyn found an incredible teacher, Mark Brown (top-right and middle), who leads one of the groups. Every Saturday morning, Mark leads a session with an hour demonstration, then offers help to anyone from rank beginners to experienced painting pros, while finishing his own masterpiece.

The first picturesque site where Evelyn painted was Pounder’s Beach on Laie Bay (upper-left), on the northeastern shore of Oahu. Pounder’s beach gets it name because of the pounding shorebreak. The cliff at the right end is Pali Kilo’a, meaning “fish spotter cliff”. People enjoy bodyboarding, surfing, swimming, fishing and picnics in this setting of white sand, turquoise waters, and ample shade. There are no life guards nor any toilets, so we used the restrooms at the Polynesian Cultural Center nearby.

The second destination was Mark’s Garage in Chinatown, Honolulu, on the following Saturday in July. When setting up her easel, a dazed wizened woman yelled at Evelyn for invading the woman’s space, then another apparent drunk started screaming about some conspiracy. Mark just said “Welcome to Chinatown.” On the same Saturday were two other events: a demonstration of the Raku ceramic process, and a show at the Downtown Art Center, where there was a month-long exhibit of the Plein Air Painters of Oahu and Raku ceramics, a traditional low-fire hand-made Japanese pottery (bottom-right).

On another Saturday, the group went to Kualoa Regional Park, also known as Mokoli’l/Chinaman’s Beach Park, located north of Kaneohe on the windward side of the Island. Evelyn has had to switch back to painting with oils and using heavier French easels that don’t blow away. In fact, one lesson learned was either using tent stakes to anchor the easels, or holding down the easel with a 30 pound backpack. The gusting winds are so strong that someone’s easel, canvas or hat blows away every session.

It has been challenging yet loads of fun discovering new challenges. There are lots of new places to be discovered including a botanical garden, Waimanalo Beach, beaches on the North Shore, Sand Island, mountain overlooks, market places, and boatyards, as this group has been painting together for years.