Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, August 27, 2015 11 paint lifelike skin tones and more. She also will teach students how to practice drawing at home as well. “Portrait likeness needs to start with a good drawing first,” says Shinkai. Of course, successful painting requires an artist’s ability to understand and interpret the subject. Shinkai prefers live model painting as opposed to painting from a photograph for several reasons. “There’s a big difference,” she explains. “Painting from a photo, to me, is really flat. It’s more exciting and spontaneous and fresh to paint from a live model. You feel more emotion from the model and can see (his/her) character.” Adds Hawaii Museum of Contemporary Art director Lourdan Kimbrell, “There is nothing else like painting from a live model. There is an energy-sharing opportunity that really does influence the work. I highly recommend it.” While the end product is more satisfying, Shinkai says painting portraits is no easy feat. “Making the likeness is a challenge,” she says. “I like to paint a friend or family member because I think it’s more fun. It’s personal and I know about the person inside.” While Shinkai also paints still life and landscape pieces, it’s the paintings that include a live subject that she enjoys the most. “People are more interesting,” she explains. “I like my painting to have life. When I moved here I liked to paint the landscape but with people in it, like at the beach. I like to paint the people in the ocean. The kids are really cute when they play in the water. But they are also hard to paint because they move so fast. But that also makes it more exciting.” She says that since she’s lived in Hawaii, she paints outdoors a lot more and finds beauty in the greatly varied ethnicities here. She wants to encourage everyone to explore a new world of art. Shinkai also wants beginning painters to know that this course is a great place to start if they are interested in portrait painting. “Don’t be afraid,” says Shinkai. “It’s OK to make mistakes. You cannot paint perfectly at the start. With the oil paint you can fix your mistake, too, to adjust the colors.” Kimbrell is excited for Shinkai to showcase her talents at HMOCA. “Sakiko is classically trained, and she works in the manner of the great classical painters from the academic schools of Europe to the more relaxed impressionists in style,” he says. “Her rendering skills are also very refined and detailed.” Kimbrell adds that having several sessions to learn from Shinkai offers students a chance to really modify, refine and develop their paintings. “Longer classes also provide time to explore many different techniques,” he said. The cost per session for “Portraits from Life: Oil Painting with Live Model” is $45. For more information, email Sakiko at iaogarden101@ gmail.com. To register for the class, call 961- 5711. PAINTING From page 2 Sakiko Shinkai paints at her home in Hilo. HOLLYN JOHNSON/ Tribune-Herald
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