The Menehune and the Birds

The Hawaii International Film Festival is here! So much to see!! The 2nd of 3 animated films that Matt storyboarded is being shown as part of the Pacific Showcase, along with other great short films. You can catch it on three different nights, we will be there this Sunday for the first one! Hope to see you there!

See the schedule here.

Innov8

Recently, Matt used his awesome drawing skills to do some illustrations for an article in Innov8, which is the in-flight magazine for go! airlines. The writing focuses on a Big Island surf spot that had been established by the Alii or Hawaiian chiefs, and continues to be a popular place today. One of Matt's black and white drawings came out so well, they put it on the cover! Sweeeet!! You can check out the online version of the magazine here.

Party with ArTee!

Flux magazine continues to sponsor awesome events in Honolulu, and ArTee is no exception. Matt designed a new shirt especially for this show! Below is a sneak-peek of his drawing!

Check it out on Saturday night at The Venue in Chinatown, where the very limited edition shirts are available only on this night! The artist reception is 7 to 9pm. To see more details, visit the Flux facebook page here.

Between the Lines: Tuned to Nature

"Tuned to Nature" continues to be a fan favorite, and many people have inquired as to how we came up with such a fun design. Below is a diagram that shows our planning process, beginning from sketches.

The image for "Tuned to Nature" came from a dream that I had! One morning I explained to Matt that all I could remember from a dream the night before was the striking image of an owl wearing huge headphones.

1. I made a small sketch of what it looked like, and we researched the fine details of what I had imagined. Originally, we had "Tuned to Nature" scrawled below the owl.

2. Matt and his amazing drawings skills rendered a large-scale pencil version. Already you can see how intricate it is! If you look closely, you can see "Vers" (in cursive) is in the coil of the headphone cord.

3. We made several adjustments, like the tilt of the head, and edited details to follow the traits of the Hawaii Pueo.

4. The finalized version is screen-printed onto an organic t-shirt! Voila!

Days at the Museum

Hi‘iakaikapoliopele: Visual Stories by
Contemporary Native Hawaiian Artists

Hawaii State Art Museum

Diamond Head Gallery, Second Floor
May 7, 2010 - July 17, 2010

A beautiful show to check out if you visit the downtown Honolulu area!

This show is a smaller version of an invitational exhibition that was organized by the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Fall 2009. The participating artists are Mark Chai, Hoaka Delos Reyes, Solomon Enos, Puni Kukahiko, Pualani Lincoln Maielua, Marques Hanalei Marzan, Matthew Kawika Ortiz, Carl F.K. Pao, Abigail Romanchak, Maika‘i Tubbs, and Miki‘oi Wichman.

For more details, click here.

Matt as Illustrator!

Out in stores is the new children's book How Hau Became Hau'ula, illustrated by Matt!

Perfect for introducing the Hawaiian language, the book includes text in both English and Hawaiian.

In the story, Hau, a young girl from Koolauloa, is overshadowed by her beautiful and talented older sisters named Niu, Pühala, and Lehua. But with the help of her kupuna, Hau begins to blossom as she discovers her unique talents and contributions.

You can buy the book in local book stores, from carriers like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Amazon, or online here.

All about Prints

Printmaking? What is that?

Find out at the 82rd Annual Honolulu Printmakers Exhibition! Displaying a selection of prints by local Hawaii artists, this exhibition is the premier print show of the year! If you are interested in intaglio, screen print, relief, or even photo prints, this is a show you don't want to miss! Come check it out Tuesday - Saturday at the Academy Art Center across the park from the Honolulu Academy of Art. Juror Helen Frederick had the difficult job of selecting which pieces were accepted into the exhibition, and we are so happy our work was chosen! My bees take another flight, and Matt has a large circular woodblock print. 

The Honolulu Advertiser took notice of our work! Click here to read all about it!

The show runs until March 19th, stop on by!

Best always,

Roxy

Come see the circus!

The waves are up on the North Shore and so is the excitement for the new show at Circus Gallery in Haleiwa! Roxy and Matt have some fun prints on display with a whole gang of other artists! Come down for a night of live music, colorful art, and good times during the opening, this Saturday!

Where: Circus Gallery (next to Bank of Hawaii, across from Pizza Bobs in Haleiwa)

Time: 6 PM

This Weekend Only!

HONOLULU PRINTMAKERS IMPRESSIONS PRINT SHOW and holiday sale of etchings, lithographs, screenprints and woodcuts by local artists, including live T-shirt screening and a "Father Damien in Fine Print" portfolio. Come on over to pick up some fabulous prints and Vers shirts!

Noon-4:30 p.m. Nov. 27, and 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Nov. 28 & 29

Academy Art Center at Linekona

Information: 536-5507

About Honolulu Printmakers