Valentina Montoya’s art work was selected for Juror’s First Choice by art competition judge Dick Nelson of Kula Maui. The watercolor, pen and ink, image will appear in the Banyan Drive Art Stroll on Saturday, January 14, from noon until 6 p.m.
Valentina Montoya, “Queen Lili`uokalani and her Gardens”, a watercolor, with pen and ink, was recognized with Juror’s First Choice
Montoya is a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz with a BA degree in visual Arts. She moved to Hawaii Island in August 2016 and, “I was struck by the beauty of Lili`uokalani Gardens. When I moved here, I connected with the art community through the UH-Hilo art club page on Facebook. I learned of the Banyan Drive Art Stroll competition through that connection.”
All art work that met the criteria of the theme “Celebrating Lili`uokalani: the Queen and her Legacy” will be on display at the Palm Room in the Grand Naniloa Hotel, lobby level, and will be available for voting for People’s Choice awards on Saturday.
Of Montoya’s art work “Queen Lili`uokalani and her Gardens,” Nelson said the artist depicted “a regal queen in a setting of unabashed color fitting for any garden celebration and created with aesthetic competence.”
Montoya remarked that she always was interested in art. “I wanted to study fashion design, but that course wasn’t on the schedule so I signed up for an art class at the community college. I ended up pursuing an art degree.”
“We really appreciate the time, effort, and expertise that it takes to create a beautiful work of art,” said Bonnie Sol of the Banyan Drive Art Stroll committee. “The great number of entries challenged the jurors of both the Banyan Drive Art Stroll and photographers’ calendar contest.”
Other exhibits will be in the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and Banyan Gallery. Demonstrations of painting will be in Lili`uokalani Gardens from noon until 3 p.m. Gyotaku demonstration with Brandon Tengan will take place at Suisan from 3 to 4 p.m.
The Banyan Drive Art Stroll is the first 2017 event in a series to celebrate the centennial of Lili`uokalani Gardens. The land was dedicated in honor of the Queen in early 1917 and construction on the Japanese-style landscape began in the fall of 1917.
For further information, see the Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens Facebook page.
Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens, P. O. Box 5147, Hilo HI 96720
U.S. Japanese Gardens 