The Art of the Draw

By Sherry Heiser

As a child in Southern California, Ilona Hemperly was always involved in some kind of creative venture. Encouraged by her Aunt Dorothy, she especially liked drawing rainbows. Art was an important part of her life throughout high school and junior college. She also sold her artwork and did some interior decorating. In 1968, not long after she left school, she and Michael Hemperly decided to marry and traveled to Oahu to mark the occasion in a ceremony at the Honolulu Court House. It wasn’t long after their return to Santa Monica that they decided they wanted to move here permanently.

“I always had to be near the beach,” Ilona said. “I was totally inspired to draw and paint here.” Indeed, the beauty around her provided an abundance of subject matter.

Arriving on the North Shore in the spring of 1970 with her husband and now a young son, she soon was illustrating area landmarks and often incorporating her signature rainbows. Her pen and ink drawings and hand painted limited editions featured local scenery including Waimea Bay, Anahulu Stream Bridge, and the Waialua Sugar Mill.

Ilona joined Beverly Fettig at the Fettig Art Gallery, where Growing Keiki is now. A well-known and respected local artist and gallery owner, Fettig was impressed by Ilona’s work and took her under her wing. According to Ilona, Fettig “got us started. That’s for sure!”

Ilona’s husband Michael, an artist specializing in gyotaku, the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, became the framer for many of her illustrations and watercolors. He sold her art at a booth located in lobby of the old Kuilima Hotel (now the Turtle Bay Resort). The Artist Guild in Honolulu was another location where their art was displayed. Years later, Michael was a fixture selling their work by his ’37 Ford “woody” station wagon at the North Shore Marketplace where Cholo’s is now.

As time went on, it was clear that rustic Haleiwa town was changing quickly. Consequently, Fettig, a painter known for her “pure” palette knife painting, and Ilona through her pen and ink drawings strived to keep the memories of Haleiwa stores and houses alive through their art. In 1976 Ilona published her “Country Sketchbook,” 25 pages of pen and ink rawings providing a glimpse of what living on the North Shore was like in those golden years. Included are sketches of the Waialua and Kahuku sugar mills, Liliuokalani Church, Surf ‘N’ Sea, Jerry’s Sweet Shop, and the old Haleiwa Theatre. Just this year, Ilona released another collection of her pen and ink drawings, “North Shore Coloring Book.” Her endeavors over the years have included writing and illustrating two children’s books, “Kite Island” and “The Journey of the Northern Fur Seal.”

While taking care of her family and participating in her artistic projects, she supported her community in a variety of educational, environmental and social causes. Many community projects have benefited from her recognizable illustrations gracing their promotional and materials. A longtime supporter of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, she produced the drawings of buildings pictured on kiosks and plaques recently installed to promote and memorialize different historical sites in Haleiwa. The illustrations are also used in the Chamber’s “Walking Tour of Haleiwa: An Historic Village by the Sea” brochure.

Now that the pandemic restrictions are easing, Ilona is looking forward to conducting children’s art classes again because “they are so ready to learn anything.” She also looks forward to doing some adult classes. Recognizing that she is not getting any younger, she’s very grateful she still is able to participate in what she loves, and she has no plans of slowing down.

Ilona Hemperly’s books and other items featuring her artwork are on sale at the following North Shore businesses: Matsumoto Store, Growing Keiki, The Cove across from Shark’s Cove, and Full Fathom Five by the Kahuku shrimp farms.