Good & Bad Parking

Even though these racks are for bicycles, the scooter beside the upright rack shows an example of good parking. The bent over one adjacent to the parallel car park area shows a past-tense example of bad parking.

Ava the greyhound

At the 'We Love Dogs Expo' I was drawing the dogs that I loved the most - the greyhounds.

Rover 3500

I was talking to the owner of this car as I drew this. He said that he bought the Rover 3.5 brand-new in 1972. He's also had several cars since then, but always kept this one. I really liked it too.

Hong Kong Fast Food

A couple of sketches ago I posted the Broadway Fast Food in Stratford. Today, I'm bringing you the Hong Kong Fast Food from New Plymouth. I don't know why it's called that really. They specialise in meat and potato roast dinners. (Just like the ones you can get in Hong Kong?)

New Plymouth Coastal Walkway

"...and at the first sign of sun, the urban sketcher leaves his studio of hibernation to once again draw and paint the world." (It seems bit early for weather this nice, but I'll take it.)

Broadway Fastfood

This is a sketch of the signage for a takeaway restaurant in Stratford. My favourite part is the hand-painted signage since we're seeing that kind of stuff less all the time. Most businesses these days have computer printed signs and the hand-painted sign is a bit of a lost art. My second favourite part is the claim of the "Great Tasting Healthier Takeaway". That seems a pretty gutsy, yet hard to prove, boast. Finally, the fact that this place is "Fully Licensed". So basically if you're there to pick up some fish & chips, you can probably get a gin & tonic.

Moturoa BP

Five years ago, I did this sketch of a weird BP service station in Moturoa. Since it was kind of a house with fuel pumps in front of it, I wondered how long it would last in today's safety regulated world. It turns out, about 2 years. The new modern replacement looks like any other in the world and has a bit less charm. It does have a small cafe inside the kiosk though, in case you want to sit around and watch people pump gas*. 

(*like me)

Turquoise

Winter sketching means having a cooked breakfast in a warm cafe and sketching from the window.

New Plymouth Airport (NPL)

If you are ever sketching people at an airport and you hear someone using a phone say, "Where are YOU?.. I'm at the airport... You haven't left yet?" This means that they are there way too early and are about to not only move, but go back home.

Len Lye Selfies

What to do on a New Plymouth weekend? Take a selfie in the stainless steel surface of the Len Lye Centre. (Long exposure, above, and short exposure, below. The third one was from about 18 months ago.)

Chinese Garden

Here's my sketch from the Chinese Garden, here in New Plymouth. I did the watercolour on the mid-left a while ago and the top-right one was sketched by Scott Wilson. It shows me sitting in the pavilion, getting the one last sunburn of the summer.

NZ Army Truck

There's a New Zealand Army recruitment office in New Plymouth. Sometimes, it will have a cool truck parked around the back. It's a type of older 1980's Mercedes-Benz Unimog with big tires and awesome tread.