Starting a kete

Our local group went to sketch a traditional Māori weaving workshop at Te Wānanga O Aotearoa Rangiātea. To others not from New Zealand, this is the art of weaving flax fibres into objects such as a pouch, basket (kete) or even clothing. Also, what is known as flax here is not the common Northern hemisphere variety that is known as linseed which is used for its seeds, oil or fibres to make linen. The New Zealand flax grown here is known for its long and firm stringy leaves. In the past, ropes of NZ flax were used on ships and were the strongest that you could get... but back to the weaving!
Māori weaving is traditionally a passed-down skill but these days is often taught in classes. It really is an art and getting together to prepare the long fibres with family and friends is very social. The group of people weaving were catching up and talking about their classes. To pass a high level qualification, one has to tightly weave a number of containers that hold water. Everyone weaving all quickly agreed that while it can be done, it is quite difficult.

Three of a kind

Another hot day in Taranaki avoiding sunburn under a tree and looking out to sea. The three large buildings in the mid-ground are on the same city block. I've always felt like they are related somehow and mentally group them together. Although totally unrelated in usage and architecture, I still to want to group them somehow.
When I finished this one I remembered another drawing I did in 2011 of the same three. Again, drawn together and framed in the same type of tree too. Included below are the original, before digital colouring, and the previous 2011 red pen of the same buildings.

Not summer yet

The weather lately has been shocking and more rain for this weekend too. People dressing down to battle the elements.

Rainy Weather Sketching

The local sketchers made the call to sketch inside on this soggy morning so I've been practicing drawing plants today. 

(This is in the Fernery at Pukekura Park.)

Optimus Prime

I just got back from my original hometown in Canada, visiting family and friends. Lots of nostalgia and memories! We drove by my old school where, back in the 80's, we discussed the details of the latest episode of the Transformers. This time (in 2014), at a hotel across the street from the school, was a real Transformer. We stopped by and checked it out. Sure enough, it was the real deal. It was an Optimus Prime that I overheard was used in the some of the driving shots in the movies. The truck had Kentucky license plates and was in town for a truck show. Lots of people were stopping by and the kids with the ear to ear grins would shout something to their parents like, 'See?! I told you it was an Autobot!' At first I thought that there were security guards walking around the truck but it turns out that they were just cops who also stopped to check it out (and to snap a few selfies).

(I protected the identity of the cop in this picture... not because he was a police officer, but because I didn't want to get a transformers fan in trouble for not working!)

Braveheart

So I'm in this Irish pub in New Zealand. I've always thought that this place does a pretty good job of being an authentic pub that could be in Britain somewhere. Yes, I know... probably Ireland, but the decor of the inside is for the most part catering to Britain as a whole. When I was there I asked the guy next to me if he was from the UK and he gave me an "Aye'. I asked him, "does this place seem like a pub that could exist on the other side of the world?" He though about it but decided that it didn't. It turns out that even though the look inside isn't bad, it's just the fact that it is in New Zealand that prevents him from accepting the illusion.
When I was having a pint, I kept looking at this poster. It's been a while since the movie came out and it's now regarded as one of the least historically accurate movies out there. Also, it's an Australian actor playing a Scottish character in an American movie on a poster in an Irish pub in New Zealand. Does that make this object tacky and cliche? Now that the Scotland independence vote is about a week away, it's probably more relevant than it's been in years.

Taranaki sketchcrawl in New Plymouth

A model of a pre-historic shark (Megalodon) is suspended in the air as hungry visitors eat lunch.

One more week until my presentation on urban sketching at Puke Ariki. Since I haven't really been drawing tons lately, here is a post featuring a couple from my archives that didn't make the blogs. (I guess this is a B-Side Sketch post.) These two are of the museum/library that is currently hosting an art show of nearly 100 local artists called 'Homework: Taranaki art Now'. I was lucky enough to be selected and am organising a sketchcrawl on Saturday, the 16th of August at 1.30pm to 3.00pm. It starts with an introduction and slideshow and then after that, everyone goes out drawing. At 3, there will be a display and sketchbook swap so if you're interested, bring your sketchbooks and whatever art medium you prefer. 

The Mobile Library, in the back of Puke Ariki. It's a bus that travels around and stops at strategic places for readers to take out books from a rotating on-board selection. Stops usually included locations out-of-the-way and near retirement homes. A local school lost their library in a fire and that is another temporary stop until a new one is built.

Devon Street Homework

Back in 2012, I did this drawing from the bar across the street. Over a beer, and more importantly, a big bowl of wedges and sour cream I happily sat here for a while and sketched. In my blog, on the original post, I wrote:
"Just an older building on the main shopping street here in New Plymouth. I have a feeling that I may end up colouring this one since I took my time on this one and that the building in the centre is a bright red colour."
At the beginning of 2014, I kept my word to myself and digitally painted this one, walking by several times in those weeks to see what colour everything was. I took my time and then entered it into a large art show in this part of New Zealand. With the large number of artist entries, I was honoured that it made the show selection. You can see it on display until August 24 at Puke Ariki. On June 25th (from 6.00 to 7.30pm) there is a meet the artists event and I plan to be there with my original sketch. And a couple months later, on August 16th (1.30 to 3.00pm), I'll be giving a presentation about Urban Sketching and getting everyone to have a go. A mini-sketchcrawl. If you're in New Plymouth that weekend, grab your preferred art supplies and come down to do some drawing!

Original 2012 sketch

Link to the exhibition website

Honeyfield Fountain

On the left in this sketch is the Honeyfield Fountain. It's pretty old and is along the Coastal Walkway and a railway. The original idea was that was for people coming into New Plymouth by train. It would light the way at night and was a good idea if you were thirsty. (Soft drinks companies make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore.) The train station would have been behind the the large round tree somewhere. The station and the passenger rail service here are long gone. Now it's just a fountain but it is at a corner where two roads feed cyclists and pedestrians on to the popular sidewalk by the sea. I guess in a way it's still doing it's job of refreshing the travellers. 

Last year a car missed the corner and drove right through it. I actually thought that was it since it was a direct hit. Just the base of it was left where it used to be. After a year with some specialist fix-it guys, it's back and looks maybe better than ever.

(Of a sketching side-note, every time I draw a phoenix palm tree, I tell myself, 'this is the last time you draw one of these!' But... I'm always happy with the result, so I don't know. We'll see. It's like a chain-link fence that way.)

Lepperton Ride-On Lawnmower Race Day

So we went to a country school gala day to draw. To those not in New Zealand, this is a school fair that is a fundraiser. The classic raffles, food, bouncy castles, and skill games are all there. But Lepperton turned this one up to eleven and had the 2nd annual Ride-On Lawnmower Grand Prix. It really is what you expect and what it sounds like. You can modify your tiny tractor to some degree but the engine has to be legit. Then they set up a race track in the sports field and say goodbye to the lawn.

Maybe it's a little bit bogan (which is a downunder redneck) but it's all good fun and raised thousands of dollars for this small rural school. It was really sunny and hot so I took some video so I could document this but not have to sit in the sun. I went to sit in the shade and did a drawing of the little kids quad bikes. This is where kids paid a few bucks to race around a circle of hay bales and tires on throttled-down mini quad bikes while wearing oversized helmets. Half of them loved it and the other half seemed terrified. They certainly weren't as fast as the real racers on the day but maybe one of these kids will get a chance to compete in the big leagues in a future gala day.

Tunnel to the Sea

This is a view through a pedestrian underpass connecting the sea to downtown New Plymouth. It's like a tunnel under a series of 3 bridges: a 4-lane road, a train bridge and a pedestrian bridge for a walkway that hugs the coastline. One direction opens to the centre of town and I drew this view first (The bottom sketch). The way the pavement takes a right curve, a lone gate pole, and terraced seating beside a stream that flows under another road makes this a pretty weird drawing. When I finished this one, I took a look and if I had never been there, I'm not sure if I would be able to tell what this was a sketch of. So I didn't blog it right away. A few weeks later, I wondered if drawing another one towards the water would help illustrate this area. It turns out that the seaside one is pretty weird as a drawing too. At high tide the waves were crashing at the mouth of a stream that empties into the salt water.

I invite people who haven't been to New Plymouth to let me know what they think of these two. If you didn't read my description, would these, visually, make any sense at all?

Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am

 People in New Zealand really seem to like American cars. There's a festival called Americarna, that as a finale, has about 500 cars in a night parade and then the next day a show. This year they decided to close down the main shopping street (and some side streets) and just have it in the centre of town. It seemed pretty ambitious but I think it was a good idea. It was very popular. You can see in the photo that these parked classics take of a good number of city blocks. The good weather also helped.

As always, my favourite is the Pontiac Trans-Am (as long as there is a firebird on the hood). When I was a little kid, I had a friend who had a cousin who had an older cousin who had one of these. It was the fastest trip to McDonald's that I ever had. As a result, I can still remember the fear of the acceleration and respect for what this thing can do.