Jets

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to be invited to sketch inside the hangar of some local aviators. There were three Yaks, 2 de Havilland Vampires and this L-39 Albatross which is a Czechoslovakian jet fight trainer.
Originally, I though we were going to draw just the Yaks which are Russian propellor planes. When I found out that there were jets there too, I had an ear to ear grin and could have happily sat in there all day and sketched. It was just us and the planes with permission to walk around the building and look inside the cockpits. When we left were were offered the chance to come back again. I wonder how long we will be able to resist?

At the edge of urban - Part 2

This is a sketch of some people at the Taranaki Poultry and Pigeon Club Annual Show. In some ways this feels like the edge of urban sketching since it's a bit farm-related. Still, there are two things make me think that it still qualifies.
Firstly, it is held in a town hall and this is a reminder that all centres in the province of Taranaki are still dependent on farming (in different percentages) to keep the economies running smoothly. And secondly, I've heard that New Zealand has a rule where no birds or eggs are allowed into the country to prevent an exposure to bird flu - so the varieties and breeds that are here need to be well managed. It's also (maybe as a result) starting to be more and more common for someone to keep some chickens on suburban properties. I'm mentioning this since in quite a few places in the urban world, keeping animals like this is probably illegal.
A fellow sketcher even purchased a couple that were for sale to add to her existing coop. As a buyer, she had quite a selection to choose from. There were all types of chickens and pigeons with a few ducks as well.
It makes sense to integrate the rural into the cities since they maybe aren't that separate anyway.
(At the edge of urban - Part 1)