Arcade Games

 

Arcade games in the Top Town Arcade - Saying it like that makes it seem like the perfect place for Play2Win to be in town. As I was drawing and painting, people seemed to come in waves. I'd say it was before and after the times at the movies, which in New Plymouth is just an escalator ride upstairs.

Coastal Walkway

 

Drawing and painting on the Coastal Walkway in New Plymouth. 

Napier

A bunch of sketchers agreed to meet virtually in Napier to sketch. Since we were all stuck at home, we used Google streetview and then shared the result with a group video chat.

Te Henui

The very rare sunny winter day off. What a beauty! I have to give credit to Maurice for the idea to come down to Te Henui stream to draw and paint. I could have happily sat there all day and sketched.

Ngamotu Beach

Quick watercolour sketch of Ngamotu Beach at low tide.

Colourize Project: Railway Walkway

Here's another sketch from three years ago that I've added to my 'Colourize Project' where I take old sketches and give them the colour treatment. This was sketched a couple weeks before the Christmas holiday and wrote this:
"This is an old railway line with a pretty cool stone wall that runs between two busy streets in New Plymouth. Now it's just for people. On each side of this thin park is crazy traffic caused by crazy people, desperate to finish their year-end chores. Everyone is so rushed here in New Zealand at this time of year. A Christmas / Summer combo holiday makes people insane, irrational and very tired. The big solid rock walls insulated against the noise and was a nice lunch hour time-out from the frenzied late-December pace."

Huatoki eels

I decided that I wasn't done with the Huatoki Plaza so I did a watercolour sketch of the people feeding the eels that live the Huatoki stream. Most people that cross the pedestrian bridge like to stop and have a look over the edge to see how huge and freaky these things are looking today.

(The 2nd half of the video looks a bit strange with the walkway and the sky reflection; it's like the eels are in the sky or something.)

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.)

Sushi Ninja Express

I had some time to kill at the local mall so I went and did a sketch of the sushi restaurant on the top floor. It's the kind that has the plates circulating on conveyors so that you can choose as you are seated. Normally when I'm there (eating, not sketching), I can be a while since I like seeing the selections go by and I just like, you know... eating. The two people in my drawing just came in and started on the first plate in front of them. They had their business faces on, had multiple plates and were gone in 10 under minutes. So I learned that this place is really good if you don't have a lot of time. It was also a reminder that when drawing people, when you start, commit to it! You don't know when anyone can move or leave.

Te Henui Bridge

This is a pedestrian bridge that forms part of the Coastal Walkway. It crosses the Te Henui stream just before it flows into the sea. I did the watercolour about half a year ago but I didn't really like it and put it away. After I did the pen sketch, I pulled out the other one to compare (as it was of the same place). Maybe it wasn't finished, maybe it needed more paint, maybe the darks weren't dark enough... It's hard to say since I'm sort of just starting to use watercolours myself. So I went back into it and did some more painting; it's much better than before. I saved it but it's a lesson in how important it is to get the right amount of paint/water when putting down colours the first time on a page.

Kawaroa slide to the sea

Just a quick one of a couple of slides in a park by the Coastal Walkway. Spring is almost here. This winter I've noticed a bunch of sketches and coloured sketches that have never been scanned or and/or uploaded. I've also added to the pile so I'm going to try to catch up so and start fresh for the better weather.

Colourize Project: Blagdon Hill

More rain!.. So I'm dusting off some old sketches again and giving them the colour treatment. This one is from the hill in Blagdon. It's a patch of steep farmland surrounded by houses. The local New Plymouth station, Access Radio Taranaki, broadcasts from the top and they have great sea views from up there.

Port Taranaki

The other day I was biking around the port area, looking for something to draw. I noticed a road sign that said 'Port View Crescent'. I've never been there before but with a name like that I went up the road hoping for a good view. Not much yet so I turned off a side street and had a nice open vista over Port Taranaki. Actually, between the end of a driveway and the start of an open grassy strip there was a park bench. I'm not sure who's it was but it overlooked the port and was out of the sun and under a tree. So if someone's reading this and noticed, "Hey... that's my bench", I hope you don't mind and thanks for putting it there!

Inglewood Columns

Here's another one from Inglewood. In between these columns is a view of people sweating while trying to finish off their Christmas shopping. We like to get ready for the holidays early, so I have lots of time to sketch the last-minute desperation.

Colourize Project: Rangimarie Paritutu

Here's another from what I call my Colourize Project, which is taking previous sketches, usually going back to where I drew them, and giving them the watercolour treatment.
This is of the Rangimarie Arts & Crafts Centre with Paritutu in the background. This has been in the news lately since it is to be moved from the port area to allow for seaport expansion.

Out-of-Towners

The local government is using a few of my drawings to promote interest in a plan for the future of the region. One thing that was said was that I should get out of New Plymouth more and get the neighbouring towns. So I did a sketch of Inglewood and Waitara and they are being used too. I figure I could still do a few more in each place as well.

Paritutu

Paritutu is a 150 metre tall volcanic rock on the coast of New Plymouth at Port Taranaki. It's a pretty weird mix of nature and industry here. You can climb the thing and see Mount Taranaki, the Tasman Sea and the natural coastline of cliffs and black ironsand beaches. Then turn around and you get the start of the port and tank farms. The smokestack that's there is from an old gas power station and is taller at about 200 metres.

Winter in Huatoki Plaza

It doesn't take much sun to change Taranaki people's minds to get outside. A break in the rain and everyone's walking in different directions like they're on a mission. I've drawn the Huatoki Plaza in New Plymouth a number of times. I was looking at my sketch archives and noticed that they are pretty much all done in the winter. So here I am again. I was on a mission too.

Radio Hill in Blagdon

From the Access Radio Taranaki broadcast tower hill in New Plymouth, you can see the Blagdon shops and the horizon line goes out to sea. It's a bit weird that this hill has cows grazing around it in the middle of houses. An oasis of rural in suburbia. A few years ago I drew the front of the shops and the hill and the radio towers are in the background. I'm still amazed that the convenience store is still open beside the 4 Square (which is a chain of small grocery stores). It seemed like poor planning having a shop that sells the same kind of stuff (but with less group wholesale buying power), open roughly the same hours, and with less product selection. Yet years later, it still exists. I wonder if there is a secret.