Moturoa

 

Even though I'm sketching at the Moturoa shops, this really is just a sketch of this awesome tree on the top of the hill.

Taranaki Garden Festival 2022 (2 of 2)

 

Here's the second one that I did on the garden festival weekend but only just decided to watercolour it too. It was a breezy day and I found myself at this picnic area overlooking a stream that was out of the wind. After sketching this one, I noticed that this garden had a place where you could get scones with jam and cream. Will draw for food!

Taranaki Garden Festival 2022 (1 of 2)

I had seen that Theory Food was setting up a pop-up cafe in one of the gardens for the GardenFest. Of course I had to go and try all the cakes. While I was there, I hammered out a sketch too. I just used a pen, on location. Later, after it was sitting in my sketchbook for a while, I decided to give it the watercolour treatment on a rainy weekend.

Fountain Lake

When I drew this lake before, I didn't draw the fountain since I didn't really know how to tackle it. The water jets change as it does its cycle. When it stops, you have to wait for some kid to push the button again. (It goes for about 2 minutes each time.) The mist goes everywhere and it just 'looks like white'. So I sort of just tried to not really draw that area, and hint a little at what was behind the water, as the trees behind it appeared through it.

View from my window

 

Here's a view from my window. A little bit of sun made it more appealling to sketch.  I've never drawn this view before since it always just seemed like too much at once. So many leaves! And tree ferns! So overwhelming. Well, I think I managed to find a way to draw it all without drawing EVRY leaf.

My window view

New drawing of an old subject with a new type of pen.

Palm tree in the rain

In July, I drew our palm tree in the rain. This week, I added some colour to it.

Pukekura Park

Drawing and painting the lake in Pukekura Park. I put another layer of pen after the watercolours (that is not shown in the video.)

Brougham Street tree

You could say that this is a sketch of the hotel on the corner. You could also say that this is a view of Brougham Street looking out to the sea. It actually is of the the large inner-city tree at the top of the hill. That other stuff just happens to be in it too.

Fountain Lake

In Pukekura Park, there is a lake that has a fountain in the middle of it. A button on the edge activates a cycle of alternating water patterns for a couple of minutes. Kids love pushing it to get the fountain started. When I was there, a couple of men in suits were walking around doing work. I could tell because they were pointing at many things. One of them pointed to the button and the other one pressed it. Big smiles all around. Businessmen love the fountain too.

The Old Cookhouse, Albert Town

The Old Cookhouse, Albert Town, Wanaka

It's been a summer for taking my sketchbooks into the hills and filling them with landscape paintings of the beautiful scenery that southern New Zealand is so well known for. Lots and lots of plein air sketching, but almost no urban sketching this year!

So it was such a treat to spend a morning with the Wanaka Painter's Group in Albert Town (just outside Wanaka) sketching the old cookhouse that was once part of the big station next to the Clutha River.

And finally something appropriate for sharing with all of you :-)


Renee Walden
www.scatterlings.co.nz

Pukekura Park Tea House

In the attempt to stay out of the heat, I went into Pukekura Park to sketch in the shade. As I sketched the Tea House on the lake, I kept thinking how they sell ice cream. Of course I was too weak to resist.

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.

Colourize Project: Pohutukawa Tree

Here's a watercoloured sketch of a Pohutukawa tree. It's a native New Zealand species that has bright red flowers at this time of the year. I've heard some Kiwis say that this is a New Zealand Christmas tree (I guess from them being red and green over the holiday season).

Up the river

Fancy for a boat tour on the Avon?  Enjoy a sunny afternoon with the family on a guided journey up the river on Christchurch. Come an see the duckling, the eels and explore the botanical gardens nature on a very romantic tour.

That palm tree

There's lots of wind and rain this summer. So far I haven't been that productive. When I get like this I just draw our palm tree that I see from my desk. I've drawn it about five years ago (included here) and I'm surprised that I can see how much it's grown just by looking at the two drawings. It's hard to notice when you see it everyday. About two years ago I did a watercolour and that's included in this set too.

Ombu

Here's a sketch of a 150-year old creepy looking tree. The hotel, where it's at, was somewhat built around it to keep it. It's actually a NZ Registered Notable Tree although when it was listed the site was still a church property.

Aro Park

Woman with tree growing out of head. Composition dictated by my desire to sit rather than stand. Such is urban sketching.

Old Railway Line

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.

4 palms

A row of four palm trees in front of a church, alongside a busy New Plymouth intersection. I had a few people shout from the cars during the red lights that my drawing was starting to come along. If you're one of those in traffic, checking out the finished version here, this one's for you.