Raleigh House

Raleigh House - corner of Weymouth and Hine Streets

Ozone Coffee *** Roasters - New Plymouth.  Excellent industrial atmosphere - and even pens and table to draw along with the battered leather couches.

Trish and I travelled to Central Otago in 2012 and stayed at the lovely "OLIVERS"  at Clyde-  a fully restored gold rush era stables and out building .  I did a quick sketch at the time and left it . I found the old book and on a cold Taranaki winter day decided to rekindle the enjoyment of that trip. MLB

it was the day of the All Blacks v. France , New Plymouth. people had been in town refore the game . Great atmosphere.  MLB

Reo Moana

I pass these art deco apartments as I cycle to work most days. They have a Māori name, Reo Moana. Reo meaning language or voice and Moana meaning ocean or sea. I you lived here you would be able to see and, maybe more importantly, listen to the Tasman Sea.

The Top of Town & the Bottom of Town

 New Plymouth's main shopping area runs from the top to the bottom of a hill. Shops at the top are said to be 'at the Top of Town' while those further down the street are 'at the Bottom of Town'. Radio and newspaper ads for businesses in between are described as 'on the hill'. Although it seems a little weird, I can't imagine how else you can describe it.

(If you are looking at the sign and wondered who won, New Zealand beat France 24-9.)

Ships in the Port

I thought this ship had a reasonably interesting name... Fortune Hero!

Huatoki Plaza Farmers Market

Kathy's Kete stall - Huatoki Plaza market - buzzing pre All Blacks France match on a gorgeous winters day

Puke Ariki 10th Anniversary

Gumboot Tango

Kapa haka workshop at TE TAKAPOU WHĀRIKI

Waiheki Island

small bays , water craft waiting for their owners to come and take them out . What a loverly place.MLB

stone sculpures

The New Plymouth stone sculptures are a real feature . This sketch is of a carving of a young woman , local stone , highly polished for the face and shoulders and rough treatment for the hair. Amazing result.

Tombow book reaches Japan

I was very pleasantly surprised to see my book "A Pen full of Light" displayed on the Tombow Japan Facebook page.  All in Japanese of course:

Compliments to Brian who helped me put the 'light' on the pen and for Angela for helping proofread it originally.

Around Paritutu

Nose against the wire fence of the scrap metal yard in a biting wind I flicked off this:

From the warmth of the car, I got this crude rendition of the Rangimarie Maori arts and crafts centre.

Texting woman

This woman in the library was oblivious to my furtive sketching and so absorbed in her texting. The perfect model.

Richmond Cottage

The old and the new with Richmond Cottage and a corner of Puke Ariki facade. The palm was fun to draw.

Clocktower

Today, yet another angle of our clock tower!
The original clock tower was part of the 1907 Post Office knocked down in 1969.  The new tower with original clock and mechanism was built in 1986.

The tower to the right is an earlier version when decorated in retro style.

This one drawn lying down in the middle of the traffic island  The other with the White Hart nearby

 

Diggers working on the controversial new Len Lye Centre