Studebaker & Potter

This 1951 Studebaker Champion has the trimline name of Starlite Coupe owing to its 180 degree 'greenhouse' rear window.  It also sports the bomber nosed grill

1955 Studebaker President Speedster

Barbara potting at the Vicarage

Te Henui Vicarage

This week we went to the Te Henui Vicarage at the eastern end of Courtenay Street. There stands a relic of the past, unique amongst church buildings in New Zealand. That it was designed for some ecclesiastical purpose, is evidenced by the coat of arms of the Diocese of New Zealand, on the building. This heraldic device of three stars on a blue background is let into the wall above the attic window. The small stone building is all that remains to show that the first vicarage of the parish of St. Mary's and Holy Trinity was situated on that land. For this building stones were hauled by bullocks from Te Henui stream and limestone was brought from Nelson. The original roof was thatched and this was later replaced, first by shingles and later by iron. The Te Henui Vicarage is one of New Zealand's oldest buildings built in 1843.

Here is my sketch done round the back:

View from the front:

Ngamotu Beach.

It was a beautiful warm autumn afternoon yesterday, so we went to Ngamotu Beach. Some sketched at the sailing club and others in the surrounding area. I sat looking down onto the beach and I even went for a swim! Although the light breeze was warmer than the water, it was still pleasant. I think autumn is my favourite time of the year.

Here is my sketch:

And a photo:

Port Lifters

 Luciano Fantuzzi founded the company in Reggio Emilia in 1960.  Today it is a big name worldwide in container loading forklifts.  A group of these monsters were parked up at the Port, next to the yacht club.

Ruben with brush and water was giving the clinker a scrub.

New Plymouth Yacht Club

NP Yacht Club yard

 

Maurice sketching yachts

 

Sketched by Patricia



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.