Tea House

Tea House , Pukekura Park, New Plymouth.   A real feature of the Park  and a long history as well. While the building still looks the same the interior was completely restored a few years back-  a very popular place . Click on the image for a larger view......MLB

Hard Helmet Diving Suit

New Zealand's had a lot of rain last weekend with quite a few places becoming flooded. Even with the rising levels of the Huatoki Stream beside it, one of the most dry places in Taranaki for sketching was in the museum in New Plymouth. I started to draw this 1950's hard helmet diving suit since I found it interesting and I was amazed that it was still used until the late 1960's. When I finished this drawing, I wondered if the staff might have to use it soon. It's supposed to rain again this weekend.

The New Len Lye Centre.

The Len Lye Centre is starting to take shape and is due to open on 25th July. Many thought it wouldn't be built due to the technical difficulty of the design and the enormous cost. The money for the project has been fund raised over many years as follows:

• $1m – TSB Community Trust, committed in 2009.
• $4m – Ministry for Arts Culture and Heritage Regional Museum Policy Fund, 2011.
• $0.5m – Lotteries’ Environment and Heritage Fund, 2011.
• $3m – Sole Founding Partner, Todd Energy, 2011.
• $0.305m private donors as of March 2014.
• $2.695m - Lotteries' Significant Projects Fund, March 2014.

The Len Lye Centre will be a dedicated space providing permanent access to Len Lye’s art and ideas while assuring the preservation of the Len Lye Collection and Archive for future generations. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the Len Lye Centre will operate as a combined facility.

The centre has huge reflective angulated stainless steel walls which have been designed by architects Patterson Associates and made by the Taranaki steel company Rivet.

When I first saw them going up I thought there was no way I was going to try and sketch that! Anyway we all gamely went up there, (now that nearly all of the steel is on), and tried our hand at reflective stainless steel!
Here is my sketch:

The landscaping isn't done yet, but the reflections of the surrounding buildings make for an interesting building that is not easy to sketch!

Kina

A crisp winter's day outside Kina

St Andrews

The good folks at St Andrews kindly opened up for us to sketch inside

View from the Gallery