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!

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.

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).

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.

Trees

Sketching Pridham Hall on the NPBHS cricket field

Sketches by Patricia

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.

Trees from Windy Point Hill

Sketched by Patricia

Fernery in Pukekura Park

A good place to practice drawing plants of all type is in Pukekura Park's Fernery. Didn't know about the weather last weekend so felt safe inside the glass roof.

Three of a kind

Another hot day in Taranaki avoiding sunburn under a tree and looking out to sea. The three large buildings in the mid-ground are on the same city block. I've always felt like they are related somehow and mentally group them together. Although totally unrelated in usage and architecture, I still to want to group them somehow.
When I finished this one I remembered another drawing I did in 2011 of the same three. Again, drawn together and framed in the same type of tree too. Included below are the original, before digital colouring, and the previous 2011 red pen of the same buildings.

Devon Street Homework

Back in 2012, I did this drawing from the bar across the street. Over a beer, and more importantly, a big bowl of wedges and sour cream I happily sat here for a while and sketched. In my blog, on the original post, I wrote:
"Just an older building on the main shopping street here in New Plymouth. I have a feeling that I may end up colouring this one since I took my time on this one and that the building in the centre is a bright red colour."
At the beginning of 2014, I kept my word to myself and digitally painted this one, walking by several times in those weeks to see what colour everything was. I took my time and then entered it into a large art show in this part of New Zealand. With the large number of artist entries, I was honoured that it made the show selection. You can see it on display until August 24 at Puke Ariki. On June 25th (from 6.00 to 7.30pm) there is a meet the artists event and I plan to be there with my original sketch. And a couple months later, on August 16th (1.30 to 3.00pm), I'll be giving a presentation about Urban Sketching and getting everyone to have a go. A mini-sketchcrawl. If you're in New Plymouth that weekend, grab your preferred art supplies and come down to do some drawing!

Original 2012 sketch

Link to the exhibition website