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.

Te Henui Stream, New Plymouth NZ

a lovely day by the Te Henui stream at New Plymouth's East End beach. This area is a reserve with great acticities for all age groups.

23rd September 2017. Richmond Cottage.

The mission last Saturday was to sketch Richmond cottage. It has a new roof. Twenty thousand cedar roof tiles applied by specialist roofers, (I think from Canada). Unfortunately I was the only sketcher to show up, but I did my bit for the team! It was a nice day, but a bit cold, so I finished this one at home.

Here is my sketch:

Pen, wash and watercolour.
I liked the juxtaposition of the old, Richmond Cottage, against the new, Puke Ariki air Bridge, with this one.

55th World Wide Sketchcrawl Day.

Maurice was in Hamilton for Sketchcrawl Day. He still wanted to participate so he slotted this sketch of the Fairfield Bridge into his busy schedule:

55th World Wide Sketchcrawl Day

Mary hid herself away off the path to get a better view of Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.

Here is her sketch:

55th World Wide Sketchcrawl Day.

Today was the 55th World Wide Sketchcrawl Day. Some of our group members were away or not well, so we only had a small group this time. We still got out there though!

The theme we decided on after a bit of thought and discussion was 'Bridges'. We Hoped this would mean the members of our group that weren't here could still participate.

It was a glorious day today. Perfect weather for going out sketching. Before lunch I went to the East End Reserve and walked from there along the Te Henui Walkway to the second walking bridge across the Te Henui Stream. I set myself up beside the path and began to sketch. It was rather an interesting location to sit, as a lot of walkers and their dogs came past. People were constantly coming over to have a look at my sketch and a chat. One couple posed on the bridge and waited for me to look up. I'd just been talking to them about whether to put people into the sketch or not. We had a good giggle over that. One man even told me I'd drawn his house.

Here is my sketch:

Te Henui Walking Bridge.

In the afternoon I went to Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. Another walking bridge over the Waiwhakaiho River. I went there last weekend and got rained out, so ended up sketching in the car. Today the weather was the opposite to that. Hot and sunny. There were heaps of people there. So many I couldn't see the bridge at times! I had no choice but to put a couple in.

Here is my sketch:

And here's some photos of Te Rewa Rewa Bridge and the Waiwhakaiho River:

Lake Rotomanu and Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.

Saturday Sketching on a rather iffy day. In the end we opted for this view across Lake Rotomanu of Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.

Poet's Bridge, Pukekura Park.

A lovely sunny afternoon sitting sketching by the lake in Pukekura Park today. I decided to try
the Poet's Bridge again today.

Here is my sketch:
Pen and wash with watercolour.

The Taranaki Herald reported on 24 April, 1883 that, "the lucky winner who drew The Poet in the Auckland Autumn Handicap Sweepstake resides in New Plymouth, and has determined, in consequence of his good fortune, to erect a suspension bridge across the lake in the Recreation Grounds, to be called, we believe, "The Poet's Corner."

The lucky punter was James T. Davis, a local New Plymouth businessman, and the sum donated was £150. In the end the bridge was a fixed wooden structure with a span of 70 feet and has always been known as "The Poet's Bridge".

It was designed by Mr Henry Vere Barclay and the contruction was the responsibility of Mr Hooker. He was assisted by Mr William Campbell (carpenter), Mr James Bellringer (painter) and Mr James Revell (blacksmith). The bridge was officially opened on the evening of 10 March, 1884 by the Mayoress, Mrs Bayly.

In a tragic twist of fate, the donor, Mr Davis, was found drowned under the bridge in 1891.
The original bridge was rebuilt in 1938. Its colour scheme is based on the famous red-lacquered Shinkyo Bridge at Nikko,Japan.

Ref: Kete, PukeArili, George Fuller Collection.

Te Henui Walkway

Today we went to sketch the new footbridges on the Te Henui Walkway near Spencer Place. They were designed by Opus Graduate Engineer Cameron Moratti. It was a lovely day for sketching. As we sat and sketched lots of people were whizzing past on their bikes or walking with their dogs.

Here is a photo:

I used this sketch as an exercise in negative painting to capture light. I liked the look of the trees against the sky so I didn't so much sketch the bridge, more the trees and the surroundings.

Here is my sketch:

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge Waiwhakaiho.

Today Eileen and I decided to get outside and paint outdoors. At the start of the day the weather didn't look promising, but our luck held out. The colours in the clouds and the sea were spectacular!
I decided to try a sky painting. We sat looking towards Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, painting and watching the world go by.

Here is my effort:

The clouds were changing constantly, so it was hard work!

Here is photo I took that I was particularly pleased with:

Taken from Paris Plage at East End Beach.

Tunnel to the Sea

This is a view through a pedestrian underpass connecting the sea to downtown New Plymouth. It's like a tunnel under a series of 3 bridges: a 4-lane road, a train bridge and a pedestrian bridge for a walkway that hugs the coastline. One direction opens to the centre of town and I drew this view first (The bottom sketch). The way the pavement takes a right curve, a lone gate pole, and terraced seating beside a stream that flows under another road makes this a pretty weird drawing. When I finished this one, I took a look and if I had never been there, I'm not sure if I would be able to tell what this was a sketch of. So I didn't blog it right away. A few weeks later, I wondered if drawing another one towards the water would help illustrate this area. It turns out that the seaside one is pretty weird as a drawing too. At high tide the waves were crashing at the mouth of a stream that empties into the salt water.

I invite people who haven't been to New Plymouth to let me know what they think of these two. If you didn't read my description, would these, visually, make any sense at all?

Taranaki across Lake Rotomanu.

Last weekend we went to Lake Rotomanu and Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. It was a beautiful fine winter's day, and the views were stunning. There were even some hardcore jet skiers on the lake!

But they were far too fast to sketch!

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge and Mount Taranaki.
You know you are home when you can see the Mountain!

Wednesday Art Group

Sadly today was our last day with Jane, so we took her out sketching and then to lunch in Okato.

This is the Stoney River Swing Bridge on Old South Road. It is at the start of the Stoney River Walkway.

Tricky, but fun to sketch!