10th Anniversary Urban Sketchers Sketch Walk

Colourize Project: Rangimarie Paritutu

Here's another from what I call my Colourize Project, which is taking previous sketches, usually going back to where I drew them, and giving them the watercolour treatment.
This is of the Rangimarie Arts & Crafts Centre with Paritutu in the background. This has been in the news lately since it is to be moved from the port area to allow for seaport expansion.

Perepere and Paepae

Carving in front of a storehouse.  Found in a swamp.  Items in Puke Ariki museum.  This carving surprisingly has ears.

Paepae dug up from a local swamp in 1904.  The main speakers sit on these carved front benches at the threshold of a meeting house.

Paritutu

Paritutu is a 150 metre tall volcanic rock on the coast of New Plymouth at Port Taranaki. It's a pretty weird mix of nature and industry here. You can climb the thing and see Mount Taranaki, the Tasman Sea and the natural coastline of cliffs and black ironsand beaches. Then turn around and you get the start of the port and tank farms. The smokestack that's there is from an old gas power station and is taller at about 200 metres.

51st Sketch Crawl

                               

Maori Artifacts

 World Wide Sketch Crawl day today - our local theme was Maori and Colonial.

Hei Tiki - Hei means to suspend and tiki is human form.  Often made from an old adze its shape tended to be tomahawk shaped.  Made of Pounamu traded up from the west coast of the South Island it was considered treasured.  Taonga - treasures tended to gain their value/ mana from who had owned them previously.

Patu - whalebone mere.  Note that even the little figure inscribed is  also holding a mere.  More used as a stabbing hand to hand weapon.

Putorino flute often made from two pieces of Mati (black pine) lashed together.

Paepae - carving likely from a bench in front of a meeting house.  In local style with pointy heads and pungawerewere (spiderweb) decoration.

Maori Arifacts

Drawn by Patricia - Puke Ariki

Motonui Epa

Forty years ago these Motonui Epa (back panels of a storehouse) found in a swamp were spirited out of the country to a Bolivian collector for USD65.000.  The government bought them back for 4.5 million this year, and they were returned to Taranaki.  Distinctively our style with serpentine bodies, the pointed heads and pu-werewere (spider web) decoration.

A challenge to draw as the display was slowly rotating, so we had much exercise over the hour's drawing. 

Brian suggested trying a dark background to 'pop' them out.

Maori Carvings

Sketched by Patricia

Prow Head

This canoe prow figurehead in Puke Ariki museum depicts North Taranaki style carving.  Te Atiawa, from the early 1800's