VeeDub Microbus

1975 Volkwagen Type 2 Kombi Microbus

VW Easter Rally

Several hundred VWs of all vintages from beetles to combies to passants lined East End Reserve for the Easter car rally

The Sharpes were keen to have their eyelashes included

Pierre's painting & sketch

When in China recently I discovered a French work colleague also has passion for sketching (and painting).  He was gracious enough to share a couple.

Easter gardening

Lost in the new compost bin

Bracken St House

Drawn from the top of a ladder to peer over the greenery from the road, this sketch turned out to be a little laboured

Happier with this 10 min quicke of the pre 1914 home with fretwork and finials

Download, playing at an Engagement Party.  Sketched in the dark next to the speakers meant choosing colours was almost a lucky dip.

Mangahewa 3 well head, already producing but now drilling another 4 km well in a different direction - inland from Motonui

 

House with character

Murray Dewhurst, from Auckland, has a pretty good streak going on the old New Zealand villas lately. (In particular, this post.) This week's subject was one of the Taranaki examples of these type of houses. While most villas aren't this large, this specimen is certainly a worthy challenge. This one took about three hours on location and maybe another hour and a bit to clean up my lines at home. These types of houses have lots of detail.

Port Taranaki from Churchill Heights.

Today I sketched the view out to Port Taranaki from the top of Churchill Heights.
This hill is named Churchill Heights to commemorate in perpetuity the gratitude of the people of this district for the faith courage and resolution inspired by the leadership of the Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill, P.C., O.M., C.H., Prime Minister of Great Britain 1940 - 1945

Previously this hill was called Caverhill.

Here is my sketch:

Marsland Hill.

Today we sketched from Marsland Hill. This was a European stronghold during the Maori Wars.

Here are two images from archives:

New Plymouth in about 1857, looking south. Marsland Hill stockade is in the distance on the left, with St Mary's Anglican Church below it to the right.
When war broke out in 1860 New Plymouth was a small town. Fewer than 3000 Europeans lived in Taranaki province, nearly all of them in the vicinity of the provincial capital. Seven hundred adult Pakeha males were confronted by twice as many Maori. Only troops could ensure the settlement's safety.

I sketched one of the views looking towards the New Plymouth Clock Tower and the Tasman Sea.

Here is my sketch:

 

References:

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/Cow01NewZ-fig-Cow01NewZ163a.html

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/new-plymouth-1857

Shanghai

All work and no play - three pics only in three weeks.

The Bund - Shanghai

Tianzifang, Shanghai

 

                                                          Band at the Blue Marlin

Drinks at the Blue Marlin - Pudong

Small bridge in Pukekura Park

Just a quick one of the small bridge in Pukekura Park near the Boat Shed. (By quick, I still mean about an hour!)