No really, how do you treat the treaty grounds? As a sketcher you kind of want to capture the essence and atmosphere of one our most important places, the place where our founding document was first signed by Maori chiefs and the English crown on the 6th of February 1840. It's also a place of drama every Waitangi Day as media whip up some nationwide alarm when sparks fly between protesters and politicians.
But I'm here today with the sketchbook, there's no drama at all, only sunshine, people playing cricket on manicured lawns, restored treaty houses and stunning views to a parasailer being towed slowly past a cruise ship moored in the glistening bay.
I decided I would have to cheat with this one - I wanted to fit it ALL in. So this is my attempt to try and squeeze Busby's house in on the left, the Meeting House square in the middle, the grounds with cricketers, the cruise liner and parasailer and even Russell township across the water, sadly the scene has lost some bush in the middle!