About & Contact

Auckland Sketchbook was started in May 2010 by Murray Dewhurst, a graphic designer and illustrator based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Initially conceived as a vehicle to improve my drawing ability, by posting regularly my practice inadvertently became a record of life in Auckland. Almost all of the sketches shown here are sketched quickly on location from direct observation.


I was invited to join Urban Sketchers as New Zealand correspondent in 2011. It has been a huge privilege to contribute to USk over the years, it has made a huge impact on my observational, sketching and writing ability and it opened my eyes to the potential of 'reportage drawing' – storytelling through images. For a number of years I contributed as an editor to the Urban Sketchers website, helping to bring interesting storytelling content through words and sketches to thousands of readers all over the world.

I recently published Kōpiko Aotearoa, Quick sketches and slow pedaling across Te-ika-a-Maui and my sketches have appeared in The Art of Urban Sketching by Gabi Campanario, Reportage and Documentary Drawing by Veronica Lawlor, Architecture and Cityscapes by Gabi Campanario, Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People by Róisín Curé and 5-Minute Sketching Architecture by Liz Steel.

On the illustration front, I recently designed and illustrated Bruce wants to go faster written by Dreydon Sobanja, which has recently won a Storylines Notable Book award.

You can read my articles at Urban Sketchers here. Sketches are available for sale as prints and I welcome illustration and sketch commissions.

Phone:  +64 21 444 766