Why sketch?

Some time ago I found an old wiro notebook in a drawer. A scruffy wiro bound notebook with a photo of 2 men in a kayak with a bear on the front cover. In that notebook I found terrible sketches drawn in pencil made while travelling in 1991.  One sketch leapt out at me. It was a rough pencil sketch of Mt Ararat from a backpacking trip to eastern Turkey. The sketch really surprised me – it was a very basic pencil sketch, drawn using a .5mm technical pencil on a cheap notepad. The sketch is just black and white… To my surprise the sounds and smells of the day came flooding back. Meeting some Kurdish goat herders and their flock near the base of Mt Ararat, about 10km from the Iranian border on a bright sunny but cool, alpine day. Along with memories of driving across the mountain steppe in an old Renault 19 and the smells of chai and coffee in a Doğubayazıt pasta solunu. It all came back come flooding back! Why did it evoke such vivid memories? I’m not really sure to be honest. Maybe t...

Voyage Te Mana o Te Moana

Voyage Te Mana o Te Moana by Mr Dewhurst
Voyage Te Mana o Te Moana, a photo by Mr Dewhurst on Flickr.
7 Waka Moana set sail from Auckland yesterday for Hawaii. Navigating by the stars in the traditional Polynesian style from Auckland to Hawaii via French Polynesia (and eventually San Francisco).

On left, Te Matau a Maui (NZ, Aotearoa), centre Gaualofa (Samoa), and right, Uto Ni Yalo (Fiji). They sail via Fakarava, Nuku Hiva (French Polynesia.), Hilo, Kawaihae, Honolulu (and eventually San Francisco)! Brave.

You can follow the voyage here —
www.pacificvoyagers.org

Comments

Anonymous said…
I thought I commented on this drawing, but maybe it was on the urban sketchers site. I really think you did a wonderful job on this scene. I wonder how they are doing. I'll double check, I should be following you. I look forward to more of your sketches.
Murray Dewhurst said…
Yes, I think you did, thanks for looking!