Occasionally Auckland Sketchbook escapes the city to somewhere interesting — and close. This time the sketchbook got a workout in The Bay of Islands . Only 3.5 hours by car and a world away from work. The sketch above was made in down-town Paihia, it doesn't look it, but it is literally behind the main street. The view is the back of an old homestead called Williams House . I was attracted by the orchard of very old fig trees on the left that had me imagining eating juicy ripe figs. Sadly they weren't in season but it must be a fun place at harvest time. Right over the other side of the bay you will find his falling down old house on Matauwhi Bay. For a while there the water had a turquoise glow until the sun went into hiding. This is Pompallier House and Clendon Cottage in Russell sketched with my back to the sea. I may have used a little too much artistic licence in moving them close enough together to fit on my page so don't look too closely. Anyway, I have sketched Po...
By now you've probably heard about or seen the changes down at the Wynyard Quarter on Auckland's revitalised waterfront which officially opened on Saturday morning. There is so much fantastic new stuff to check out down there I guarantee I'll be back with more sketches of the area soon.
Something that's interesting though is the amount of old stuff that's part of the development. For a start there are the trams that return after an absence of over 50 years, they look great in 'carnation red', apparently the colour of our original trams, I got a sketch as they left their shed on Packenham Street first thing yesterday...
Other old stuff includes Silo park comprising the historic silos on the western end of Jellicoe Street (apparently kept as a nod to the areas industrial past). If you got a chance to climb to the top on opening day you would have had a spectacular view of the whole area including the old sheds (redeveloped as funky restaurants and bars), Michio Ihara's reinstated Wind Tree sculpture, and old fishing bouys repainted and arranged jauntily about the place.
Something that's interesting though is the amount of old stuff that's part of the development. For a start there are the trams that return after an absence of over 50 years, they look great in 'carnation red', apparently the colour of our original trams, I got a sketch as they left their shed on Packenham Street first thing yesterday...
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PS From your sketch of the canoes I've learned that a blog friend has family connections to the Great Voyage. Thanks again.