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...
I've wanted to sketch this place on Richmond Road for years. It's not used these days, fenced and razor wired off. It's part of The United Church of Tonga, right next to their church, hence the Tongan flag flying proudly.
Have heard the story about this place being haunted, something to do with a fire that supposedly killed residents back when it was a home for orphan boys. I understand that is in fact not true. It's a bit spooky looking for sure and I guess it's more interesting if people make stuff up.
It certainly would look great done up.
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