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...

Past & Present exhibition

I will be exhibiting sketches at the upcoming Past & Present exhibition at Railway Street Gallery in Newmarket from the 14th of March.

I'll be exhibiting alongside some well known and established painters too including John Horner, Graham Downs and David Barker. We all have our own styles and approach to the subject of heritage. I'll be showing my villa sketches in particular with many of them from the Ponsonby, Grey Lynn area with a few exceptions.

Check out the website for more information here and come along on the night to check them out and have a chat. The exhibition will be open until the 3rd of April.

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