Travel sketches - Lake Tekapo and Lake Hawea

Some days, I sketched more than others. I didn't sketch at all the day we went to Mount Cook. I would have needed a lot more time than we had. We walked to the Kea Point Lookout (probably the easiest walk in the National park, but we're not 20 anymore!) and I can't even remember if I was carrying my sketching bag or not. And I didn't sketch in Te Anau - again, enjoyed the walks around the area, and chilled out outside our motel room. But I did sketch a little in Lake Tekapo, and also at Lake Hawea, where we had a balcony overlooking the lake.

Travel sketches - Akaroa

Next stage of our trip - Akaroa - lovely town, could have sketched all the beautiful old and new houses, but sketched the hills and sea instead. It was glorious to wake up every day to the sound of the birds - sparrows and blackbirds, tuis and NZ bellbirds. Loved them all. And yes, I developed a fondness for some specific trees on the hill across from our motel balcony! And the sunsets were spectacular. My sketch doesn't do it justice.

Travel sketches - Travel and Christchurch

So much to talk about, and yet I can't find the words. New Zealand was amazing. Loved waking up every day to birdsong. My favourite being the Tui. Loved every mountain and lake. Then loved Melbourne, so vibrant, and the food and matcha cakes, with the extra bonus of sketching with some of the Urban Sketchers from the Melbourne chapter. 

Given that this wasn't a sketching trip, I actually managed to sketch quite a bit. Didn't do justice to Findlers Street Station, but I only had half an hour, so I'm pretty pleased with how much I got done. I need to add a few notes to the last few pages. Hopefully will get it done in the next few days.

The book is a Seawhite of Brighton, A4, cartridge paper. It buckles quite a bit, but works well with watercolour and pencils.

Highlight in Christchurch was to spend a morning with Dennis and sketch together. And to sketch the cathedral again. Apparently, they've run out of money and the repairs after the earthquake are on hold. You can find my sketch from two and a half years ago at this link - it really doesn't look like any progress has been made.

Pencils4tea 13 November 2025

It was extra fun to have Suhita and Nina posing for this session of Pencils4tea! And Kirsty too of course!

Softly softly

I've been painting rocks, stones and mountains for the last few months. But now, of course, I feel the pull of water vapour, clouds, waves. I think I will forever feel that tug between the elements. It will take a little while to adjust. I did little thumbnails (little for me, half a quarter sheet each) on cold press paper first. It was wishy washy, any movement in pigments disappearing in the long drying time. This was a wet day in November in Ireland. Nothing dries. Then I moved to Fabriano Unica print paper, and the pigments were happy, they danced on the sheet, and they made me happy too! I didn't have any reference image or sketch. Just let the water guide me.

Dublin Sketchers Christmas party

 Dublin Sketchers Christmas party. Not sure I can blame the jetlag.

Stone - close-up

From a close-up photo of a stone with lichen and what I believe are veins of quartz. I think it's those white veins that make the mountains shine in the sun. Done with neoart and watercolour on top.

Adding gouache on top of mulberry paper

This is an ongoing experiment in layering with watercolour, gouache and collage, plus some oil pastel. How far can I go to recover something that I actually like? Not there yet, although I quite like it some of the crops that I could do, which tells me I like the mark making, but not the composition.

Layer 1 - maybe I should have left it at that!

 Layer 2 (and really it's layer 5 if I count light, dark, mulberry paper before the one above).

Crop and collage?

I get too attached. Even on-location scribbles that I was planning to cut up and collage. In the end, I liked some of them too much. So ended up cutting and collaging printouts of these pieces. And even then, minimum collage. I need to do a lot more on-location painting so I am not precious about them. Still, it's a record of shapes and lines that I love, and they will be a good starting point, or an anchor when I'm lost and don't know what to do next.

Adding scribbles

I felt this one wasn't quite finished. Added some squiggles and lines in oil pastels. Not there yet, but I will need time to think about it.

Harcourt Terrace

Harcourt Terrace is a little gem of a place. It's so peaceful, right by the canal, and yet close to the city centre. I used to live round the corner on Adelaide Road, and also work not far from there on Harcourt Street. It always felt special. So I was delighted that it was our sketching location. First sketch was started with shapes in watercolour, then pencil. Second one started with my ink line taking me for a walk. Then watercolour splashes for the vegetation. It was fun. Looking at my photo on location, I can see some wonky angles, particularly in the chimney and first roof, but hey, I'm not worried!