Monthly Archives: June 2022

The sketch that almost wasn’t.

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The since discarded sketch

Before I got caught up in the book hype, I had begun a sketch of two granddaughters that I wished to give as a gift. Luckily I had planned this well in advance of the birthday for the intended recipient. This sketch, like his birthday, is a surprise, but by the time this post goes out, my son should know that his parents and sister from New Zealand are part of that surprise. We have waited two and a half years to get back to Melbourne, and as you read this, that’s where we’ll be, celebrating my son’s birthday. But, back to the sketch… This is the initial sketch of the two girls, where I messed up the younger child. Soon after I started a second sketch of the girls. But instead of completing it quickly, I kept drawing a little then leaving it alone.

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Hundertwasser in New Zealand

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Friedensreich Hundertwasser photo: Gerhard Krömer

Most art lovers will already know of Hundertwasser (1928-2000), an Austrian artist who lived in Vienna for many years of his life, and many will have visited the Hundertwasser House and museum opened in Vienna in the 1980s. But fewer will know of his link to New Zealand. In 1973 he travelled to New Zealand for the first time at the invitation of the Auckland City Art Gallery, where Hertha Dabbert had organised a travelling exhibition of his works. He visited the Bay of Islands during this time, and was so affected by the area that he returned a few years later and bought a farm. An impassioned environmentalist, he lived simply, off the grid if he could, returning from trips abroad, planting thousands of trees, establishing solar systems, and recycling as much material as he was able.

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I may be able to write about more than books soon!

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Before everyone arrived

Saturday evening was the local launch of my recently released book Pocket Money and Other Stories. As this is the only decent photo taken on the evening, I can’t show you the audience listening to my readings, or me signing my books for the said people, so you’ll just have to take my word that the event occurred. It took place in the Devonport Returned Services Association rooms, in case you’re wondering about the Commonwealth flags and the photograph of HRH Queen Elizabeth 2nd on the wall behind me. On reflection, I was pleased that my first reading included mention of the grandfather who’d been killed during WW1, as it befitted my surroundings. A great venue for introducing my book to local people.