#1063 ... Sartorial Clarity

On my trip to Auckland yesterday ... I found out that this was the way windows are meant to be cleaned ... by appropriately dressed professional glass cleaners ... this is "Sky" an American who is about to complete his 20th year in New Zealand ... he is a well known icon around the city as he goes about his tasks.

#1062 ... Number 627

On the waterfront ... The Loaded Hog ... sunshine and a cool drink

#1061 ... Cookie Time

Sitanun decided at 11:00pm that cookies just had to be made .. and I am not complaining ... YUM YUM ... and here is the amazing very tasty result ... thanks Chef!

#1060 ... Flash Tub

A bit of luxury above water at Queens Wharf ... not a usual visitor

#1059 ... Made it !!

Roller blades (inline skates) can be great fun when you know how ... however when you are a learner they can be hard work. This young girl on Queens Wharf was very thankful for an appropriately place bollard on which to have a secure rest!! ... NOTE the size of the roller blades to her size.

#1058 ... ANZAC DAY

5:45am, ANZAC Day, Dawn Service, The Cenotaph, Wellington, NZ

#1057 ... Poppies on the Street

Selling poppies on the Willis St, Lambton Quay corner ...

The red Anzac poppy has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over. People in many countries wear the poppy to remember those who died in war or who still serve. In many countries, the poppy is worn around Armistice Day (11 November), but in New Zealand it is most commonly seen around Anzac Day, 25 April.

The red or Flanders poppy has been linked with battlefield deaths since the time of the Great War (1914–18). The plant was one of the first to grow and bloom in the mud and soil of Flanders. The connection was made, most famously, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his poem 'In Flanders fields'.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

#1056 ... The GR8 Wellington Race

I spotted these two girls ... Jen & Emily near Mojo Coffee Shop at Old Bank Arcade during lunchtime today. They are promoting George Seymour College thru an event called "The Great Race" ... go girls!!!

#1055 ... FOR SALE

Round hay bales on the market in the Wairarapa ... 1 hour from Wellington ... took the photo during a trip over the Rimutaka Hill to Masterton yesterday ... a great day and many new images from a region that is a "day trip" for many Wellingtonians

#1054 ... Have an orange

Orange, yellow and red kayaks outside Ferg's Kayaks on Queens Wharf

#1053 ... Stop if you Can

Even the traffic lights that normally work 24/7 without complaint ... need their light bulbs replaced ... work being done outside Kirkcaldies on Lambton Quay

#1052 ... hey that's my space !!

The Helipro chopper pad on Queens Wharf ... the perspective makes it look like one is going to land on the other ... helicopter mating season ... hmmmmmm

#1051 ... Kapiti Magic

Last night's sunset at Peka Peka on the Kapiti Coast. PHOTO BY TONY EYLES ... thanks to the man who will soon be able to put the boot in!!!

#1050 ... Italian Art

The art of Ducati on the streets of Wellington

#1049 ... Waterfront Sunrise

Sunrise on the way to the airport ... The Boat Shed to the left ... Te Papa is to the right, out of frame.

#1048 ... Nearly There

Nearly landed at Wellington Airport after a very bumpy approach from over Cook Strait ... on a very windy evening ... 100kph+ wind speed

#1047 ... Student Behaviour

Actually not Wellington ... but Vulcan Lane, Auckland CBD during my day visit ... arts students performing noisy street theatre ... liked the vibrancy it created for the lunchtime suits !!!

#1046 ... Framed

Anna framed in the window of an old shack on the hills over Makara. PHOTO BY SALLY ... thanks

#1045 ... Da Porta-Loos City !!

Morning sun on the portable toilets in Waitangi Park ... brought in for the REAL Women's Duathlon.

The black Museum Hotel, left centre with Te Papa at the right hand edge.

#1044 ... Ready ... Set ... GO

The start of the REAL women's duathlon this morning ... they all looked great in the pink branded running shirts ... a fine day with a cooler breeze ... see this link for the course map

#1043 ... Local Knowledge

A stunning autumn day ... and it takes a couple of locals from around the corner to know where to grab a sunny spot and a chilled wine ... to sit and watch the world go by .. outside ohtel opposite Waitangi Park, Oriental Bay precinct ... the boutique hotel with sophisticated urban chic.
I am jealous ... although am enjoying the amazing day in other ways.

#1042 ... Sunny Disposition

A superb bunch of sunflowers in "Flowers on Featherston" ... all read to celebrate a wedding tomorrow at the Woolshed in Ohariu Valley ... 30 minutes north of Wellington City.

The flowers matched the crisp, sunny, windless, autumn FRIDAY.

#1041 ... That One Please

Paul of Moana Road helping a customer select her special piece of art. These guys have set up in one of the vacant shops on Lambton Quay a few doors along from the Parliamentary Offices at the northern end of the Quay ... a welcome edition to the eclectic nature of the city.
See the Moana Road website for examples of their work ... affordable artworks for you to enjoy

#1040 ... Jelly Fish

Jelly fish and seaweed on the Makara coast ... 30 minutes west of Wellington City ... photo courtesy of Anna Blandford

#1039 ... R&R

The whanau goes walkabout along the beach. Yours truly, Sitanun, Tran (obscured), Anna, Puinoon ... and Ziggy the dog .. enjoying the great Easter weekend weather on the Kapiti Coast ... photo courtesy of Josh

#1038 ... Volcanic Eruption

Up close and personal with a volcano ... YEAH RIGHT. The result of beach activities ... build a volcano out of sand, hollow out the core, dig a tunnel, build a fire ... and you have a smoking volcano ... sort of like "beach science" ... Peka Peka Beach

#1037 ... Kapiti Island

Sitanun, Ziggy and Puinoon ... enjoying the space and sea air at Peka Peka on the Kapiti Coast. Kapiti Island in the background.

HISTORY

Kapiti Island is a small but conspicuous island about 8 km (5 miles) off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is 10 kilometres long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly 2 kilometres wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of 19.65 km² (7.6 sq miles).

The island is separated from the mainland by the Rauoterangi channel. The highest point on the island is Tuteremoana, 521 m. The seaward (west) side of the island is particularly rocky and has high cliffs, some hundreds of metres high, that drop straight into the sea. The cliffs are subject to very strong prevailing westerly winds and the scrubby vegetation that grows there is low and stunted by these harsh environmental conditions. A cross-section of the island would show almost a right-angled triangle, revealing its origins from lying on a fault line (part of the same ridge as the Tararua Range).

The island's vegetation is dominated by scrub and forest of kohekohe, tawa, and kanuka. Most of the forest is naturally regenerating after years of burn-offs and farming, but some areas of original bush with 30 m (100 ft) trees remain.

In the 1700s and 1800s Māori settled on the island. Te Rauparaha formed a base here, and his Ngāti Toa tribe regularly sailed in canoes on raiding journeys up to the Whanganui River and down to Marlborough.

The sea nearby was a nursery for whales, and during whaling times 2,000 people were based on the island. Oil was melted from the blubber and shipped to America for use in machinery, before petroleum was used. Although whales can be seen once every year during birthing season, there still are not as many as there used to be.

The conservation potential of the island was seen as early as 1870. It was reserved as a bird sanctuary in 1897 but it was not until 1987 that the New Zealand Department of Conservation took over the island. In the 1980s and 1990s efforts were made to return the island to a natural state; first sheep and possums were removed. In an action few thought possible for an island of its size, rats were eradicated in 1998.

In 2003 the anonymous Biodiversity Action Group claimed to have released 11 possums on the island. No evidence of the introduced possums has been found.

#1036 ... Night steps

Looking down Plimmer Steps ... night time

#1035 ... Rocky Shore

The rocky shore at Makara Beach ... on the west coast behind Wellington ... photo courtesy of my daughter Anna

#1034 ... Well Oiled

Peter Hackett
The artwork ... the details ... "Exhibitions" ... the gallery ... thanks Ron

From a very young age Peter Hackett’s creativity was obvious. Buoyed by the adulation shown in his drawing ability, he pursued a career in the fine arts, specializing in drawing and painting in every school he attended during his formative years.

After leaving the compulsory constraints of high school art classes, he traveled to Paris, France earning a scholarship in sculpture, painting, printmaking and life drawing whilst studying under some of the most respected names in the Parisian art world such as Camillo Otero and Susanne Runacher. The sweet taste of student life in a liberal art school like The Paris American Academy became the catalyst to the unrestrained experimentation evident in his work for the next ten years.

From 1990 to the turn of the century, prompted by his marriage to his first wife and settling back in New Zealand, the experimentation gave way to a recognisable style and a preoccupation with extending his technical range instead of pursuing a narrative. He seeks to establish a dominant theme to his work, concentrating his efforts on maturing the subject matter and technique without surrendering to the influences of social trends.

Hackett has been a finalist in several major art awards including the Air New Zealand Art Award, The Nola Holmwood Memorial Portrait Prize, The Eider Este Art Award and has received a silver medal in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. His predominantly large works have been exhibited in France, America, Australia, and New Zealand with consistent public interest and he has been rewarded with a faithful customer base. Peter Hackett is an artist who refuses to be overlooked! He stands out among his peers as original and technically advanced.

Artist Statement

The ‘Honeymooners’ Bed' series is indicative of how my interest in the medium of oil has found itself in competition with the subject matter.

My newly rediscovered love of oil paint sits very well with the subject in this case, which was inspired by the mass seeding of wild flowers along the southern motorway and the marriage of a close friend. However my enjoyment has to be tempered by the knowledge that the technique and the subject were inspired by one another and that to allow the lustful application of paint to overshadow the subject, in this case, would be a backward step.

The title 'The Honeymooners’ Bed' invokes images of passionate lovemaking in a field of wild flowers at a time when love is the only thing that matters. Notions of scent, texture, colour and the sublime, incomparable beauty of nature are hinted at in these paintings. I expect to continue painting The Honeymooners’ Bed for as long as the love lasts. - Peter Hacket