Art and Abart

Taihape landscape I am feeling much better today after a sofa bound week. I made another little lamb painting to celebrate. They say ...

Here are some lambs in springtime, painted from a picture taken years ago in Taihape. Ewes and lambs in Taihape My brother, who has h...

Tea at Soul It is hard to choose a favourite cafe in Taihape because there are three excellent cafes in town but the cafe I particularly...

Giant gumboot in Taihape Taihape has made it's name as gumboot capital of the world with a giant corrugated iron gumboot sculpture a...

Sign on a shop door in Taihape ' I must have been mad to come at the coldest time of the year', I thought to myself as I drove ...

Converging highways in Bulls Travelling north from Wellington you drive past the several coastal towns of the Kapiti Coast, then along ...

Woolly layers Thank heavens for wool. The first snows have fallen on the ranges to the south of Sydney and we can feel it in the air, ev...

Top of the charts: Sol3 Mio I had arranged to stay at my recently-deceased Mother's house for a month, sort out her things and get ...

Taihape Sunset Aerial cables are a feature of New Zealand. Cables are buried for aesthetic reasons but I have become fond of aerial cabl...

Watching Harry Kupfer's Ring Cycle: what could be a better way to spend the days between Christmas and New Year. I have a Wagner-loving ...

Mooo!  Seasons greetings from the hills of Taihape! Hills behind Taihape at dusk

Irises on the day of my Mother's farewell At the end of September winter gardens begin to stir in Taihape. The first daffodils flowe...

Why is it that New Zealand has interesting and informative newspapers and magazines while Australia does not? The NZ Listener is a case in p...

Sitting in the cafe in Taihape looking at my coffee, I can't help thinking that the townsfolk and the coffee are similar .... a bit brow...

New Zealand, North Island Central District Highlands The central plateau of New Zealand's North Island where I grew up is a spect...

Another of the cafes in Taihape that make excellent coffee is the Brown Sugar Cafe. Behind the cafe is a pretty garden. I painted the bluebe...

Taihape has several cafes and they all make excellent coffee. One of them is the Soul Food Cafe in the middle of the main street. Their coff...

The mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro are just north of Taihape where I grew up. Below is a watercolour of Mt Ruapehu, painted from...

This photo was taken from Cemetary Hill in Taihape looking south. It is cold there at the moment  - there is snow on the Ruahine ranges whic...

Farmers don't just farm sheep and cattle in Taihape (middle of the north Island in New Zealand) -  for years now they have farmed many a...