Dot painting

Number 3: Self portrait in dots.

Life Drawing

Our current teacher insists on us drawing v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. This drawing is charcoal and chalk on brown paper.

Blossom

I was dreaming, walking along with thoughts elsewhere and suddenly in front of me was a picture of nature at her most perfect. On the tree beside the library, almost every flower was suddenly open, every flower was perfect, not a petal dropped. The flowers were single, white with a rose blush. I couldn't stop looking.
I know if you stand and stare for a while, an image will stay in your brain a long while. I still remember some early daffodils in the botanical gardens in Hamburg. I also remember that I was having a love affair with physics when the beauty of the daffodils forced my thoughts away from ruminations about Capra's Tao of Physics.
I wonder if I will remember that I saw these blossoms on a particularly balmy Dunedin day. Next day was cool and today is very windy so probably these wee flowers have been blown off their stems.

Electronic version

In eArt we are also drawing self portraits. This one was made this afternoon using Adobe Illustrator.

First ... on black

Our home work for drawing is a series of self portrait sketches. The first one had to be on black, light source from one side. Not sure about the likeness, but you can tell I don't have central heating at my place.

Heinrich Duck watches the sunset

Here is Heinrich ... watching the sunset, dreaming of sitting for his portrait once again.

Flexibility

BLU > MUTO

BLU > MUTO

Why Mum?

In our eArt class we had to make a video with at least one loop and a 'synergistic sound track to mesh with the film loop'. My group of four learned how to shoot film in the lift well. Our films were all different but we still only used about 2% of the footage we shot. I am not sure Hollywood is going to hire us any time soon.

Boots and brolly

Boots and brolly is what we have been needing these last few weeks. These are mine, lying on my doormat. I thought them picturesque enough to make an etching of.

Ruby blowing a dandelion

My first lino cut.

Snow on the hills

It rained, it hailed, then it snowed. Today Dunedin feels like an alpine village. Bright sunshine but very cold with frost until lunch time.Lunchtime yesterday.
Blue skies today at noon.

It's raining..

..it's pouring, the old man is snoring...

Beijing Opening Ceremony just for a few?

I read in the newspaper that the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was wonderful. Ten out of ten they say. I can't find a single video of it anywhere on the Internet so I guess the Chinese officials and the TV stations have sewn copyright up. I have rapidly lost interest.

Dunedin Activists March : No Public Funding for new Rugby Stadium

On Saturday a crowd of over 700 marched along the main street of Dunedin to the Octagon to protest against Council proposing to take a loan to fund a new Rugby Stadium for Dunedin.

An elderly woman marching next to me told me that she this was the first time she had ever participated in a demonstration. She said she had lots of friends who are against the stadium but who were not at the march, so she was representing them. She was carrying a hand painted sign saying 'No to the Stadium'.

Afterwards I followed a young couple down the street who had not been on the march. The man was becoming quite heated as he tried to persuade his doubtful partner that Dunedin needed the stadium. "Tauranga will get it instead of us", he said.

Deluge for NZ

 

Dunedin was on the fringe of the big storm that hit NZ this week, but we got heavy rain regardless.

A geek's world

The website is down...
Check this out .. it had me laughing out loud. Does that mean I am a geek? I don't think so.

Yolanda Kondonassis, harpist

I drew this recently at a concert by a trio that included harpist Yolanda Kondonassis. I was sitting in the front row next to two high school students who told me their teacher told them to watch the harpist's feet as a harp has seven pedals.

Andersons Bay in winter

 

Five (car) minutes from central Dunedin on an inlet from Otago Habour is Andersons Bay.

 

A causeway across the bay leads to the coast road of Otago Penninsula.

Footie fans and food

Footie fans at the Octagon. Science week was on as well in Dunedin and in the Future Food van you can see behind the footie fans I read that NZ has 0.3% of agricultural land under certified organic management. This compares to 2.7% for Australia, 3.9% in the UK and 14.2% in Austria. The chemical companies must love us.