
Caught! A true story. Jasper’s puppy portrait now has pride of place in his owners’ littlest room.
How could I resist drawing this photo?! That face! Those eyes! Oh Jasper, you’re not that small any more, are you?


Caught! A true story. Jasper’s puppy portrait now has pride of place in his owners’ littlest room.
How could I resist drawing this photo?! That face! Those eyes! Oh Jasper, you’re not that small any more, are you?


I’ve finally been into the city to take the last of my ‘pen vs earthquake’ photographs. The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu was closed following the 22nd February 2011 earthquake and only opened its doors to the public again last December. The building may look fragile but it not only survived 2011’s big shake, it was used as Civil Defence HQ for seven months after the event. Most of the repairs to the building are now complete and the new and improved gallery looks better, and shinier, than ever.
The sketch was originally part of a student project in 2011. The art gallery photographs were taken a few days ago. Ben Heine’s ingenious Pencil Vs Camera images inspired the series.
P.S. Five years on and we’re still getting the odd quake ― we had quite a big one on Valentine’s Day, of all days! My thanks to those who contacted me to see if we were okay. Yes, we’re fine. We’re still not in love with earthquakes, but we’re fine.
“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or a path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realise your potential.” Joseph Campbell
A leafy ink doodle that I drew a few years ago has morphed into a digital picture — and even though I enjoy working on the computer, it’s been weeks since I held a paint brush and now I can’t wait to get back to my easel…
These WIPs show the transition of yesterday’s kitten sketch from the initial drawing through to the final image. I realise that the blown highlights make the kitten look a little odd ~ but because they are one of the reasons I like the photograph, I wanted to retain them in the sketch.
“I am an artist you know … it is my right to be odd.” E.A. Bucchianeri