vilakins | Spring kowhai

After the success of jekesta's naarmamo, National Art Making Month, she and the participants decided a new community, glarmaco, Global Art Making Community, was a good idea to keep us making art. Don't worry, this is only a weekly thing--given the time and inspiration. :-)

Because it's officially spring now, and it felt that way too until today (which is grey and very wet), I thought I'd do a spring picture.

Graphics tablet
The seasons here are hard to depict without resorting to imported exotics--our trees don't turn golden and red in autumn, or lose their leaves in winter--but I did a flowering pohutukawa tree on the beach for summer, and kowhai come out now, so these are spring kowhai flowers.

I have no idea what I'll do for a proper NZ / Aotearoa autumn (wind?) or winter (rain?) I'm rather pleased my NZ icon [points] shows a nikau palm and pohutukawa flowers, two of my favourite natives. 'Nikau', incidentally, is pronounced 'neeko', very like my name. :-)

My GlArMaCo gallery is here and my NaArMaMo one is here.

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I do like your drawing style - simple and bold :)

For winter, how about Matariki? The festival is in June, although the constellation starts to appear earlier than that.

Not as pretty as kowhai, kumara were traditionally harvested around the autumn equinox.

I've joined GlArMaCo; I just hope I can find the inspiration to post occasionally.

Yay! I hope you do too. And thank you! :-)

Greg suggested Matariki too, but I need more than a constellation though I'll have it in the background. Hmm. Kumara can be pretty colours. I'll think about that.

[Wrong icon, sorry.]

We had such a short one this year it only lasted about three weeks! Late arriving and then fast leaving - and then we steamed.

Love your drawings, wish I could do something like that. That looks related to an acacia tree.

I'm off for a wander now - going to go and hang around the Museum of London and take some photos of roman bits of wall. Will post them when I get back.

This one's a bit late too, and it seems to have retreated slightly.

I look forward to photos of Roman wall. :-)

I was talking to my dad (who spent a lot of time on farms) and asking how on earth your sheep aclimitised themselves to spring in September. They came out from England originally.

He says its something to do with light and ovulation.

Animals are clever, and besides, they'd have come out by ship which would give them about three months on the way in those days to get used to the changes seasons.

They had something which looked very much like your pohutukawa flowers in vases on tables.

I doubt they were because they're hard to grow away from their preferred coastline. Perhaps they were a form of South African protea? They're pretty hardy and very spectacular.

Very lovely and graphical! You really could make up themed sets (cats, New Zealand flowers, scenics, etc) as greetings cards or stationery... wonder if there's something like Cafe press where you could use your graphics on commercially salable products.

Thanks! There are lots of artists here producing cards so I doubt I'd have a chance at selling them unless it was through a shop owned by friends.

Oh, I love this, and the pohutakawa. Beautiful work on both.

You could do horizontal rain in Wellington, for winter ;-D

I want something specifically native. I thought of Matariki and umbrellas but if it was raining, you wouldn't see the stars.

Spring kowhai

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Ah spring ...

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When I passed PizzaExpress on the South Bank today ...

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