The Log Book
Tales of an Artist Afloat
We've been back in Tutukaka with Island Prism for a couple of weeks. Jim's been working on fixing our leaky water tanks whilst I've been relief teaching at the school in Ngunguru- a welcome top-up to the cruising kitty! Once we get overseas, working becomes more complicated- generally we travel on tourist visas meaning that paid employment is forbidden. One of my boat tasks at the moment is checking that our visa info is up-to-date. Things can change quickly, especially the world's current political climate, and it's worth keeping on top of things, though immigration websites are not always the easiest to negotiate. Thank heavens for art to help me relax! I've been going back to the sketches and video I took on our trip out to the Poor Knights a few weeks back. I'd love to go out there again, but Prism is stuck here until the water tank repairs have cured and we can fill both tanks (we're currently surviving with our smaller 20 gallon tank and are very thankful of our proximity to the marina!). We haven't seen marlins in the water- just being hauled out at the game fish club. They are very tasty, but also incredibly beautiful, so it makes me rather sad. I brought the one above back to life, using some of the trophies inside the club as inspiration. We've also been lucky enough to see Owha, the leopard seal. Normally they hang around the Antarctic, pestering penguins and being generally fearsome. Owha is enjoying a northern summer, first in Auckland and now on the Tutukaka Coast. She's been visiting the marina, and paid a visit to Island Prism whilst we we anchored in Pacific Bay. Very exciting- she's a beautiful creature- but we won't be swimming for a while! I've been continuing practicing with my brush pen-I'm enjoying the way the style is working. I tried to use it for the textures on the rocks on the paintings of the pinnacle and the stream of knifefish below. It took a lot of concentration, but ended up feeling quite meditative as I tried to use the very tip. There seems to be a single hair that sticks out a little- it's a bit annoying but seems to be useful for very fine work! ![]() I've been putting together an Etsy shop and think I'll put a few of these in there- more details to come but I hope to get it finalised over the next few days. I've been a bit hesitant over selling my originals- I think my inner critic gets a bit chatty, even though I've had my Redbubble store for a while now! But I've started to feel sorry for them just being filed away on the boat, so hopefully a few of them will find some loving homes! In the meantime, I think I'll add a few more to this series- I'm playing with some compositions involving rays, so we'll see how those turn out! Plus continuing to get the boat ready- we have a month and a half left here in NZ before the big adventure, and I see that painting the cockpit has been added to my 'to-do' list!
8 Comments
15/3/2017 06:00:27 pm
Fascinating site. What an adventure! And I love your drawings.
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Andrea England
15/3/2017 06:09:11 pm
Thank you for coming over to have a look, and for your kind words! Our upcoming trip is very exciting- especially the drawing opportunities!
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Luka manley
23/3/2017 11:01:27 pm
Hello Mrs England, how are you and the boat? I have explored the website and i quite like the art. I'm disappointed that he seal isn't on the shop. :(
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Luka Manley
23/3/2017 11:04:17 pm
P.S Ciara says hello.
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Mrs England
25/3/2017 01:05:51 pm
Hello Luka! It's lovely to hear from you! I am very well thank you, and work on the boat is going well too. We have the engine, the water tanks and the windvane (which is our steering system) all up and running well. We are still hoping to leave for French Polynesia at the start of May.
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Mrs England
25/3/2017 01:06:44 pm
Hello Ciara! (and Michelle and David!)
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luka
26/3/2017 09:32:34 pm
Yes, Ciara and I would think it's a good idea to put color on the seal.
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Mrs England
17/4/2017 03:59:57 pm
Hi Luka! I hope you are enjoying the holidays! Mrs Watson says that the fair was great- I hope you had a good time there too! I've painted the leopard seal- if you'd like to see I've posted the picture at http://www.andreaengland.net/blog/owha-the-leopard-seal. We were lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins swimming with us last week- you might enjoy the video. We're heading to Whangarei now, to do the last few jobs on the boat before we set sail in a week or two. Have a fun and relaxing break!
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Andrea England
An Artist Afloat- Painting the world one anchorage at a time. Archives
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