Juvenile Tuatara

I took this photo of a young tuatara at Zealandia yesterday.

Green Hopes

I needed to get away from the computer for a few minutes, so I wrote a poem. Now I’m back on the computer and here’s the poem:

Green hopes

I’ll take a blade of grass so green
from every place that I have been,
and place it in my travel journal
along with hopes that spring eternal.

If there is no grass to find
where man has found an axe to grind,
no matter, there I’ll plant a tree
and let that place remember me.

Old concrete car parks, bus depots,
high rise flats and junkyard ghettos,
here my optimism gleams,
in a sea of grey, a touch of green.

Maybe more will follow me
and plant another little tree,
or take a blade of grass so green
from every place that they have been.

Australian Wildlife, Port Douglas

I’ve finally got around to uploading some of my favourite wildlife pics of our honeymoon in Port Douglas. It’s an amazing place to visit, and I’d highly recommend it. There are lots of wildlife tours in the area and you can see all sorts out there.

Most of the photos were taken at Wildlife Habitat in Daintree, North Queensland. I am a keen photographer, but I wasn’t going to wander into the rainforest on my own with all those things that can potentially kill you for a few good photos – not on my honeymoon anyway!

We also thoroughly enjoyed a trip with Tony’s Tropical Tours, as well as an amazing cruise on a catamaran to Low Isles (on the Great Barrier Reef) with Sailaway, and went snorkelling with turtles!

All images © Owen Smith. owensmith@xtra.co.nz

Kookaburra

Kookaburra

Another Kookaburra - where's the rainforest again?

Little Egret

Black-necked Stork courtship dance

Cassowary

Boyd's Forest Dragon

Beautifully coloured spider

Lesser Sooty Owl

'Nelson', a one-armed Estuarine Crocodile

Rainbow Bee-eater

Rainbow Bee-eater - with bee!

Zealandia Lake Painting

I have just completed an acrylic painting of the lower lake at Zealandia – The Karori Sanctuary Experience in Wellington, New Zealand. I spend a lot of time here, and native wildlife is abundant, thanks to the conservation efforts of the Karori Sanctuary Trust, its members and the 440 plus volunteers.

Sanctuary Lake © Owen Smith

Gallery Success

A few months ago I contacted Norm at Artrium Gallery in Wellington and showed him some of my bird art. He kindly invited me to take part in an exhibition they were holding during the time of WoW (World of Wearable Arts) as my work would fit in there.

I managed to get some prints made and framed in time, and went along to the opening night. It was great to meet the other artists exhibiting and to be able to talk to potential buyers, which was also a new thing for me. I was delighted to sell a piece on the opening night, adding to the sense of achievement of taking part in my first art exhibition. The rest of the work will be back on display in the same gallery soon. Meanwhile I am trying to complete a landscape in acrylic before continuing with the series of bird paintings.

Tui, Mixed Media © Owen Smith

Young Emperor visits New Zealand

I was sitting at my computer today, when I saw a message from Forest and Bird about an Emperor Penguin visiting the Kapiti Coast. Well, what do you do? I checked the date first of all, no April fool there. Okay, Google next. There it is, on a news website.

What to do? No car today, and only an hour away from one of my favourite birds that I won’t see in the wild unless I join an Antarctic expedition, or have a spare few thousand dollars. My neighbour and in-law Megan was luckily just as excited at the prospect of seeing the penguin, so off we went. Thanks Megan!

On the road then – not enough time to find the top of the flask for a nice hot cup of coffee to take with us – we stop briefly for some directions to Peka Peka Beach (how apt!) and we’re there. As I had imagined, there were a few cars in the car park, and as we got to the beach we could see the thing straight away, regardless of the small crowd of people watching it.

As it happens we were just in time for sunset on an otherwise dull and wet day. Before I could think about getting embarrassed by what I must have looked like, I thew my bag on the floor and lay down on the wet sand, as I needed to rest the camera on the bag (tripod in our car – note to self for next time, remove tripod from car).

The penguin was beautiful – even though it was a juvenile it was still a metre high. The passing dogs (thankfully with leads on) looked pretty bemused at the giant visitor.

I managed to get a few photos without using the flash, my favourite is the ‘surf’s up’ one, and then I put the camera away (from the rain) and took a few moment to reflect on being so close to a wild animal that, only for the second time, has been spotted on this coastland.

Emperor Penguin on Peka Peka Beach, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand © Owen Smith

"And you are...?" © Owen Smith

© Owen Smith

Parrot Talk

Well I’ve finally completed the first five illustrations of native New Zealand Birds. This one is a Kaka, a parrot that we are lucky enough to have around here in Wellington. My reference for this one was a photo I took on Kapiti Island, which is a pest-free paradise within sight of the Kapiti Coast. The birds are very tame there, or at the very least unafraid of humans, and will land on your head and shoulders. My next step will be getting prints sorted out, and frames for exhibit.

Kaka, mixed media © Owen Smith

New Zealand Falcon Illustration

Hi there, I’ve been working on the falcon this weekend, and am really enjoying the process of the artworks so far. Having had the first five drawings as a goal, it feels good to be one step closer to completion.

My short-term ambition is to display and sell prints of this series. Once I have finished all five birds, the first step will be to get a giclee print of each and start networking with gallery and shop owners. Of course, there are also lots of online shops that I can sell on as well, but I am keen to get feedback and make sure I am on the right track. Wanting to show the work at its best, I will also need to get a set professionally framed somewhere down the line to showcase them, and hope to use the money from print sales to do this (a case of the chicken and the egg).

Following this, I will carry on drawing more native birds – there are plenty to choose from! Initially I will concentrate on the birds found at Zealandia – The Karori Sanctuary Experience.

Any feedback/suggestions are much appreciated. Next stop, the Kaka…

New Zealand Falcon, mixed media. © Owen Smith

Morepork/Ruru mixed media Illustration

I’ve just finished illustrating the morepork, which is a New Zealand owl, known as ruru in Maori.

Morepork/Ruru, mixed media © Owen Smith

Fantail Illustration

I’ve applied a similar process as the Tui illustration to my drawing of the fantails. I’ve enjoyed getting messy with the abstract backgrounds, and experimenting with light and texture.

Fantails, Mixed media. © Owen Smith