First, thanks to Ian for the sponsorship, and especially for the extra print, which I guess he included just to make sure that there was an aviation theme. My choice was one of the few without a plane, which may be a bit weird, so this post is to explain that:)
For a decade, back at the turn of the century, I produced a calendar called 'Living And Working in Early Lyttelton'. Each year I'd head off to the Lyttelton museum, and spend the afternoon in the dark, dusty (not really dusty, more like 'controlled humidity') archives, to choose 13 images from their collection of historic Lyttelton photos. We only ever sold a few hundred (kinda like flightsim scenery) but they were collector's items for some.
I got to see a lot of photos, and I always used to wonder about the people back then, how life would have been, and whether we have gained or lost something in this 'modern' world.
It's been a long time since I published the last calendar, but since then I've lived in Lyttelton, and even now Lyttelton is the 'big city' I go to, across the harbour on the ferry, to do my grocery shopping. I do the trip two or three times a week, and I normally end up having afternoon tea by Pilgrim Rock, while I wait for the ferry. There's a mural there, and I often wonder about the people depicted, what there story was, what they thought when they first arrived in Lyttelton back in 1850. Most of them would have walked over the Port Hills to Christchurch, via the Bridle Path, and it must have been a different world once they got to the top and looked down onto the Heathcote Valley, and the coast towards the mountains.
The date -- 16th December -- is around the beginning of summer, so I like to think that they thought that they had come to a great place, and they'd have a a good few months before the weather turned nasty.
I normally wouldn't include a photo of a passerby, especially a kid, but the way he mirrors the man in the mural helps to connect the past and the present.
Here's some of the pics I've used in calendars over the years, courtesy of the Lyttelton Museum:
So this explains why the Charlotte Jane is a great choice for me! And as I said, Ian included an extra print, the Solent 'Aranui' on the Waitemata, as well.
I'd seen some of Ian's drawings before, but not since he began producing these prints. As someone without any artistic ability at all, I as always amazed how someone can bring something to life with a pencil or brush, and Ian's work does exactly that. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but the first thing which struck me when I took the prints out of the tube was how the web pics on his site just don't do them justice. They are lush, and obviously pain-stakingly produced.
I will get the both framed when I can afford it, and I will add to my collection if I get back to earning actual money. Good one, Ian.
