I had been asked to paint two oil paintings of Taranaki. So once again we were off to search for another profile angle, this time from the south-east side.  Taranaki Mount is on the south-west side of  New Zealand's north island.

Taranaki’s changing weather conditions:

First thing in the morning the weather is clear, but by the time you reach anywhere near it for close-ups, the weather has changed and the mountain is partly or completely covered in cloud.  

It’s such a moody mountain. Not only how different types of clouds gather there but how the snow crowns its majestic height. And the atmospheric colour of the mountain gradates from different tints of blue to varied shades of brown. 

Also the sun plays its part. The sunlight filters through the clouds; it makes shadows cover the mountain in slow moving patches. And at sunrise and sunset, the mountain is framed like an abstract painting with vibrant colours, depending of cause on the weather conditions at the time. 

I suppose that’s what makes it so fascinating. You begin to understand why people fall in love with the beauty of Taranaki Mountain and become so snared by its captivating power. 

So going out to take photos of it, is like paying homage to it.

Reason for this outing:

Even though we had quite a few photos of Taranaki Mountain, we wouldn’t so happy with the foregrounds they presented. So out we went again looking for a better foreground. Wishing for luck, even though the mountain was covered in cloud and the day somewhat overcast. 

It was our plan to join a promising foreground to a good shot of the mountain our son liked most. You will be able to see the final result my oil paintings of Taranaki, at the end of this series of blogs I’m doing our New Zealand trip. 

See the crooked stone trees?

These umbrella canopied trees are actually Pinus Pinea stone pines. They can be found in Cape Town, South Africa and in New Zealand. Their crazy jagged trunks and branches are shaped and caused by brutal devastating high winds. 

Family are used to them and drive past without stopping. But I find their bodacious menacing formations very fascinating. I couldn’t help myself… I had to find time somehow to paint them for you. 

Can you imagination how the effect of the weird shapes and moody ominous ambience would make a perfect dark night setting for a witch on her broom, with a big round shining white moon as her background! 

Shocked by fence:

We took quite a few photos before we came to a place I thought would make a perfect composition. So we parked the car.  We took note of a farmer his young daughter, strolling down the road, coming our way. We gave them a quick acknowledging smile as we walked over the road to the other side. 

To get better height to take a photo, I sprightly stepped up onto a very narrow grassy verge. Only to find I unbalanced so badly, that I shot out my hand to steady myself. I shouldn’t have done that. The fence was electrified! 

WOW, what a voltage kick I got. And everyone burst out laughing, even the farmer’s daughter giggled! My son said, I should have known better, having had cattle and electric fencing on our own small farm years ago.  

Yes I had seen the electric wiring, but it was only natural that I put out a hand to steady myself. I got such a shock and felt so disorientated. Since the joke was on me, I couldn’t really defend my stupidity. So I just laughed shakily, I suppose, a least it gave everyone some amusement!  

I must say, I didn’t waste time either, to get up again on that verge more carefully of cause, and took many angles of the scene before us. So have a look at what photos I take after all. Maybe you’ll chuckle while you’re looking at my photos!