out and about - urban sketching in arrowtown

Yesterday I spent the day sketching in beautiful Arrowtown. This historical gold mining village is filled with many restored buildings and miner's cottages. With a population around 2000 now, back in the 1860's at the high point of the gold rush, this town had a population of around 7000 and was the centre of the larger municipality.

Now it's really mostly a tourist haunt. At least for those tourists who venture a little out of the mecca of nearby Queenstown. It may be a bit touristy, but I still love it and visit often. It's very quaint, beautifully restored and has lots of quiet nooks. For a sketcher who loves architecture and old buildings (me!) it's one of the few places around my home where I can get my 'fix' - New Zealand not having the very long history Europe has.

Because I'm way out of practise with my urban sketching, I was slower than normal and only managed to finish 2 sketches. But I'm not going to let it be too long before I go back.

The Wool Press

Old Miner's Cottage