If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. — Wayne Dyer
This is obvious, but we sometimes forget: if we change our point of view, our view changes.
Auckland is a special city because it has grown amongst inactive volcanos. These soft, green lumps are natural landmarks popping out of the city sprawl of single-family houses. They are visible from different places across the city, and there’s even a special planning feature called “view shafts” in which the new buildings are limited in height to protect these views and retain far-distance glimpses of these maungas.
What a beautiful word: maunga. It means mountain or mount in Te Reo Maori.
I learn that though Auckland is home to 53 volcanoes, only 14 of them, known as Tūpuna Maunga (or ancestral mountains) have historic and cultural significance. Maungawhau is one of them.
I also learn that Maungawhau, or Mount Eden, is the highest volcano and natural point in the Auckland Isthmus, being 196m tall. It is quite visible from many places in the city and it’s a very sacred place in the Maori culture.
It is visible from our apartment (or what I call our Kiwi Nest) too.
IN
Our apartment faces south towards Maungawhau, which we can see on the backdrop of our big window. Maungawhau means “mountain of the whau tree”.
According to colour theory (and to experience), the colour of the objects we see gets influenced by the light and colour of their context. The view of Mount Eden from my living room changes colour from a warm sunset, to a cold grey rainy day, or during and after a storm - the latter revealing the best of all palettes.
OUT
It’s interesting how these maungas become natural landmarks amongst the suburban sprawl of Auckland, while the city centre, what’s called CBD here, remains dominated by the Sky Tower. It’s such a particular, beautiful landscape.
This drawing looks south from Mount Eden towards the sprawl, looking out in opposite direction to the harbour and city centre.
TOP
Recently, we walked to the summit, from where one can enjoy incredible views of the whole region, Auckland’s CBD, and, of course, Rangitoto. Only recently, also, encouraged by Gabi Campanario, founder of Urban Sketchers and a continuous inspiration (check out his fantastic Substack), I bought a small pocket sketchbook that I have been taking with me everywhere. It’s a really nice format to capture thoughts and snips. It’s easier to carry and to pack when travelling. The first drawings I did in this little one are the ones at the top of Mount Eden.
Lately, I have been thinking (and sketching) a lot about how by changing our point of view, we can change the things and situations we are looking at. These drawings are a reflection of this process.
It is a great framework I recommend trying: look at things, deliberately, from a different point of view. You never know what you might discover or learn. You might gain a new perspective.
A quote and a summary of all drawings, and something to apply to the way we look at things:
The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective. — Al Neuharth
And another piece I read recently and got stuck in my mind:
It is helpful to remember that our perspective is our world. And our external circumstances don’t need to change in order for our perspective to change. And the forests we find ourselves in are metaphorical, and sometimes we are unable to escape them, but with a change of perspective we can live among the trees. — Matt Haig
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Happy sketching!
Ana
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WITHIN
I recently tried drawing with ink for the first time in an art class. This is a drawing of Maungawhau I did of a picture I took when we went to the top, from within, overlooking the crater:
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