A client with a lot of family history commissioned this painting. It’s an example of how people record their stories in a painting. She wanted prints to be made available because she knew there were bound to be other family members who shared her history that would like a copy. The beauty of a work like this is that I can include buildings and features that no longer exist, but that I can research from archival records. This is the case with many buildings that was part of this clients life when she grew up there in the 1930 and 40’s. I’ve included the old tram rail that took her into town from Aramoho, the old Tech building and the original Girls Collage building. It has the he Granddads Aramoho Brick works, her dads Garage and hidden in the trees is the Cup he and his brother won I think quite a lot of times for speed boat racing and of course the speed boat itself. The houses are all family homes. I’ve done many commissions like this over the years. I view work like this as a responsibility and an honour. The amount of attention I can give to detail particularly in areas like landscape and background unfortunately often gets sacrificed in the budget. My preferred background landscapes could often take an extra week or two so I have instead to keep it simple.