which is why i'm not a world famous artiste -

Mauao is the sacred mountain at

the entrance to Tauranga Harbour.

Its name, meaning ‘caught in the

light of the day’, comes from the

legend in which Mauao was once

a nameless mountain, spurned

in love by the beautiful mountain

Puwhenua. One night he begged the

fairy-like creatures of the forest

to drag him to the ocean and end

his misery. But the creatures fled as

the morning sun’s rays struck,

and he was transfixed on the spot.

I had this idea in my head - for my painting journal, I'd paint after the style of Nicolas de Stael. Mostly because he doesn't bovver with faces or minutiae. I'd use limited hues (which is art-speak for colours) and paint with a piece of card instead of a brush. I'd put Puwhenua inside the mountain -

she who will always be in the heart of Mauao,

even though she did not love him.

The idea looked really awesome in my head.

And then I painted it.

Um, I don't think I'll become a Specialist Art Teacher then.