So, it's a wait and see until I actually start cutting the sky parts and making test prints! As they say, watch this space...

I risked my back putting it together piece by piece, as I was too excited to wait until one of my sons was available to lift for me. Press almost assembled, back survived...

On Wednesday evening my son came round after work and we set up the final part (Top roller and pressure adjustments). What I expected to be a 10 minute task took us 30 minutes...but it's now done.

I have wanted this for years. There is a guy who lives an hour away who refurbished old mangles and then makes them into beautiful presses. I contacted him last year to see what they cost (around $4500!). He just retired and stopped doing them in the same week I saw the advertisment for this press. Timing.....

What next? I will try it out with one of my existing blocks but plan to do a new print design to properly test it out. A three panel image based around Harbour Cone and the Otago Peninsula. That print will be taken down to my friend's gallery in Portobello and exhibited. Watch this space for progress!

This means that I need to be on my game and get some quality work done. This will consist of limited edition woodblock prints, hand-coloured woodblock prints, paintings and chalk pastel drawings. To add to the pressure, I will be away in Europe for a couple of months before the September date (to be confirmed).

It's exciting and scary at the same time. Will I get it done? Will it be any good? Will anyone come and see it? I will keep you up to date with my progress here and also in my new Facebook Artist Page (when I get around to creating it...). Stay tuned...

So much has changed since then. Here's a list:

(1) I am now in my last year of full time work (I "retire" in January 2026)

(2) I have committed to getting work done for an exhibition in September this year

(3) I will be spending several months every year in Australia from 2026

(4) My band "The Dawks" will be releasing their first full album this year

...and that's just the start!

A bit more on some of these: The exhibition will be held in the Portobello Gallery in Dunedin, New Zealand. It's run by a long standing friend of mine and we are each encouraging the other to get the work done for it.

My wife has a job in Australia, so I will be spending time with her there as often as possible - that's why I retire from full time teaching at the start of 2026. I will still do relief teaching both in NZ and in Australia.

Due to illness, The Dawks won't be playing a lot this year but progress on the album mixing and mastering is going really well. I will have some samples available on this site for you to check out!

My first Woodblock prints will be available for sale on this site in about a month. Each edition will be limited to 100 (numbered and signed) but there will also be a number of hand-coloured (each one with slight differences as you would expect) woodblock prints available from each block. They will be individually signed.

And that's this month's update! Feel free to email me if you have any questions and keep an eye on the site for more updates as they happen.

Stressful for them and for me.

This is slightly compensated for by the fact that this is the last year I will be taking senior classes (by choice) as I move closer to part time or casual work. And, of course, closer to actually finishing some artwork and getting it out there.

So, in about 5-6 weeks time I aim to have the edition of one of my prints ready to sell. Encourage me. Send me a pleading email and an offer of payment. And wait and see...

Lots of small jobs around the house are getting done. Surely it's also time to get some Artwork completed? Yes, I do have good intentions but not always translated into reality. I find myself flitting from task to task, unable to even binge watch a Netflix series that I need to finish (Unbrella Academy). That's been a bit of a pattern recently and I am not sure why I don't have the ability to concentrate on one task for a long period any more. Age related? Covid fried brain?

I can, however, add a bit more to this site. It really only takes about 30 minutes to add something in and get it published. I use Website X5 software and have been using it since around 2009 to create sites. It's most definitely not perfect but now that I have a decent grasp on how to uise it, I don't want the learning curve of a new system to derail me.

Tomorrow I am back at work (Teaching) but have a short holiday period after that. Perhaps it's time for some Chalk Pastel work, or even starting a new Woodblock. I will be adding in a Contact Form to this site soon but you can email me suggestions, requests, offers of money for art, etc on: wayne@smashthatcomputer.com

I await your communication...

I hope you like what you see. At present I am in the process of creating some new Woodblock prints and there will be links to videos where I explain my creative process. While I am still teaching full time, I don't have enough energy and time to get back into Painting to any degree that I will be happy with, but that journey will eventually be shown. At present my main creative efforts are going into completing our first album of original music...before my arms give out through old age!

It's been a strange journey over the past 67 years but I can confidently say that Eminem was wrong when he sang "Opportunity comes once in a lifetime". It's always around - we just have to recognise it.