Painting of a city park with people walking and relaxing, a creek running through it, historic and modern buildings in the background, and a blue sky with clouds.

Year 2050, The air is fresh and the sound is clear. This is what our city demands, if we want to belong here.

The Vision

At the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau is an avian paradise accessible within 20mins of the super city. With fresh water flowing from the Waihorotiu springs down queen street, locals harvest fresh fruit and vege from its surrounding gardens. The landscape creates a synergy between all classes under an umbrella of flora and fauna.

Oil painting of a large bridge over water with sailboats, a smaller boat, and a wooden dock. A tree and small bush are in the foreground. The sky has fluffy clouds and the scene depicts a lively waterway.

Auckland Harbour Bridge reimagined, thanks to Ben Van Bruggen for exhibiting my work in the Urban Room - working together to stimulate ideas for a better city

Watercolor painting of an urban park scene with a stream, trees, modern and historic buildings, and people walking in the background.

A watercolor painting of a city street with tall buildings, trees, a canal, and pedestrians.

A painting of a city park with walking paths, trees, and a small pond, with buildings and a tower in the background under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

year 2050 - Auckland - A colorful painting of a city park with a river, walking paths, blooming flowers, trees, and people engaging in outdoor activities. Tall buildings and a tower are visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

year 2050 - Auckland A painting depicting a cityscape at dusk with damaged vehicles, overgrown vegetation, and darkening skies, suggesting a post-apocalyptic scene.

I’m doing this project because there is nothing else I believe in more. 2050 in Aotea Square is about the regeneration of our natural environment.

The Vision - At the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau is an avian paradise easily accessible within 20mins of the super city. With fresh water flowing from the Waihorotiu springs down queen street, locals harvest fresh fruit and vege from its surrounding gardens. The landscape creates a synergy between all classes under an umbrella of flora and fauna.

Knowing your neighbor has never been so powerful as communities thrive off renewable energy, generated sustainably and locally thanks to solar and hydro technology.

Transportation is efficient as the CBD is lined with 0% carbon light rail with green lawn tracking that absorbs rain and hydrates surrounding gardens.

Our diverse cultures of Tāmaki have never been so colorful! Markets in the park daily to support those who grow locally, celebrating whakapapa through many traditional recipes.

The air is fresh and the sound is clear. This is what our city demands if we want to belong here.

People attending a presentation in a conference room, two men speaking in front of a large screen displaying 'The Urban Room' and cityscape images, with two paintings of city parks on easels to the right.

Auckland Council 2050 vision Grand Reveil 2023

A man presenting artwork in a conference room, with paintings on easels, audience seated, and large screens displaying 'The Urban Room' and cityscape images.

An outdoor evening scene at a lively park or restaurant with string lights overhead. People are gathered at tables, socializing, and enjoying food and drinks. The setting is surrounded by trees and greenery, with a wooden structure in the background resembling a food stand or bar, and a city skyline visible in the distance.

Painted digital artwork of an urban scene with a park, trees, and modern buildings in the background, featuring people walking and relaxing.

Waihorotiu daylight with Auckland town hall. Painting of a park in an urban setting with palm trees, a river, and a clock tower with a flag on top.

Let’s bring back our Queen St River - Waihorotiu. Let’s bring her back to the light through Myers Park and Aotea Square and then bring her all the way down the middle of Queen St. There is already so much concrete. Queen St would become a famous attraction if pedestrianising meant that each side of the street was a beautiful boulevard with outdoor dining overlooking a beautiful stream canal. The pedestrian crossings could be criss-crossed over bridges and the buses could have bridges perpendicular to the flow of the stream.

It could be done, it would make Queen St one of the most beautiful in the world.

"To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing." — Pamela Haines

-Words to Mayor Goff 2021

Two men in suits holding a large cityscape painting, standing in a conference room with people seated in the background.

Framed newspaper with headline 'Dreaming of a better Queen St' featuring an illustration of Queen Street with palm trees, a building with a clock tower, and a waterfront walkway.

Kerikeri peninsula oil on canvas. Painting of a coastal landscape with lush green trees in the foreground, blue water in the middle, and rolling hills in the background under a clear blue sky.

Cover of The New Zealand Artist Magazine, January/February 2020 issue, featuring a landscape of the ocean, islands, and greenery with headlines about studio work, demonstrations, artist forums, and exhibitions in bold yellow and white text.

Dominion Road. A painting of a street scene with a train arriving at a station, people on the sidewalk, palm trees, and buildings in the background. Christopher Dews

A colorful, abstract landscape painting of Orakei Marae coastline with a temple or pagoda on the hilltop, a tower in the distance, and sculpted waves along the shoreline, with boats and figures in the water.

A vibrant painting of a lush garden path leading to a distant view of water and a mountain. The scene is filled with colorful flowers, large green leafy plants, and tall trees with red and purple blossoms under a bright sky. By Christopher Dews.

Close-up of an impressionist-style oil painting depicting pink roses and yellow flowers along a pathway with trees and a distant landscape.

A vibrant painting of a garden with various colorful flowers and green foliage, leading towards a bright sky with blue and white clouds.

A man in a patterned shirt hanging a landscape painting with trees, a river, and a sky on a wall with peeling paint inside a room that has a wooden table.

A landscape painting of humans living in harmony with nature, waterfalls on the left, a mountain with a stepped pyramid structure in the background, lush vegetation, several white birds, and a statue on a rock in the water. By Christopher Dews.

A framed landscape painting of a mountainous scene with waterfalls, water, greenery, and white birds, set on a black table in an art studio.

Oil painting of a mountain landscape with a waterfall cascading over rocks, lush green trees, distant snow-capped mountains, and a colorful sky at sunrise or sunset.

A landscape painting of mountains, waterfalls, and lush greenery, created with thick textured brushstrokes.

Colorful abstract painting of a vast flower field with various blooming flowers in yellow, red, pink, and white, extending towards a mountain range under a partly cloudy sky. By Christopher Dews.

A large framed oil painting of a flower field with mountains and sky in the background, hanging on an interior white wall.

A man with curly hair and a beard, wearing a white t-shirt and black pants, is standing barefoot next to a colorful landscape painting in an art gallery. The painting depicts a vibrant field of flowers under a blue sky with clouds.

A painting of Red beach, Whangaparaoa with pink and purple trees, rolling waves, sandy shore, and a cloudy sky. A person is sitting on the grass near the road, and a few birds are on the sand.

A man stands in an art studio, observing landscape paintings on the wall and on an easel. The studio is cluttered with piles of papers, photo prints, and additional paintings, with framed artworks and a wooden chair visible in the background.

Close-up of a colorful beach scene painting with cliffs, ocean waves, and a sunset sky.

Stanmore Bay Painting of a beach seen through red Pohutukawa flowers and green trees with some birds flying in the sky.

Shippies, Ahipara surf painting. A peaceful ocean scene with gentle waves, rocky shoreline, and green foliage in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.

A painting of a large ocean wave with blue and greenish hues and a sky with soft pink and gray clouds in the background.

Orewa Bar landscape oil painting of a muddy shoreline with old wooden posts, reflecting in the water, and distant hills under a cloudy sky.

Whiritoa painting of a coastal landscape with rolling waves, green hills, rocks, and a blue sky.

Braedon Williams, Whangamata Bar surfing on a large wave near a rocky coastline with trees.

A serene seascape with rolling waves approaching a sandy beach, green hills in the background, and a large rocky island covered with trees to the right.

A painting of a coastal scene with large rocks and small trees on top, surrounded by water and distant green hills under a cloudy sky.

A painting of a coastal scene with a sandy beach, ocean waves, and a rocky, mountainous island covered with trees in the background under a cloudy sky.

A landscape painting of a coastline with a sandy beach in the foreground, ocean waves, and a large green hillside or small mountain in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

Man standing outdoors near the beach holding a painting of the landscape behind him, with a large hill and the ocean in the background under a cloudy sky.

A painting of a coastal landscape at sunset with trees, houses on a hill, and a beach near calm water

Painting of a scenic landscape with green hills, trees, a body of water, and distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

A peaceful painting of a river at sunset with pink, purple, and blue sky. Two birds are walking on a log in the foreground, with reflected trees and sky in the water. A small boat with a person can be seen in the distance.

A painting of a coastal landscape featuring a blue ocean, sandy beaches, lush green trees, and distant hills under a partly cloudy sky.

A painting of a coastal scene with blue ocean waves crashing against a rocky shoreline, green bushes in the foreground, and a grassy hill with trees in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

Landscape painting of a lake surrounded by mountains, with a large tree in the foreground and a grassy area.

A painting of a calm river surrounded by lush green trees and mountains with a cloudy sky reflected in the water.

Painting of The Last Supper, showing Jesus at center with apostles on either side, in a room with large windows and wooden wall panels.

A hand holding a detailed pencil sketch of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper with handwritten notes and names about the scene.

From Left -> Right
-Ritchie McCaw, Helen Clarke, Andrew Coster, John Key, Phil Goff, Jacinda Ardern
-Apihai Te Kawau
-Mike Hosking, Hone Harawira, Kim.com, Chlöe Swarbrick, Taika Waititi, Peter Jackson

An artist's studio with multiple landscape paintings on the wall, art supplies on tables, photographs leaning against the window, and a wooden easel.

Person wearing a yellow cap and white scarf reading a newspaper on a city rooftop with a skyline of tall buildings, party setup, and DJ equipment in the background.

Photo - Dalong Ye-Lee

Mount Ruapehu landscape painting of a mountainous scene with snow-capped peaks in the background, dark green trees, a rustic shed in the foreground, and a fence in a field.

Beau-jame wells skier in mid-air above a snowy ski jump, with mountains in the background.

Painting of a large mountain with smoke at the summit, surrounded by open land with green trees.

Muriwai painting of a seascape with rocky cliffs on the right, calm waves, and a sandy beach in the foreground under a light sky.

A painting of a beach scene with a large tree in the foreground, lush green grass, bushes with red flowers, and the ocean with waves in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

A painting of a mountain landscape with snow-capped peaks, green slopes, and a river in the foreground, displayed on a wooden surface with a sign reading 'Cheers Mate' below.

Otaki gorge Oil painting of a river flowing through a lush forest with rocks along the shoreline

A man sits outdoors in a lush green forest, painting on an easel.

A serene landscape painting of a river flowing through a lush, green forest with mountains in the background, and a small wooden watermill on the right side.

Ruapuke painting of an ocean wave curling over, with blue and green hues and foam at the crest, set against a pale sky.

A painting of a coastal landscape with a calm bay, rocky islands, green trees, and a cloudy sky.

Raglan painting - ocean scene with a rocky shoreline, waves, and a distant hill with a small house, painted in an impressionist style.