Illustrations of Home
Anna’s drawing of ‘Fernhill’ was a celebration of a homestead that had been in the family for 148 years and was recently sold.
RURAL CREATIVE
WRITER: ANNA HOPKINS, AS TOLD TO KRISTY MCGREGOR / ILLUSTRATION: ANNA HOPKINS
After working as an architect in Auckland and Melbourne, Anna Hopkins, 35, was convinced by her husband to make the shift to rural Southland. Recently becoming a mother, the birth of her baby boy has led to the rediscovery of a talent for drawing that is evoking memories and celebrating important life moments.
Where do you live? Home is a beef farm on a small block near Oamaru, which is is a real do-up. We spend most of our spare time clearing overgrown gardens and trees, re-fencing, cleaning and renovating the original condition 1960s home. My husband works for a farming business in Southland overseeing their dairy farms, so we’re currently living on a dairy farm between Balfour and Waikaia, Southland. The house is up on a steep terrace overlooking the 170h farm below, across the Mataura river to the hills of Glenlapa and Cattle-flat Stations on the other side…pretty inspiring landscape.
What did you do career wise before kids? I studied and worked as an Architect in Auckland, before moving to Melbourne for several years. My specialty was sports architecture/stadiums and large public buildings. I was then convinced by my now-husband to cross back over the ditch to live in Southland. I continued to work remotely for a Melbourne architecture firm, and then part-time in Queenstown, as well as calf-rearing and teaching pilates classes, after completing my training while living in Melbourne.
When did you start drawing? Although I’ve always enjoyed drawing and sketched wherever possible in my job, I begun drawing for pleasure while travelling in my 20’s, backpacking in South America, and then later through Ireland, Barcelona and Portugal. I kept a daily sketchbook of whatever was happening that day, with a visual sketch of the location and architecture. I looked forward to recording each diary entry and seeing my drawings improve, as I developed my own style.
What’s the significance of houses and buildings? I’ve got a passion for villas, bungalows and retro, character buildings; anything can be made beautiful by finding its cute or quirky attributes. Moving to Oamaru, with its historic precinct, was a source of inspiration for my drawing, and made me determined to make the time for sketching.
How has your study as an architect influence your drawing? It takes a lot of practice to draw a squiggly straight line! I do draw more than just architectural objects, although I think there is a niche for capturing people's special life-moments through their buildings; long-time family homesteads, buying or selling first homes, last homes, birth-places, private proposals or public marriages…
What’s life like as an artist on maternity leave? Drawing is something I can pick up, start and stop easily around my son James's afternoon sleep. But in reality it usually happens late in the evenings. I make time for my art because I know it’s important for my mental health and it makes me happy. This began as a bit of a relaxation tool and hobby, but since then people have contacted me for commissions of their own places.
What’s the response been to your work? I only recently decided to make an effort to share more of my own sketches on my Instagram page @annasketchesnz. I wanted to challenge myself to draw regularly again and start a visual journal of this stage of my life; the houses we live between, summer weekends away, my retro-rural-RSA-come-pilates-studio. The response has been very motivating and I have been lucky to be asked to complete a number of commissions from followers, which is more than I could have hoped for.