Penny Otto

A blog by artist Penny Otto

There are no direct flights between Polska (Poland) and New Zealand so it couldn’t seem much further away. But both countries have similarities such as breathtaking landscapes (out of the cities!). Poland has the picture postcard Tatra Mountains, while New Zealand is renowned for its own mountains, glaciers, and being encircled by a coastline.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Polska in the early ’90s. It’s now 2025 and the trip came to mind again when I was sorting through a pile of drawings. Seeing these Polish artworks brought it all back to me..

“Travel in Poland” (accompanied by storks!) – charcoal on paper

“Polish Fishermen” – on the Baltic coast -charcoal on paper

Many years ago my husband Arnold, and I, accompanied by my sister- law and her husband, made a very moving trip through Poland the country of Arnold’s birth, resulting in some of these sketches and a few paintings. Arnold could remember very little of the language but linguist Hans Juergen who speaks Russian (close enough to Polish) shepherded us safely around. This emotionally touching trip resulted in some of the artworks some of which you see in this blog.

Yes, I sketched because that is what I do, but always on the run so to speak. I work very fast sketching things that catch my eye, so the drawings do not have a finished look. As mentioned in another blog I prefer not to use a camera, only capturing what is important.

Feeding young storks nesting in a chimney – charcoal on paper

Arnold could remember very little of the language as he was bundled out of there at only 9 years old by his newly widowed father when the Russians invaded. However, without linguist/journalist Hans Juergen’s language assistance in pre-Google-translate days, Poland would have been difficult to navigate. It then had few tourists, but Arnold was cheered to see how things had improved since Poland had been working with the European Union (which it eventually did join).

“Swimming Hole in Poland” – oil pastel on paper

“Swimming in Posnan” – note horses on the skyline – charcoal on paper

“Torun” – the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus – pastel on hand made paper

“G’dansk” – a medieval city – pastel on paper

“Chielmo” – charcoal on paper