I asked him why he thought so many artists live in the vicinity. “I’d say it was the beauty of the natural environ­ment, plus the relatively laid-back lifestyle. Fifteen years ago, it seemed that the peninsula was going to become middle-class, but the trend stopped and property prices have barely risen in the last 10 years, although not many properties come up for sale. Dunedinites seem to view the peninsula as another world. It’s somewhere they come for Sunday drives, but, at 20 minutes from the Octagon, they consider it too far for regular travel. Most are used to five-minute commutes. Tourism is projected to grow, and we’d like to have a craft trail like the one in Nelson, though who knows if the tourists will be art buyers? I know it sounds elitist, but good art doesn’t sell. Many of us do saleable stuff for a few days a week and the art we want to do the rest of the time.”