New Brighton may have noticed a full-sized figure near fence near the Seaview Rd bridge enthusiastically welcoming people into our wonderful coastal paradise. The swine man is resin and metal and his creator Donald Paterson, one man who knows how to take a bull by the horns. He has ideas about revitalising the shops, entrance to New Brighton, the end of the pier, and these are just for starters. Paterson is an artist/sculptor/raconteur larger than life character known in various parts of Aotearoa, for his three-dimensional characters (see below) adding charms to towns big and small. For this artist to have moved into central New Brighton is a massive creative boost as Paterson leaves a lasting impression wherever he spends time. After almost a lifetime generating works of art and challenging conventions, people are heartened by his positivity about his new environment alongside the Ōkārito-Avon River and within walking distance to the Mall. There is not enough space to compress the life and times of this unconventional new resident from selling his first painting at 12 years of age, to stringing himself up on a crucifix for a day encapsulated within barbed wire (see below). Donald went on to designing a massive demonic iron train playing a big part in making Oamaru the steampunk capital of the country, and one of the most photographed objects in the town. He took the old and tired local railway station and turned part of it into Oamaru’s Prehistoric World. Aside from his fantastical creations Paterson is known for many statures of real or symbolic people and these are dotted from Thames to Akaroa. He sculpted Captain Henry Cain, one of Timaru’s first residents now sitting in front of the town’s historic Landing Service Building. Created a life-sized statue of an 8th Regiment New Zealand Mounted Rifle Soldier in Fairlie, and the Waimate bushman to pay homage to the town’s sawmilling history. The man and the plough below is destined for Ashburton. Although only there for nine years, Oamaru as a tourist attraction owes a great deal to the whimsical mind of Donald Paterson. Along with the much-photographed diesel loco, he also designed the steampunk playground and the Gallery café (see below). Donald Paterson is not conventional and thinks outside the square. He is talented, passionate, puts places on the map, and is living in New Brighton.