On Sunday I took the opportunity to visit local artists who had opened their studios and their transformed garages to see their latest creative endeavors.
A week or so ago I went down to the
Percy Thompson Gallery in Stafford with my friends Wayne Morris and his wife Sarah to the official opening of this years art trail. The gallery featured a range of local artists involved and was a lively affair - complete with music..
The
Percy Thompson is a real asset to the province and is always worth a visit.
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| Jan Huijbers |
I was only able to spend one day last weekend to visit the artists and had to limit myself to a few artists in the the city and the North area. In previous Art Trails I have visited most of the artists in the South and West. It was a shame to miss out on the stimulating experience of visiting the studios/environments of
Marianne Muggeridge and
Roger Morris,;
Dale Copeland and
Paul Hutchinson; the
Spencer's pottery;
Alby Carter; and the
Korver Molloy Gallery . At all these places there is always more to see than just the art for me it is also the lifestyle and commitment to their creativity.
Next year perhaps. There is only so much you can see in a day
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| Amanda's three flags |
On Sunday my intention was to visit artists whose work I have admired but whose studios I hadn't visited and I planned to complete my day by ending up at
John and Chris McLeans and
Howard Tuffery at Mimi.
So first stop
Jan Huijbers. A great start. I had the artist to myself and he explained the use of patterns on shells as a core motivation which he interpreted to develop his own themes. I was really impressed with some detailed pen and ink drawing of tree ferns that he had completed a few years earlier.
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| Tony Rumball - red chair |
Then on to see
Amanda Hewitt. Amanda is one of the key organizers for the trail and her work based on landscapes and historical references has always appealed to me. Until more visitors arrived I had Amanda to myself and she expressed the ideas behind her paintings. One painting I really liked was based on the flags of Titokowaru, Te Kooti and an invented one based on the dollar and individualism.
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| Saran Buist |
Next stop an artist that has always attracted and confused me
Tony Rumball. Tony had his garage transformed into an amazing gallery. I loved his sense of colour, his range of personal themes, and his exuberant/expressionistic painting style. I spent a lot of time looking at his work and his wonderful photos books.
I called in to see my friend
Greg Hepworth in Waitara. Greg is not included in the trail but I am a great admirer of his work based on his interpretations of native bush. Time fora cup of tea and some carrot cake.
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| Howard's bowl in garden |
Next visit was to
Sarah Buist's newish studio. Sarah's drawings are very different and comprise of detailed abstract drawings using pen, pencil or goache on paper.
By now I was running out of time so it was time to head North to my final stop. Sadly I had had to miss out visiting a number of other artists - next year!
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| Chris McLean |
The gallery's of
Howard Tuffery and
John and Chris McLean were a great place to finish the day. I have known John, Chris and Howard for many years and their work is always an aesthetic delight. Equally importantly to me are the amazing homes and environments they have created for themselves. Add to this wonderful views of hills, valleys, bush and the Mimi river mouth it couldn't get better.
John's gallery and studio were full of his recent work, both paintings and prints. I particularly enjoyed John's recent return to local landscapes that usually provide the backgrounds for his narrative paintings.
Chris has some beautiful 'collages' that reminded me of some sort of abstract Viennese treasures.
Howard had on display a variety of his unique time consuming stone and wood bowls.
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| Howard's bowls, garden and view |
All in all a great day illustrating the wide variety of talent that exists in this province. A number of the artists visited are full time artists while for others it obviously it is an important part of their lives.
Certainly motivation to get back into some art myself.
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| John and Chris McLean's gallery and studio. |
In the 60s a began a long friendship with Maori artist John Bevan Ford . He joined the advisory team after working at a music shop. John had two great loves art and opera. I have a number of pieces of art by John. The painting featured is of Ngati toa fighting chief Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata Through John I met a number of Maori artists.
My favourite rocks are the small ventrafacts I found at Waitorara Beach. These days they are protected. I originally found these wind blown stones when we used to camp at the Caves Beach. We mistakenly thought they were Maori adzes.
My bathroom features the Maori Papa and Rangi myth about the separation of earth and heaven their children. Originally it was placed on a large figure painted background
On Sunday I took the opportunity to visit local artists who had opened their studios and their transformed garages to see their latest creative endeavors.
John's gallery and studio were full of his recent work, both paintings and prints. I particularly enjoyed John's recent return to local landscapes that usually provide the backgrounds for his narrative paintings.
I bought the property in 1970 and although I have continued planting I have removed a number of large trees planted when the property was bounded by farms - mainly big poplar tees but also camellia and conifers planted by Graham. Graham told me it was a 'wilderness garden' when he sold it to me a concept that suited me but I have come to realize there is no such thing. Plants , near houses anyway, have to be trimmed and even removed. The next big tree to be 'sorted out' is one I planted in 1970!
Now I would like to develop paintings based on the trees in the bush. This offers considerable challenges - particularly how much detail to include. My intention is to develop some semi-abstract paintings that capture the essence of the bush - its dark and mysterious feel.
