Once every four or five years during my "proper job" working life, I painted during the summer break, just enough to know I loved it, But I was frustrated, it was clear that the only way for me to paint really well, is to do it all the time. Since retiring I now paint full time and this website displays most of my work since mid 2015.
I reside in Island Bay Wellington, looking out to Red Rocks, Cook Strait and the South Island, views I have painted many times. We have made regular visits to Napier over the last 10 years which have led to a decision to move to the "laid back" Mediterranean of the Southern Hemisphere that has an abundance of friendly people great weather and painting subject matter. The process of making the move has inspired most of my work over the last few months, amazing scenes of Napier and the Hawkes Bay.
In November last year on a regular visit to view the work of others at Creative Arts Napier (CAN) I was asked if I was an artist. I was then asked if I had a Website and after the friendly staff reviewed it I was invited to exhibit in the Big Room. So from a few paintings of the Napier/Hawkes Bay area I have graduated to a much larger number which will be on exhibit at CAN from 12 April 2019. This has been good for my development so the invitation to exhibit is much appreciated. Its my first exhibition ever.
Until now I have gifted many paintings and a number are on display in restaurants. Napier's highly regarded "Thai Hutt" has 6 on display, including 2 that are portraits of Bodin, the welcoming owner behind the Bar. Wellington's "Original Thai" restaurant in Island Bay was the first restaurant to place my work and it has four paintings of traditional Thai women with umbrellas completed in 2015/16, not long after retirement.
I like to paint both NZ landscapes and people, I paint oils on canvas exclusively and I am a realist with an impressionist bias. While I like impressionism a lot (Renoir and Monet are two favourites) my style is what comes naturally to me. With Landscapes I paint quickly and more expressively and with portraits I am more considerate. In time I will be happy to achieve more quickly executed and more expressive portraits. It has been said that my portraits capture the essence of the person, which is pleasing except for the fact that they take so long to do. I TRY not to think about painting too much, there are so many variables, to focus on the enjoyment of the process and the music that is playing in the background 8 to 12 hours per day.
While Napier and the Hawkes Bay have been the inspiration for recent landscapes, over the last few years Wellington coastal scenes dominated reflecting where we live. I have executed a large number if lily pond works, and many of thai women in traditional dress, And then there are the portraits of family, friends and acquaintances and even movie stars
I am driven by the desire to improve without knowing what that means ultimately. Self taught I believe the more I paint the better I get. Some 20 years ago, during a relatively free work summer I copied a number of Renoir's as an enjoyable learning exercise. I started by copying a number of his smaller simpler works and then quickly jumped to the hard stuff. "Luncheon of the Boating Party" was rendered full size (51 x 68in) taking 13 weeks to complete in my spare time. This was quickly followed by "Dance at Le moulin de la Galette" also a full size study (52x69in) which took only 6 weeks to complete in my spare time - the benefit of previous Renoir “brush miles” and a large poster sized print lent to me by the lady who owned an art store in Manners Street in the heart of Wellington's CBD. These large Renoir's were full of people and in some of my most recent works I have incorporated people into a number of my scenes. One of the more challenging recent works was inspired by a well known street in Paris. "Autumn Cafe" - is a 48”x48" piece that has more than 30 people who are carefully interacting in a modestly loose style.
Having completed hundreds of works over the last 3.5 years the house is getting cluttered and the walls alone are now covered with about 100 works. The rest are in boxes, on shelves, on the floor, everywhere it seems. Time to see if my work is valued and to move some works despite being very attached to them as points of reference. I find looking at previous works is very educational but also frustrating. Often I will randomly re-work a long finished painting to see if I have learnt anything.
I am lucky to have great garage space with great light where I paint every day. I paint from a number of photos for each work. I move things around and try to create my own mood, a composition that is balanced, to inject more than is possible with a photograph, to capture the spirit of the scene, the person, the moment and the light. I paint with high quality artists oils (mainly NORMA, Old Holland and Sennelier) and use a number of mediums (Neo Meglip, Liquin, or a blend of Damar, Stand Oil and OMS). One of my struggles has been with the choice of medium, having discovered there is no magic silver bullet to fit every work. I now have hundreds of brushes, always on the lookout for something better!
While I have purchased 100's of tubes my palette is getting more restricted. Two blues (ultramarine and Cerulean, two reds one being French Vermillion, three yellows one being Naples the others Cadmiums, Burnt Sienna, Vandyke Brown and Indothene green. Having tried all the brands and colors, I have found there is only one brand of cerulean blue that works for me, one brand of bright red that works, one burnt sienna..... For white I use Old Holland Titanium exclusively now.
I usually do a quick underpainting, in full color and come back to it when its dry and can be oiled out for a second, third, .... layer, each correcting or interplaying the previous. How long a painting takes is completely random it seems, from a few hours (rarely) to many days.
My ambition is simple. To continue with my passion to paint to see where the journey takes me in terms of style, impact and difference, if I give it everything.
I reside in Island Bay Wellington, looking out to Red Rocks, Cook Strait and the South Island, views I have painted many times. We have made regular visits to Napier over the last 10 years which have led to a decision to move to the "laid back" Mediterranean of the Southern Hemisphere that has an abundance of friendly people great weather and painting subject matter. The process of making the move has inspired most of my work over the last few months, amazing scenes of Napier and the Hawkes Bay.
In November last year on a regular visit to view the work of others at Creative Arts Napier (CAN) I was asked if I was an artist. I was then asked if I had a Website and after the friendly staff reviewed it I was invited to exhibit in the Big Room. So from a few paintings of the Napier/Hawkes Bay area I have graduated to a much larger number which will be on exhibit at CAN from 12 April 2019. This has been good for my development so the invitation to exhibit is much appreciated. Its my first exhibition ever.
Until now I have gifted many paintings and a number are on display in restaurants. Napier's highly regarded "Thai Hutt" has 6 on display, including 2 that are portraits of Bodin, the welcoming owner behind the Bar. Wellington's "Original Thai" restaurant in Island Bay was the first restaurant to place my work and it has four paintings of traditional Thai women with umbrellas completed in 2015/16, not long after retirement.
I like to paint both NZ landscapes and people, I paint oils on canvas exclusively and I am a realist with an impressionist bias. While I like impressionism a lot (Renoir and Monet are two favourites) my style is what comes naturally to me. With Landscapes I paint quickly and more expressively and with portraits I am more considerate. In time I will be happy to achieve more quickly executed and more expressive portraits. It has been said that my portraits capture the essence of the person, which is pleasing except for the fact that they take so long to do. I TRY not to think about painting too much, there are so many variables, to focus on the enjoyment of the process and the music that is playing in the background 8 to 12 hours per day.
While Napier and the Hawkes Bay have been the inspiration for recent landscapes, over the last few years Wellington coastal scenes dominated reflecting where we live. I have executed a large number if lily pond works, and many of thai women in traditional dress, And then there are the portraits of family, friends and acquaintances and even movie stars
I am driven by the desire to improve without knowing what that means ultimately. Self taught I believe the more I paint the better I get. Some 20 years ago, during a relatively free work summer I copied a number of Renoir's as an enjoyable learning exercise. I started by copying a number of his smaller simpler works and then quickly jumped to the hard stuff. "Luncheon of the Boating Party" was rendered full size (51 x 68in) taking 13 weeks to complete in my spare time. This was quickly followed by "Dance at Le moulin de la Galette" also a full size study (52x69in) which took only 6 weeks to complete in my spare time - the benefit of previous Renoir “brush miles” and a large poster sized print lent to me by the lady who owned an art store in Manners Street in the heart of Wellington's CBD. These large Renoir's were full of people and in some of my most recent works I have incorporated people into a number of my scenes. One of the more challenging recent works was inspired by a well known street in Paris. "Autumn Cafe" - is a 48”x48" piece that has more than 30 people who are carefully interacting in a modestly loose style.
Having completed hundreds of works over the last 3.5 years the house is getting cluttered and the walls alone are now covered with about 100 works. The rest are in boxes, on shelves, on the floor, everywhere it seems. Time to see if my work is valued and to move some works despite being very attached to them as points of reference. I find looking at previous works is very educational but also frustrating. Often I will randomly re-work a long finished painting to see if I have learnt anything.
I am lucky to have great garage space with great light where I paint every day. I paint from a number of photos for each work. I move things around and try to create my own mood, a composition that is balanced, to inject more than is possible with a photograph, to capture the spirit of the scene, the person, the moment and the light. I paint with high quality artists oils (mainly NORMA, Old Holland and Sennelier) and use a number of mediums (Neo Meglip, Liquin, or a blend of Damar, Stand Oil and OMS). One of my struggles has been with the choice of medium, having discovered there is no magic silver bullet to fit every work. I now have hundreds of brushes, always on the lookout for something better!
While I have purchased 100's of tubes my palette is getting more restricted. Two blues (ultramarine and Cerulean, two reds one being French Vermillion, three yellows one being Naples the others Cadmiums, Burnt Sienna, Vandyke Brown and Indothene green. Having tried all the brands and colors, I have found there is only one brand of cerulean blue that works for me, one brand of bright red that works, one burnt sienna..... For white I use Old Holland Titanium exclusively now.
I usually do a quick underpainting, in full color and come back to it when its dry and can be oiled out for a second, third, .... layer, each correcting or interplaying the previous. How long a painting takes is completely random it seems, from a few hours (rarely) to many days.
My ambition is simple. To continue with my passion to paint to see where the journey takes me in terms of style, impact and difference, if I give it everything.