This painting, has been a long journey, but a joy to work on. I have spent many endless days lost in each element of this scene, building layer upon layer of detail with vibrant colour. I was fortunate to be undertaking this commission for a couple who have a creative background, so even with a somewhat subdued mock-up of the painting to be, their imagination and vision aligned with mine. I don’t think that any of us knew what the final outcome would actually look like, we just had lots of ideas that needed to be included in the scene, which had to be refined as it evolved. Their passion for the coastal elements, the birdlife, mine expanding on the local fauna, and combing bold colour to work well together.
Morning Birdsong at Breaker Bay, Miramar Peninsula, Wellington, New Zealand
St Arnaud Range is very easily accessed from below, in fact so much so that I took my kid’s along the range recently to explore one of the places I find most beautiful. Here is the route that we took along the range and down Powder Valley. Also some...
Not much sleep was had sausaged between two kids that flung their arms into my head all night long and with a full moon lighting up the tent, but I emerged well rested and to a most spectacular and still morning. A few of us wandered around exploring the plateau while others stayed cocooned inside while the first fingers of sun...
After many seemingly endless weeks painting in the studio and in the middle of the school holidays before the first winter snow, the perfect weather window approached. Boots, packs and gear were scattered throughout the house half packed and ready to go, however I was still only half committed. The looming dread of listening to the kids 7 & 8 fight, whinge and moan while I carried over a third of my body weight up 1100 vertical meters...