- Home
-
Paintings
-
Prints
- Works in Progress
- Contact
-
Resources
-
I have been working on the finer detail in the Poolburn painting recently and it seems like every time I pick up the brush there seems to be a tiny hut popping out from behind a rock. There's not quite that many, but there are a few nestled around the reservoir and each has a lot of character. This particular one caught my eye, how close it is to the rock, how tiny it is and look how it is made.
Nestled high in the rugged heart of Central Otago, Poolburn Dam is an interesting place containing striking contrasts. Vast open skies, golden tussock-covered hills, unusual schist rock formations, and the deep blue waters of the reservoir combine to create a landscape that feels both remote and timeless. Built in 1931 as part of an irrigation scheme for the Ida Valley, the reservoir remains one of Central Otago's most iconic high-country locations and is renowned for its dramatic scenery, fishing, and rich history. Dotted around the shoreline are these iconic huts - perhaps 30 or more, I haven't counted.
Find it here: https://www.bellamygallery.co.nz/collections/works-in-progress
A little more showing the work gone into the Molesworth painting so far. In this part of the painting you can see how the snow dots get very tiny as they are further into the distance. There's a lot more work that needs to be done on the foreground tussocks - these are currently past base colours and are a little darker than they will be as I layer up the brights and lights.
The fence line tells a story...
A lot of time has been spent on the Molesworth painting so far. It's one of ones that has so many different aspects that you work one part then get distracted and work another and just can't seem to put the brush down. Each different aspect of this painting complements the other and there are some nice contrasts in texture and detail not to mention the beautiful colour palette...
Having not yet visited the Lake Coleridge area, we decided to have a look around on our way south. We arrived at Harper Campsite after driving for a few hours in the dark with only the faint silhouette of big beautiful snow topped mountain ranges towering ahead of us not knowing what to expect. In the morning the sun slowly rose around the peaks and as it warmed up we set off on our bikes up the big wide Wilberforce River...
