C l i c k    h e r e   f o r   t h e    l a t e s t    n e w s   u p d a t e s

T H E    K A I P A R A    H A R B O U R


 

Come to  the People's Choice Award: Wine & Art at West Auckland's Gallery Q: 18th September 2010, from 10 a.m.- 5.30 p.m.

Choose your favourite canvas from specially commissioned artworks by Gallery Q's artists.

All works are 200mm x 200mm, and priced at $200

The exhibition continues to 5th October.www.galleryq.co.nz

 

The Kaipara with Moturemu  2010   oil on paper and board   200 x 200mm  

 

 

 Towards South Head and Moturemu    2010   oil on paper and board   200 x 200mm  

 

 

 

 

The Kaipara with Moturemu and South Head  2010   oil on linen  1350 x 200mm  

 

The Kaipara is one of the largest harbours in the world, draining out into the Tasman Sea through treacherous shoals, creating vertical waves where the tides and the ocean collide. The surrounding farmland – small low hills that were once sand dunes - are now grassed farmland and forestry; the shores and inlets are lined with wetlands and mangroves, nurseries for fish and birdlife - the Kaipara Harbour is a vital gathering place and feeding point for wading and migratory birds. On the eastern shores, rugged bush-clad volcanic hills ensure the isolation of this remote and beautiful area

 

The Kaipara with Moturemu and some Kanuka   2010   oil on linen  650 x 200mm  

 

The light on the Kaipara is spectacular - vast areas of translucent glowing; dark cloud-trampled sky and the harbour shines; a mirror in the early morning; turquoise in the day, the characteristic ochre gleam of the mudflats at full tide. With each change of light the Kaipara is reborn. The opaque yellow of the rivers spill into the dense warm shallows; further from the shore, the water becomes clear and deep. The green rolling coastlines are scorched brown and ochre by the late summer.

 

 

Kaipara Harbour: Mangakura & Moturemu   2007   oil on linen 1950 x 300mm

detail 1   detail 2  

The Kaipara is a place that repeatedly invokes my love for the land; landscape is more than just something to hang my paint on. I feel a deep empathy for the land. The sense of energy and life underlying the land impels and provokes my response. I love the scribble of trees across the sky, the deep fathomless nature of dense bush. I like comparing the light of sky and sea to the dark secretive places in the landscape.

 

Kaipara Harbour: Pukekohuhu   2007   oil on linen 1950 x 300mm  (Private collection)

 

This series of paintings is based around the Hoteo river mouth at Mangakura. There is a small hill on the wetlands, an island with feet firmly in the  land, while Moturemu rides on the harbour. I enjoy the positive / negative qualities these two land forms evoke. The rhythms of South Head float beyond. Pukekohuhu’s distinctive sculptural volcanic cone is enveloped with ancient trees, and acts as guardian and cradle to the two "islands" on the harbour.

 

C l i c k    h e r e   f o r   t h e    l a t e s t    n e w s   u p d a t e s
Paintings News History Exhibitions Reviews Galleries Contact Us