An Artist's Diary

A New Year! Hopefully for me, new ideas, paintings and drawings and new activities, which begins with a new series of landscapes based on Fiordland and Coromandel, New Zealand. Then I shall continue with my ancestors portrait studies, to be shown in Hamilton in 2010 I hope. This hasn't yet been confirmed.

We've had a windy hot summer so far here in Hamilton. Xmas has been quiet for us here, but the Boxing Day sales in the shops have been fantastic and busy. I shopped yesterday until I was exhausted, but I'm pleased with my purchases!

For sometime now I have been displaying my work on the Saatchi Online website for artists; it's a fabulous opportunity to exhibit online worldwide. Artists number into the thousands; there is such a variety of work, from paintings, illustrations, photography and other media too. It keeps me disciplined, displaying a different set of works online every two weeks and keeps me active in exhibition skills.

The website, owned by Charles Saatchi, includes "Your Gallery" " Salesroom Online", and "Saatchi Showdown", the latter being a more competitive element to the website. There is a fund of information for artists, especially those wanting to exhibit overseas. Their website address is saatchi-gallery.co.uk

I have put aside my portraiture for now, because of the Xmas season. Instead, I've returned to painting landscapes for relaxation and once again Fiordland is my point of interest. There are aspects of the Darran Ranges I want to investigate further - their remoteness, great beauty, and the fact that they are composed of granite - seemingly inaccessible to climb physically and to paint!

Mount Tutoko and Mount Madeline seem to dominate the whole of the Darran Ranges, and of course, they are the highest of all. From whichever angle both peaks are seen, the composition of these two mountains, amongst lesser known peaks, is naturally perfect. Atmosphere and mood are the important factors in painting them, quite apart from structure and form.

Having begun work on the portraits for exhibition next year in August, I’m now able to settle down and return to my monthly diary writings. I have six paintings which I’m working on cumulatively. Two are completed. They are in Gallery 5, page 2.

Different tasks are required for portraiture – as I’m using photographs only as a template to create my own people, I’m relatively free to give my own interpretation of the work; the same rules apply for good art work, whatever the subject matter. But, of much importance, apart from the face, are the hands, stance and scale of the body. Fashions of the day in the early 1900s are wonderful to paint.

It’s still raining outside after three days! I entered three paintings for the Hamilton Home and Garden Show and have also continued to work on a piece called “Rhythm of the Shells”. It is so different to anything else I have done, as I’ve used a palette knife to layer paint thickly in an impasto, to give a sculptural effect. It is in Gallery 4.

I have images of my paintings on the Saatchi Online Website at www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk On this site I have images at Saatchi Online, Saatchi Showdown and Saleroom Online.

I have often been asked what inspires me to paint. I can only say it is the experiencing of many things, combined with the observation of objects and people and the natural and manmade architectural landscape.

I love reading, and when I was 8 or 9 years old, I read the Classic comics of the 1940's era. The stories were "Lorna Doone" " The Three Musketeers"; "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"; " Rip Van Winkle"; "Gulliver's Travels" and others. These comics had wonderful illustrations, as the stories were told in pictures. They remain vividly real to me, and I used to spend most of my pocket money on these comics, which were sold at the local dairy.

Paintings of the old masters have always been important to me as a guide in painting technique and design. My favourite artists are Cezanne, Mondrian, Ingres, Raphael, Titian, Braque and Degas. For years I have studied the the work of these painters and others, though I don't copy their work directly. In some of my works I adopt some of the characteristics of Mondrian's linear and box - like shapes into my own work.

No matter how much study I give to the old masters, in the end it is my own interpretation which matters. But I enjoy trying to master their techniques of tone and colour, of glazing one colour over another. Mostly, I enjoy their superb draughtsmanship, or drawing.

Art practice involves hard work, and even the most inspired artist cannot produce anything worthwhile, unless they practise drawing and painting each day. Like music, practice makes perfect!

Winter has really struck New Zealand – much snow in the South Island and there’s a bit of Antarctica in the freezing wind, even here in Hamilton. This city must have the most moderate of climates here in New Zealand, as we rarely get extremes in the weather.

I have been continuing with my paintings based on my ancestors from 1850 – 1920 period. I’ve begun each work with free brushwork and then selected areas that I want to detail more finely. I find that doing several drawings from the photographs before commencing a painting, is ideal; by the time I begin a painting, I feel I know the subject better and can take a freer approach.

Formal family photographs were in vogue in the 19^th and early 20^th century. I am grateful for this, as I now have a catalogue of what my forebears looked like, and can appreciate their family values, dress and customs.

The photograph in this diary is one taken in my present studio some years ago, though the carpets and drapes have changed. I have two easels, though the other one lives in the garage. Both easels are used though, before an exhibition. There are glimpses of some paintings from Gallery 3, leaning against the wall. Everything looks so tidy, but rarely is!

This month I have found a focus for my work - my family tree. I have some photos of my forbears from the 19th and 20th century posing either on their own, or with other members of the family.

I'm especially interested in their postures, demeanor,dress and the social expectations of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Very formal and dutiful, but also proud of their heritage, is how I'd describe their expressions. It shows in the tilt to the head, the pride on the faces of the family and their position in society, whatever that was at the time..

Watchchains, waistcoats, lace collars, ruffles and the jewelry with which they're dressed - everything is invaluable to the artist portraying a certain time in history.

The father of the family I am painting was a millwright and engineer from Hull in Yorkshire, England. His son, my great-grandfather, was a bricklayer when he emigrated to Lyttelton, New Zealand with his family at the end of the 19th century.

I have not attempted to paint a likeness in the faces to the real people involved. Instead, the portraits serve as a guide only, so that I can develop a persona which I alone have created.

I can’t decide what to paint next; there are so many possibilities! I seem to need constant change, but should settle down and paint a “collection” In other words, the works should be cohesive and relate to one another.

I have never been very successful at making “collections”, as after a time I get bored with the subject matter. A collection of three or four works is comfortable for me. Then I must have variety and a changed perspective.

People say they can see which works are mine, even in a group show. It is fashionable today to have something to say in your work. Whatever, I can only see the beauty of things, and that is all I have to say in my work. All is beautiful. That is my focus and I always search for perfection.

My cat Sweetie limps a little when she walks around, as she must be all of sixteen years old now. She has arthritis in her shoulder, which can be eased by drops of medicine, prescribed by the veterinarian. Afterwards, she’s at once youthful and dashes about like a young thing. This lasts for three days, then she’s limping again.

It's the beginning of autumn today in New Zealand; I'm so pleased! My cat Sweetie has spent this last week looking for a cool Victoria Battery, in Karangahake Gorge

place under the bushes in my garden.

I've just finished a painting about the Antarctic, which I shall name " Into the Great Unknown". It will sit alongside "The Bird of Good Omen" in the Ancient World Gallery. Each work I do demands different skills, and the challenge is what I enjoy. We hope to photograph 3 new works today.

I was very interested in the Academy Awards and who won an Oscar last weekend; though I wish the film stars would walk along the red carpet so that we can see the dresses and the bling! I'm pleased that Kate Winslet won an Oscar for best actress, as I first saw her in a film called "Heavenly Creatures" some years ago; she was a good actress even in her first film.

Painting is a lonely job, though trying to avoid it by going out and leaving the studio is frustrating - wandering around shopping and so forth is no comparison to achieving through hard work. Avoidance of my work is a form of procrastination, because whilst one is physically away from the art scene, the mind is constantly occupied with problems left behind in the studio.

This weekend I'm painting an urban environment in which I have placed the portraits of two people. I re-discovered some drawings I did some years ago, and somehow the portraits seemed to belong with my drawings of houses. I shall see what evolves.

The photograph above was taken at the Victoria Battery, in Karangahake Gorge. In the background of the photo, are the remnants of concrete foundations of the cyanide tanks used in the mining of gold at Waihi. I spent many weeks onsite drawing and taking photographs of masonry walls, charred remnants and old iron from this old battery near Waihi. The resulting paintings are in Gallery 7.

We have had a very hot January, some days the heat is over 30 degrees centigrade. Though February is officially still summer here in New Zealand, fog begins to creep in at night in the latter half of the month. No matter what the weather, I’m still painting as usual.

In the photo at top right of the page is a Waikato Times photograph, taken just before my exhibition of ”Tableau” June 1996 in Hamilton. The works from this exhibition form the basis of my fantasy gallery.

At top left is a photo of Sweetie, my cat. She is my constant companion in my studio.
She adopted my husband and myself in 2001 and has found many places to sleep at our house. She has selected a special place on a couch in my studio, where she sleeps on a piece of wool lambskin.

Today I am working on a painting of a nude. It is exacting and challenging and I have been working on this piece for some time – painting a little, then putting it aside while I catch up on other paintings. Sometimes I have from 4 to 6 pieces of work that I work on simultaneously.

In the evenings I read or watch TV. I’m reading “The Enemies of Rome” by Philip Matyszak. There is a chapter about Boudicca, the English warrior queen in AD 43. Also very interesting is a chapter about Spartacus, the Roman who became a gladiator in 73 BC. I still have an interest in ballet, and enjoy watching the French ballerina, Sylvie Guillem, on the internet. My favourite ballet at present is “Raymonda”

I was asked some years ago, what sort of legacy I would like to leave regarding my painting. I can’t remember exactly what I said at the time, but now I believe that being true to yourself in what you create, is essential. Otherwise, one is open to all of the idiosyncracies of the art world, not knowing which path to take; and being influenced by the images displayed in galleries and magazines.

I'm painting two works on canvas based on Antarctica at present. The content includes sailing ships, an albatross, icebergs, a sextant, the New Zealand flag, the sea and the moon. I have been influenced by a poem called "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. My two paintings when finished, can be found in The Ancient World Gallery.

I've always been interested in the explorations of Captain Cook, and own three videos based on his life, and starring the British actor, the late Richard Harris. He portrays Cook wonderfully, and the videos cover the 3 explorations that Captain Cook undertook into the South seas of the Pacific Ocean. In the 18th century Antarctica was considered to be a vast unknown continent. So I have entitled one of these paintings "Into The Great Unknown"

The other painting is called "A Bird of Good Omen", meaning the albatross. It has been said that any sailor who kills an albatross at sea, will have bad luck. The bird often accompanied sailing ships, nearing the 60degree parallel of the Antarctic Circle, providing company and reassurance as the ships were battered by blizzards and sea ice.

After studying sailing ships, especially Captain Cook's ship, the "Resolution", I'm amazed that such a small, delicate and rudimentary ship of 1772 could withstand the storms and differing temperate zones, over a period of three years, which time was the norm for a voyage around the world. Cook advanced into the Antarctic Circle to a latitude of 67 degrees, his ship being surrounded by Southern pack ice, so they were forced to retreat northwards to New Zealand.

My paintings are contemporary,outlining the ship's rigging against the pale green and white icebergs. I've added a New Zealand flag to a "Bird of Good Omen"; and am considering adding a sextant to the other painting "Into the Great Unknown"

These works should be available to see in The Ancient World Gallery by the end of January, 2009. " A Bird of Good Omen" will first be shown at an exhibition at Whakatane, in the Bay of Plenty, NZ, from January 24 -26.