What’s on your Plate

Just before my visit to the Auckland Art Gallery, I read a blog post from Artista…thoughts on art in London about ‘Parallel Painting Paths – Mondrian and Nicholson converse at The Courtauld.‘  Walking to the Frances Hodgkins exhibition that day, I passed this painting by Ben Nicholson which looked so similar to the one in Chloe’s [...]

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Treasure Trove – Frances Hodgkins, Choi Jeong Hwa, Reuben Paterson, Gretchen Albrecht

Such a beautiful day in Auckland Sunday. I decided to wander up to the Auckland Art Gallery and have a decent look around – I had visited once since coming home from England, but just for a quick visit to listen to Anna Miles talk on Frances Hodgkins. What a treat it is. I wanted [...]

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Pure abstraction is undernourished.

So said John Piper – ‘That, in whatever direction you look, is a subject worthy of contemporary painting. Pure abstraction is undernourished. It should at least be allowed to feed bare on a beach with tins and broken bottles.’ I’ve long loved John Piper’s work and his love of English buildings and landscape, and a [...]

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Barcelona – It was the first time that we met

My niece invited me to Barcelona for the weekend and of course I said yes. I’d never been to Spain before so even a little taste would be good. In the end, three Dalgety girls and one ring-in indulged themselves in the warmth, sun, food and drink of Barcelona. Only for two short days so [...]

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Frances Hodgkins: Paintings, Gouaches and Drawings

Just been to see this exhibition at John Leech Gallery in Auckland. My favourite was the most expensive, ‘Wild Violets & Honesty’ painted in 1941. “… other work, such as Wild Violets and Honesty, which combine still life and nature show an exquisite touch, even a certain audacity where the handle of the brush has [...]

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Paul Nash, British artist

This text comes from The Telegraph, reviewing first London exhibition of Nash’s work since 1975. But the words just felt liking coming howm to me! – like “a beautiful, legendary country haunted by old gods long forgotten.” I’m not the only one with a fascination of Britain and it’s long history. And it seems to [...]

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The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks

I picked this book, The Fatal Englishman by Sebastian Faulks,  up yesterday in the secondhand bookshop in Ponsonby. Three Short Lives is it’s subtitle. It is three short biographies, and the first one is Christopher Wood. As usual when reading somehting I really enjoy, I race through it lightly (unwillingly) and then need to go [...]

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Susan Dunster, Tairua artist

Susan Dunster is another artist reprsented at The Little Gallery of Fine Arts in Tairua. She paints in abstract colours and shapes. Her influences are post impressionist and early modernist painters, both French and English, and from New Zealand, Frances Hodgkins and from America, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler. I met Susan briefly when I [...]

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Portrait of the Artist’s Wife

The other thing I do is read, read, read – I have just finished a book called ‘Portrait of the Artist’s Wife’ by Barbara Anderson. I got it off www.swapclub.co.nz where I get a lot of my books, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Spent the glorious day at the beach reading it yesterday. ‘Winner of [...]

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Working through and viewing art

Hopefully I am working through my ‘down’ time, and something good will come out the other end. Meanwhile Amy and I went visiting city centre galleries on Friday, always good. Firstly, we ventured into The Lane Gallery and Hana Carpenter – this was unexpected and excellent, so much meaning in each painting, so much in [...]

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