Creating a surreal Pukeko Painting

I was inspired to take this sketch below and recreate it in oil painting. But when I did - I wanted it to become more realistic. So I laboured over the composition as I felt the sketch version was rather 2D which was fine in the sketch form. In the oil edition I wanted the perspective to almost come out of the painting ‘alive’. So I decided the fence line would have to come forward towards to viewer and the foot of the adult Pukeko would be stepping out towards the viewer too. It was also important to me to have a classic New Zealand farm feel to the scenery with a touch of - wow our country is just beautiful isn’t it.

This piece was to join a number of others in a series of native birds where I explore realistic representations but in surreal situations - like a pukeko tightrope walking on a fence wire.

Below you will see the steps it took to bring this idea together.

The Pukeko original sketch made for the native bird card range.

Blocking the sky in.

I realised the baby was too close to the parent.

At this point I decided to move the baby as it was too close to the parent bird. It greatly improved the balance of the painting and I am glad I moved it before progressing too far.

The baby moved and balances better.

I had a lot of fun bringing this to life.

Fine work on the feathers.

The finished painting. I am over the moon with it!

‘Wobbly Wire Walkers’ Oil on Canvas, 1000 x 700mm, 2021.

My most challenging landscape painting yet!

I am so proud to now finally reveal to you the finished Naseby painting. This painting has been a long time in the making, but as we all know good things take time. It is a commission for the best clients an artist could hope for.

But first, the story behind the painting.

Like every good project, it started with a conversation. I asked “When is your favourite time of year to visit this spot?” The answer was autumn, when the leaves had turned into dreamy, warm tones. So we waited a few months, and in May of 2018 Mark and I drove to Naseby - a little over 5 hours from Christchurch.

Up at sunrise the next morning I remember the crisp autumn air, the stillness of the water, the dew on the grass, and the stunning golden morning light on the trees. We wandered around some of the clients’ favourite spots in Naseby and I could quickly see why this was their favourite time of year. Naseby was popping with yellows and oranges, and I was so incredibly inspired!

It was apparently a difficult choice to make as the colours gave such a wide array of amazing shots. However, their favourite fishing spot, Coalpit Dam, was chosen from the several hundred photos I had taken that morning.

It wasn’t until August when the easel became free for the Naseby project after finishing a portrait commission. Or should I say easels; the canvas is so large I had to buy a second easel to hold it up. This was the largest canvas I have tackled to date.

The scale of the canvas took some time to get use to. At 1620mm wide by 760mm high, it was a lot larger than my usual landscapes. My inner critic was rather tough on me, and I questioned myself consistently. I was really surprised at how mentally challenging this project was, and it wasn’t until the final stages that I had convinced my brain that it was all going to work out just how I planned. I’m thrilled with the final result, and the challenge of getting through the self-critique has made it all the more rewarding.

I love that my clients challenge me, and this project has been one of the most challenging landscapes I have ever worked on. I have learnt so much and feel so proud that this is now complete. I also have the bonus of enjoying it while it dries before the trip south to deliver it to its lucky new owners..

In time I will release a ‘behind the scenes’ video. For now, check out the photos below.

Thanks for joining me.

Looking proud next to the final painting.

‘Morning Light on Coalpit Dam’ 1620x760mm, Oil on canvas, 2019.

Behind the scenes progress photos:

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Where in the world is Georgette?

…She’s back in New Zealand.

My apologies for the radio silence from me all year. 2019 has started off with a bang!

It started with our engagement at the end of last year. Mark proposed at our favourite sailing spot - Charteris Bay in Lyttelton Harbour. Down by the waters edge at the boat ramp, the love of my life asked me to marry him, and of course I said YES! This made for an extra happy New Years Eve!

We wanted to celebrate our engagement with family and friends at our home, but needed to do alterations to our deck first. There’s nothing like a deadline to get things done! So all of January saw us demolishing and completely re-building half of the deck! The party was on a perfect Summer’s day so everyone got to enjoy our handiwork.

Mark and I building the deck.

Mark and I at our engagement party standing on the deck.

Japan adventures

In March we flew to Japan for 2 1/2 weeks of adventure, culture, history and craziness. Highlights included: tree skiing at Kiroro ( in Hokkaido), a cooking lesson in Osaka, singing Karaoke with the locals till 3am, dressing up in a kimono in Kyoto, and the madness of the robot restaurant in Tokyo.

If you are visiting Japan I highly recommend the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and teamLab Borderless Tokyo (Digital Art Museum) - this exhibition was full of colourful interactive projections, lights, lanterns and fun. An exhibition you can easily get lost in!

While in Japan I decided to treat myself with a visit to Pigment - the most stunning, well designed art store I have ever seen. The Japanese have an effortlessly elegant approach of presentation, and Pigment was no exception. I treated myself to some beautiful traditional sumi brushes, bamboo paper and a gold leaf kit. I am looking forward to trying these out!

What’s on the easel?

I have been busy working on the Nasbey landscape oil painting. I am now in the final stages. My list of things left to do is getting smaller and smaller which makes it very exciting. These final details are sometimes subtle and the colour is critical to get right. Therefore I can no longer paint at night as the fake light plays with the colours. So I have a policy to only paint during daylight hours, which means I have to wait to the weekends. I am looking forward to the Easter break to get some day light hours on the piece. Here is it now on the easel. Not far to go! Stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by.

Working in progress, Naseby oil painting, 1620x760mm.

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