ella thomas

This is a record of my art making, the experiences that I have in everyday life that inspire me and a document of the paintings that I produce. Sometimes I will mention different facts or stories that bear some relevance to manu / birds and New Zealand native flora. One of the key ideas within my work is the celebration of the uniqueness of the native species within Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

the first tui of the year

 This little taonga (treasure) is my first tui for the year. Actually my first tui for quite sometime. I forgot how much I love painting them, that manic sparkle in theirs eyes and the lustre to their feathers is really quite engaging.


Tui Tipu 2011
SOLD

Tipu is Maori for bud, it also means growth, beginning; it is postive and for me talks of rebirth. Kind of poetic really. It looks like I will have new representation so I am very excited by that. Enjoy.



Detail of Tui Tipu



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

  • Directory of Art Blogs
  • Art & Artist Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory

About Me

My photo
Auckland, New Zealand
Ella Thomas is a contemporary artist who lives in Auckland, Aotearoa. She is of Ngapuhi descent and has a passion for the beauty of the whenua (land), the sea and for the unique flora and fauna of New Zealand. The concepts that are explored within Ella's work are based upon notions of conservation, ecological balance and extinction. Her paintings often feature nostalgic patterns reminiscent of the mid to late 1800's, the era when European colonization occurred. It was during this time that many unique species of birds became extinct. The rarer a bird became, the more prized a specimen of it became. Alive or dead. Much of Ella's paintings are celebrations of the unique character of our surviving taonga (treasures). Ella has a Bachelor of Visual Arts and has been working within arts related industries for many years. She has paintings in collections nationwide, Australia, England and the USA. Finally the plunge has been taken and Ella has committed herself to fulfilling a dream, that of becoming a full-time artist.