Sunday, January 27, 2008
chilling
The weather that we have been having has been fantastic. I have been pretty busy in my garage, painting up a storm. Today however, I did take time out and got to the beach. It was wonderful lying in the sun at Narrowneck, chatting with friends and swimming in the sea. The last time I swimming there I was a child. Straight out in front of where we had set ourselves up were a couple of tara diving down upon fish. White fronted terns are so aerodynamic, they fly beautifully. I wish I had had a camera on me. That is something that I want to start exploring more within my painting, birds in flight.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
ngutu-kaka tui
2008
Triptych 3 canvases
305mm x 405mm x 35mm
Archival quality acrylics and gesso on canvas
Within this triptych I got a little carried away with the details within the tui plumage and the abundance of ngutu-kaka (kaka beak) flowers and foliage. In my opinion the effect is lovely even if the painting took quite some time to complete.
In the wild the ngutu-kaka is rare, browsing pests like possums and feral goats have contributed greatly to this. Thankfully it is a popular tree in gardens so it is safe from extinction.
tui kahukura
2008
diptych
2 canvases 305mm x 225mm x 35mm
Archival quality acrylics and gesso on canvas
This little diptych is the second work that I have completed this year, it was a commission piece. As well as a tui perched on flowering pohutukawa, to the left a kahukura, native red admiral flutters. Kahukura also has some other lovely meanings; to be multicoloured, a rainbow as well as a cloak coloured with red ochre. The composition works wonderfully within the double landscape format.
Friday, January 18, 2008
kowhai piwakawaka
2008
Triptych
3 canvases 225mm x 305mm x 35mm
Archival quality acrylics and gesso on canvas
Within this painting I further experimented with my painting style, particularly within the rendering of the birds. I sometimes get a little carried away with adding lots of super-fine details so I aim to start leaving some areas less worked up so as to enhance those that are more refined. It gives a freshness and energy to the subject matter. The positive shapes of kowhai leaves and flowers and the negative spaces around them are absolutely gorgeous.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
happy new year
,
Even though I have started back at the studio (well, my garage), I feel wonderfully refreshed after a break out of Auckland. Friends of mine live up North near Waimamaku and I was fortunate to spend New Year's with them. Staying so near the Waipoua Forest, there was much in the way of bird life and native flora to see. Even though I got a much needed break away, my brain was still inspired and ticking over.
On the way up I had to stop off and visit the Four Sisters and Te Matua Ngahere to pay my respects. It was so nice to be able to get some fresh air and stretch my legs as well as being reminded of how magnificent our Kauri are. It was like visiting a giant outdoor cathedral with that same sense of peace and grandeur. Some paintings exploring Kauri might have to occur.
The Waipoua Forest is home to many native birds, endangered including kiwi and kokako. I hope to do a mission to view and hear some of the northland kokako during the year. What is particularly interesting is that the call of the kokako has regional differences. Apparently this can cause problems in transferring birds from one sanctuary to another, they don't respond to calls that they don't recognise. DOC and researchers have counteracted that problem with exposing birds to regional calls at a young age to assist with their translocation.
New Year's day saw me paying for the previous evening's festivities by going for a mountain bike ride. I managed to see a native orchid that I had never seen before growing on the side of the road. I must look it up really, to find out what it is, unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me. Our native orchids are just delightful. I didn't quite have enough steam to make it to the cafe for coffee and cake, or rather I didn't think that I would make it back.
The next day was spent swimming and lazing in the sun on Waimamaku beach. It is just beautiful out there regardless of the weather. The tranquility of the river as it meanders towards the coast is in stark contrast to the ruggedness of the water, like how you get at all West Coast beaches. When I went for a walk, with my camera this time, I managed to get some neat photos of kawau, I'm not sure which kind, it was two parents and a juvenile, I think. They were quite annoyed with me following them, actually I was just heading back in the same direction. The first photo is capturing them getting startled by a wave, as I was busy laughing at them, I got saturated also. Karma. The second one is further down the beach, I am unsure if it is of the same family group. I think that I will have to do some works based on these guys at some point too.
Even though I have started back at the studio (well, my garage), I feel wonderfully refreshed after a break out of Auckland. Friends of mine live up North near Waimamaku and I was fortunate to spend New Year's with them. Staying so near the Waipoua Forest, there was much in the way of bird life and native flora to see. Even though I got a much needed break away, my brain was still inspired and ticking over.
On the way up I had to stop off and visit the Four Sisters and Te Matua Ngahere to pay my respects. It was so nice to be able to get some fresh air and stretch my legs as well as being reminded of how magnificent our Kauri are. It was like visiting a giant outdoor cathedral with that same sense of peace and grandeur. Some paintings exploring Kauri might have to occur.
The Waipoua Forest is home to many native birds, endangered including kiwi and kokako. I hope to do a mission to view and hear some of the northland kokako during the year. What is particularly interesting is that the call of the kokako has regional differences. Apparently this can cause problems in transferring birds from one sanctuary to another, they don't respond to calls that they don't recognise. DOC and researchers have counteracted that problem with exposing birds to regional calls at a young age to assist with their translocation.
New Year's day saw me paying for the previous evening's festivities by going for a mountain bike ride. I managed to see a native orchid that I had never seen before growing on the side of the road. I must look it up really, to find out what it is, unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me. Our native orchids are just delightful. I didn't quite have enough steam to make it to the cafe for coffee and cake, or rather I didn't think that I would make it back.
The next day was spent swimming and lazing in the sun on Waimamaku beach. It is just beautiful out there regardless of the weather. The tranquility of the river as it meanders towards the coast is in stark contrast to the ruggedness of the water, like how you get at all West Coast beaches. When I went for a walk, with my camera this time, I managed to get some neat photos of kawau, I'm not sure which kind, it was two parents and a juvenile, I think. They were quite annoyed with me following them, actually I was just heading back in the same direction. The first photo is capturing them getting startled by a wave, as I was busy laughing at them, I got saturated also. Karma. The second one is further down the beach, I am unsure if it is of the same family group. I think that I will have to do some works based on these guys at some point too.
tui tahi
2007
Triptych 3 canvases
615mm x 405mm
Archival quality acrylics and gesso on canvas
Here I experimented with using a single tui within a central format. The canvases are of a longer format than I have used previously but work wonderfully with the vertical nature of harakeke.
puataua korimako
2007
Triptych 3 canvases
225mm x 305mm
Archival quality acrylics, spraypaint and gesso on canvas
I love this painting to pieces. The mistiness of the background reminds me of how light filters through the bush at dawn. This is one of the times when the korimako are particularly vocal with their delightful call. Contrasting beautifully with the freshness of the greens within the korimako's (bellbird's) feathers, are the rich, earthy browns. Puataua is another of our lovely native clematis species.
pirirangi toutouwai
2007
Triptych 3 canvases
675mm x 305mm
Archival quality acrylics, spraypaint and gesso on canvas
This painting was one of my first experiments with using spray paint in the background. I really like the way that the speckles diffuse out towards the edges, an effect that I could explore further.
The little toutouwai that is making eye contact was based upon a photograph that I took myself at Tiritiri Matangi. It is not such a great one however but it captures the character and bravery of the little robin. I thought that they were just cheeky, but actually this little toutouwai was poised ready to protect its nest. I have heard that they will pursue and dive bomb anyone or thing that poses a threat to their young.
harakeke matangi
Ella Thomas 2007
Triptych 3 canvases
305mm x 405mm
Archival acrylics on canvas
With this work I was particularly happy with the way that the harakeke leaves layered up over the fern silhouettes. There is lovely movement implied within the foliage which is then reinforced by the poses of birds.
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About Me
- ella thomas
- 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.