http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10702257
Monday, January 31, 2011
kakapo photo wins top award
This is such a delightful photograph of one of our rarest taonga. Shane McInnes won the international award for photographing rare / endangered birds. Thanks to my mum for sending it to me :)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10702257
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10702257
Sunday, January 30, 2011
new representation
Toggle is a fabulous site dedicated to the great New Zealand design and art. I am really happy to be represented by them. Keep an eye out for more works to come shortly
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html
http://www.toggle.co.nz/ella-thomas.html
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| Detail of Tui Tipu |
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
First Painting for 2011
Here is my first completed painting for 2011. It is a sweet little piwakawaka (fantail) that is bright eyed and frisky. The title of the work is 'Piwakawaka Iti' Looking back to some of my earlier paintings of piwakawaka, I can definately see the development towards more of an anime influence within the birds facial features; especially the exaggerated eyes. I suppose I am trying to enhance their senses to help them to survive.
I love the composition of this piece, the way that the feathers balance out the diagonals of the tree branch. This results in the viewer's eye always being led towards the bird in the middle. The simplicity of the background which has a very subtle texture, enhances the details on the manu (bird), some of which can be seen in the close-up to the left. Unfortunately no matter how good my camera is, I can't seem to fully capture the subtleties of the paint work.
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| Piwakawaka Iti 2011 |
Here is my first completed painting for 2011. It is a sweet little piwakawaka (fantail) that is bright eyed and frisky. The title of the work is 'Piwakawaka Iti' Looking back to some of my earlier paintings of piwakawaka, I can definately see the development towards more of an anime influence within the birds facial features; especially the exaggerated eyes. I suppose I am trying to enhance their senses to help them to survive.
 |
| Detail of Piwakawaka Iti |
I love the composition of this piece, the way that the feathers balance out the diagonals of the tree branch. This results in the viewer's eye always being led towards the bird in the middle. The simplicity of the background which has a very subtle texture, enhances the details on the manu (bird), some of which can be seen in the close-up to the left. Unfortunately no matter how good my camera is, I can't seem to fully capture the subtleties of the paint work.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
. . . Its been a while
Well, once again I tried to work full-time and also maintain my own artistic practice. However for some strange reason it just didn't seem to work. This year I have decided to step back once again from structured employment and allow time for my painting. Summer is a wonderful time for recharging creative energy and the flood of ideas I have had has been massive. Hopefully I will be able to do some of them justice . . .
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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.