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| Kotare Iti |
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| A detailed view of Kotare |
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| The flourish which is used to show his call is again taken from an old Victorian copperplate. |
This gorgeous work is available for sale on Toggle
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Kotare Iti
This gorgeous work is available for sale on Toggle
Toggle Website
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Red Cross Fundraiser
Yay! I am sooo stoked, 'Arohanui' has found itself a new home and has raised over $500 for the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Fund. Thanks so much to all of you who bid and special thanks to the winner of the auction. I am going to miss my favourite tui hanging around my flat but it is for such a good cause.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ehoa Piwakawaka
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| Ehoa Piwakawaka 2011 |
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Underpainting
Here are some images of the underlayers of paint work on Arohanui. The gold layer underneath helps add to the lustre of the tui's feathers.
Varoius blues have been layered up in subtle transparent layers also, to add richness and depth
Here is the link to the auction that closes on Thursday Arohanui Auction on Trademe
Varoius blues have been layered up in subtle transparent layers also, to add richness and depth
Here is the link to the auction that closes on Thursday Arohanui Auction on Trademe
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Arohanui Christchurch
We were staying in a motel just outside of the central city, on the edge of Hagley Park. Thankfully they still had water and power. It was how I imagined a war zone to be, helicopters frequently cut across overhead; ambulances wailing at least one an hour. The people we came across were in a stunned state, some tramautised. Members of my family who have been deeply affected but are thankfully intact. Like many their house and land is probably to be condemned, but I suppose events like this are part of life's journey. I wanted to do a little something in response to this tragedy. It took me much longer than I thought as I had yet to paint a manu this large. Here it is . . .
Arohanui 2011
560mm x 710mm x 36mm
Archival Acrylics and gesso on canvas
You couldn't hear any birdlife around the city, apart from the ducks in the park. Like they say, 'water off a duck's back'. This saying has always appealed and I think there may be some influence evident within the painting. Tui I think of being particularly resilient also, they have thrived where other species have floundered. The photo that inspired the pose I used was from New Zealand Geographic abridged tui article
Well it has been a hectic couple of weeks. The awful events in Christchurch have frequently been in my thoughts, especially as my Dad's family come from Canterbury. The Friday after the quake I actually was down there for a family event and it was a different city from when I last visited, just before Christmas.
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| Arohanui 2011 |
We were staying in a motel just outside of the central city, on the edge of Hagley Park. Thankfully they still had water and power. It was how I imagined a war zone to be, helicopters frequently cut across overhead; ambulances wailing at least one an hour. The people we came across were in a stunned state, some tramautised. Members of my family who have been deeply affected but are thankfully intact. Like many their house and land is probably to be condemned, but I suppose events like this are part of life's journey. I wanted to do a little something in response to this tragedy. It took me much longer than I thought as I had yet to paint a manu this large. Here it is . . .
Arohanui 2011
560mm x 710mm x 36mm
Archival Acrylics and gesso on canvas
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| cover image and article by Jason Hoskings |
You couldn't hear any birdlife around the city, apart from the ducks in the park. Like they say, 'water off a duck's back'. This saying has always appealed and I think there may be some influence evident within the painting. Tui I think of being particularly resilient also, they have thrived where other species have floundered. The photo that inspired the pose I used was from New Zealand Geographic abridged tui article
This photo is just stunning, I did adapt the pose to suit my needs as I wanted to render the face of the tui. Within the painting are other references to painters, old and new as well as influences by one of my favourite illustrators. I suppose I like the idea of the tui being like an endemic phoenix. Shortly I will be able to provide a link to the auction, of which I am going to donate the proceeds to the Red Cross. I you like it, link-love would be great . . . even better, bid on it :)
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| detailed layering |
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| fluttering feathers |
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| here you can see some of the sheen of the gold underpainting coming through  |
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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.