the intentions of this blog

So far I have been giving some previews of artworks that will be in the exhibition INAN DOUT.

I may fit a couple more in but, with only a week to go before the opening, I still have more painting to do and of assembling of pieces also, so I wont make promises.

On Friday the 9th of October, after the launch, I will work on posting the entire body of works, along with names, sizes and prices (of those on sale) on this blog. Any questions or indication of interest can be posted in COMMENTS - see button below.

TRI OUT is a piece I sold maybe a month ago at the Bethlehem Art Show. I wont actually be showing it in the exhibition, but I thought I'd post it as several of the works I've been working on today are of the same shape and style. It's a format I'm quite happy with and has an almost Japanese feel to it.

cheers Grant

The joy of press photos... NOT!

Standing outside in the rain today getting pictures taken for my Press Release. (If you look closely you can see it dripping down the top of the picture!) The painting in shot is ID NO AUNT, an indoor/outdoor corrugated piece. What does the name mean? well, I'll tell you the answer to that later on, unless you can work it out for yourself...

A rainy day in Katikati

Not the nicest day for painting today, so I've taken time out to preview a couple more offerings from Inside The Forest.


This is one of the little ones that will be in the exhibition, an indoor/outdoor piece; most of which will be mounted on a backing board painted dark blue; a Resene colour - Valhala - great name!. So (after a little tutu in photoshop) it will look something like this:




Just a nice little picture, nothing malevolent here, or is there?



I wasn't going to put RED ONE (working name) up yet, mainly because I havn't finished painting it, but seeing all those images of the eerie red sky in Sydney it seemed kind of apt. I'm playing with the arrangment of an earlier piece but giving it a different feel, the piece is about 1 meter high and will be on a red backing board. There's a wee poem that accompanies it, but you can't see that yet!!


Better get back to painting,
till next time... Grant

believe it or not...

I just remembered an article I heard on the radio a few weeks ago; New Zealand scientists are developing a giant filter to get co2 out of the air to be used in developed areas.
They are a big flat surface with lots of little filters (that can be taken off and have the co2 extracted) that will be held up in the air by a large collumn - so they decided they should be made to look like giant 2D trees (I kid you not!).
Their only problem is they need to find ways of sequestering (I think thats the right word) the co2 underground once it is extracted.
The obvious question to be asked is WHY DON'T THEY JUST PLANT MORE TREES???

I've yet to name this one, it's on sign-ply and (unlike Long Trip Home and Bob Sought Shade) it is able to be hung outside or inside. I enjoy the composition of it, the way the tree takes up most of the picture only allowing glimpses of the background, the shape of the tree too, like some ancient monolith offering itself up for sacrifice. Note the shed and cleared fields in the background, all very pretty and innocent looking but do they speak of an early end for our friend? The composition and the idea of spiritual homage are elements that will be explored deeper inside the forest....




ODE TO THE FALLEN is a retro canvas piece being offered for sale in the exhibition (for indoor display only).
It is a survivor? from my 07 exhibition Wrinkles And All and showing it again brings to mind certain questions about the value of art; will the fact that it has been shown before dissapoint viewers? (do they come expecting all new works?) does the fact that it didn't sell the first time decrease it's value? or, working on the principle that any particular piece only needs one person to love it enough to buy it and maybe that person just didn't see it last time, mean it's value should remain the same? Should I get a better camera? (that photo looks a bit blotchy) Am I spending too much time asking myself silly questions instead of getting in the shed and painting??
The last question, methinks, has the most current value! I'm off to the shed...

LONG TRIP HOME is the 'poster picture' for the exhibition and one of two commissioned pieces on show.

It was painted a year or so ago for a lovely local couple Tony & Anita Allen and I was stoked when they agreed to let me display it and use the image...

I think it's a fine example of my corrugated treescapes and has the unusual (for me) inclusion of a recogniseable tree-form in it. Generally I stay away from painting 'location' pictures, suscribing to the belief that artworks should should be a window to another imaginary place where the viewer finds their own connections without me dictating to them. Undoubtably the beautiful landscapes and native trees around me influence my work but I like the paintings to find a 'life' of their own. That's where I am at the moment anyway, maybe you could call it 'outsider art'! That'd fit in nicely!

the use of self-applied pressure...

Many artists I know only work to their full artistic potential when there is a dead-line of an Exhibition looming. This may not apply to all artists but it certainly does to me! Only a couple of weeks to go before Inan Dout - inside the forest - and I still have most of the pieces to finish and there’s still one more I’ve yet to start!!


But, as Bob Dylan sings; “it’s all good!” and I’m looking forward to showing a cohesive body of work aiming to intrigue and engage the audience.


The majority of works are painted, with acrylics, on either sign-ply or my old friend corrugated colour-steel, the idea being they could be installed either indoors or outdoors (in a sheltered position).

…soo I’m planning to preview some of the pieces here, with a bit of background info, before the Exhibition Opening and then get the whole lot up after that.



BOB SOUGHT SHADE (pictured) is going to be the first piece you see in the exhibition, I felt it was a nice way to lead viewers into the show. The background is inspired by a favourite holiday spot of ours up north and the subject, Bob, is a dodgy old chainsaw sculpture of my own creation who has made guest appearances in many of my paintings.
In the title I am imagining that in seeking the forest for shade he is also on a journey back to his spiritual roots, trying to get past the fact he was hewn from a rotting, slater-ridden, old shelter-belt tree and find something deeper...



....feel free to apply feedback.


Cheers Grant…