Light and shade (and Happy Easter)

A Rose By Any Other Name — acrylic on canvas, 250 x 250 mm, 2019. Available.

“God bless our contradictions, those parts of us which seem out of character. Let us be boldly and gladly out of character. Let us be creatures of paradox and variety: creatures of contrast; of light and shade: creatures of faith. God be our constant. Let us step out of character into the unknown, to struggle and love and do what we will. Amen.”

‘A Note on God’ by Michael Leunig

Any road will take you there

Any Road Will Take You There – acrylic on canvas, 405 x 405 mm, 2017. Available for purchase.
Any Road Will Take You There – acrylic on canvas, 405 x 405 mm, 2017 (sold)

God bless our contradictions, those parts of us which seem out of character. Let us be boldly and gladly out of character. Let us be creatures of paradox and variety: creatures of contrast; of light and shade: creatures of faith. God be our constant. Let us step out of character into the unknown, to struggle and love and do what we will. Amen.
‘A Note on God’ by Michael Leunig

Yes, I’m still exploring Arthur’s Pass in paint. ‘Any Road Will Take You There’ is similar to ‘A Road Runs Through It’ and ‘Summer Somewhere’ but also quite different. This time I’ve hinted at the telegraph poles and allowed the foreground to melt into the mountains. I really pushed myself to do something I hadn’t done before and I’m very happy with the result. And if the title sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a paraphrase of a line spoken by the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.” It’s also a line from a George Harrison song but I didn’t realise that until after I’d named it.

Joyous

Violets — ink, watercolour and digital, 2015
Violets — ink, watercolour and digital, 2015

“The most joyous painting is not done for the art world, it is done for the inner world.” Michael Leunig

The quote is from Holy Fool, a wonderful book crammed full of Michael Leunig’s art ― not his cartoons but his playful, colourful, joyful paintings and drawings. Highly recommended.

Violets in the kitchen, original photograph, 2015
Violets in the kitchen, original photograph, 2015