Art Capener on a recent visit to the South Island near Glenorchy. The South is the best place in New Zealand for landscape painters. With so much magnificent scenery there is a lifetimes supply of material to paint and to enjoy seeing first hand. The natural light is ideal and inspirational scenery like this cannot be ignored..but trying to paint it 'plein aire' as they say can be very difficult as the scene changes by the second almost, with drifting clouds and mists and shadows from the sunlight. I have resigned myself to taking numerous photographs and then composing a painting from many different images.
I remember on one of my first trips with my wife to the South Island feeling in awe of everything around me and on one particular drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy we must have stopped the car a dozen or more times to take photographs , every corner produced a 'Wow' moment.
I have been painting for more years than I care to count....but every new painting provides new experiences and it is a continuing learning curve. I enjoy having people seeing the work as its being done and value the encouragement and comments as well as the questions. It has always amazed me that most people want to know "how long does it take to complete a painting" or they may pick a finished one and ask "How long did that take" perhaps they are trying to establish my hourly rate.? The answer is it takes as long as it needs before I consider it finished and that might be days weeks or months.