Defining moment

The Quilting (XXIV): Crossing the River of Dreams
Nov 2006
Mixed media on canvas
510x510x35mm
NZ$550
SOLD

I usually like to form my work using many layers. Parts of these are scraped away or painted in such a way to reveal remnants of what has gone before…a reference to the passing of time & with that the creation of memories.

In Crossing the River of Dreams a layer of tissue was laid initially & over-painted with red. On top of this texture a layer of script was added & the work began to emerge.

My lettering has been influenced by the jazz-writing of American lettering artist Eliza Schulte Holliday. I very much admired her work on the web when I first came across it in 1998. http://www.letterist.com/

The same year we moved from Auckland to Pleasant Point, near Timaru. I thought I'd never meet another calligrapher again. A strange thought, but I was in city withdrawal. It was very helpful having the internet to keep in contact with other calligraphers. I wrote to Eliza enquiring about tuition. She replied that she was taking a trip to NZ. By that stage we had moved out of Pleasant Point into the country at Waitohi. Eliza was to be staying in a homestay a few minutes drive away. She visited my rented farm cottage & we talked about lettering. I watched her make lettering marks...

A defining moment in my artistic journey.