For the month of May, people will be able to enjoy the art works of Mike Tate and Lesley Weston at the Thames Art Gallery.
Wood carver and photographer Mike Tate was set to showcase a collection of his latest works at the northern end of the gallery, which includes native timber pieces in a distinctive style combining woodcraft with photographic inspiration. Once he got an idea in his head, the Coromandel Peninsula-based artist said: “I can’t stop until I finish”.
He draws from an extensive range of photographs, selects his favourites and reinterperates them through wood. Each work is carefully constructed, cut into many pieces, painted and put together like a jigsaw puzzle, which could sometimes take weeks to complete.
“The best thing about making art for me is being able to bring things that I see and photograph into the homes of people that don’t go to the places I travel to.
“I spend a lot of time sailing around New Zealand landing on sanctuary islands, walking for hours in our rainforest. Not everyone understands that in my art work but the ones that do love it. My art is quite varied and getting more so,” he said.
Mike, who also contributes conservation efforts with Thames Coast Kiwi Care, said his work reflected a connection to the Coromandel region – coastal roads lined with pōhutukawa, beaches and native bush.
Meanwhile, in the southern end of the gallery, Lesley Weston’s hope for her exhibition was that people would “feel that it’s worth seeing”. The artist told The Profile she wanted her paintings to “capture the imagination”.
It was her second exhibition at the gallery, and would feature a lot of new paintings, she said.
She painted on and off across the years from the age of 17.
The now 79-year-old said she got back into painting seriously when her children left home, and then again 13 years ago when she reached retirement. “Although I still don’t have a dedicated space in my house [for painting], at least I’ve got the time. I’ve been doing quite a few since then.”
Lesley said even when she made her paintings based on a photo, she didn’t want to reproduce it exactly as it was.
“I’m always looking for something just a little bit different,” she said, such as the photo of the pōhutukawa tree she painted and then added a big spider web on.
“I just like to put something – a different perspective on things.”
That’s what motivated her, she said.
DETAILS: Thames Art Gallery, 604 Tararu Rd, Thames, from May 1 will be open from 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 4pm on weekends.
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
