A Visit from the Kereru

A Visit from the Kereru

Very unusually a kereru came into our garden yesterday, we have never had

one here before and can only think that it was attracted by all the tui

activity in our kowhai tree.  The tui seem to do a circuit around here in the

Spring, going from kowhai to kowhai feeding on the nectar.

Here is our most bossy resident tui complaining loudly at the interloper

Kereru in the cherry tree

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Spring Garden Painting from New Zealand

A Spring Garden Painting

Spring at last and a new painting to celebrate the end of Winter.

The tui are going crazy in  our kowhai tree and chortling

away in the cherry as well.

This is not my first circular painting but it's a good format

to work on and I may make a series to follow this one.

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective BlogSpot

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Paintings of New Zealand Orchids

New Zealand Orchids

I painted these three works of New Zealand orchids under the bush canopy.

Two of them are perching orchids and one is a spider orchid which

grows on the ground.  Perching orchids are quite easy to see in the

bush growing in the clefts of established trees.  They are also quite

plentiful and easy to find, they are a lovely sight when they are in bloom.

The spider and hood orchids are rarer but I have seen them and

some grassland orchids too.

These photos I are made up of ladies slipper orchids

and ladies tresses orchids

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Animals in Namibia and Botswana

Animals from Namibia and Botswana

My brother just returned from a trip to Namibia and Botswana, he took

the following photos which are worth seeing.  The animals were plentiful

but always at risk from poachers, last year they lost 61 rhinos in one of

these parks.  The rangers shoot to kill, the poachers don't get a second chance!

Early morning elephant in Etosha National Park

Early morning animals drinking

Giraffes

Some lion cubs

Painted dogs on the lookout

A sausage tree in Botswana

Evening elephants at the water

Frances Jill Studd website

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All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017



Reserves in New Zealand

Reserves

I made this work in 1992 for an exhibition called 'Reserves' which was shown at Te Manawa in that year.

It focused on two reserves one not far from where we were living at the time in Whanganui called the Bason Reserve and the other in the Tongariro National Park - the Te Porere redoubt.

Te Porere was built in 1869 by Te Kooti where opposing Te Arawa, Ngati Kahungunu, Pakeha and Whanganui military contingents assembled to fight what was to become known as the last battle of the land wars of the 1860s.

I wanted to combine two quite different sites one a defence structure and one an area for relaxation and enjoyment which had been kindly gifted by Stanley and Blanche Bason to the community of Whanganui.

To do this I used a painting borrowed from Abraham Mignon of a flower arrangement and collages from many photographs taken at the sites as well as other borrowed images.  The formal design of a knot garden seemed to be a perfect way to show the colour and display of a recreational garden against the plan of the redoubt which was designed for defence and became both a battle and a grave site containing the remains of warriors.

Such a tragic historical event needed to be treated with great care and respect, paintings of warriors - both men and women - who fought at Te Porere can be seen in the Whanganui Museum.

The exhibition was also shown there in 1993 as part of Suffrage Year, it was 100 years since women achieved the vote in New Zealand on 19 September 1893.

'Still  Life'

Me working on 'Still Life'

'Te Porere Tre-foy'

'Venetian Flowers'

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Frances Jill Studd website

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Christchurch Buildings Before the Earthquake

Drawings of the Cathedral Square

I made these drawings of Christchurch buildings when I was a student at

Ilam Art School in the 1960s.  Both were given to us as projects while

we were studying.  The first one was a design for a scarf using Cathedral

Square, and I did actually screen print this onto a cotton square. I remember

that Rosemary's Baby was showing at the cinema and in the bottom

left you can see a small image of a baby.

The next was an exercise to design a cup and saucer which could be used

as a souvenir from Christchurch.

Pattern to go around the cup

The Saucer

Frances Jill Studd website

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All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Garden Drawings from New Zealand



Some Drawings from the Garden

I made these drawings while I was a student at art school in my final year in 1971.

I have begun the process of collating all my work, it is a huge task, and so as

I come across things there will be more posts no doubt!

I had great difficulty in finding these flowers to draw, living in flats with very

limited gardens I was sometimes given to collecting specimens from over the

fences of the neighbours or from the grounds of the University in Christchurch.

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Talking Trees and Black Swans from New Zealand

Talking Trees and Black Swans

I made this painting from an ancient embroidery - it is the second in this series of

Talking Trees.  Images of the Talking Tree are difficult to find, I have only a few

from carpet fragments.  The myth of the Talking Tree originated in India and it is

said that Alexander the Great stopped under such a tree in Persia on his way

to India.  The tree warned him against continuing into India but he ignored it.

Here are two black swans which were resting by the lake at Ratanui

they are young birds from last seasons hatch and they took no

notice of me as I photographed them.

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blog

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Dusky Dolphins in New Zealand

Aihe - Dusky Dolphins

 

Here are two small paintings of Aihe or Dusky Dolphins, these are found mostly around the

South Island.  The photograph and film show some which came in to feed in

Enclosure Bay on Waiheke Island, then spent some time playing and putting on

a wonderful display.  Our Maui dolphins are the smallest and rarest and you

would be very lucky to see them, they are under extreme threat and now

number only about fifty.  This time of year we are not at the beach often

so it is a pleasure to remind ourselves of the sights during warmer weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Autumn Birds in New Zealand

Some Autumn Birds

 

Here is a small painting of a tui in our garden in Autumn, it is unusual to see them

here at this time of year.  Normally they appear again about September when

they are thinking about nesting, but I was delighted to hear one chortling

away as I was planting some bulbs for Spring.  The bulbs are miniature white

daffodils so I am looking forward to seeing them in flower. I still have one

or two roses which have bravely survived cyclone weather and the rain and wind.

 

 

Here is an interesting photo of pied shags roosting on driftwood in the Waikanae estuary.

They breed nearby in an old macrocarpa tree, and the young are a lovely sight as they

perch near the water waiting for their parents to arrive with their next fish meal.  This time

of year they are just cleaning and drying out after their fishing espeditions.

 

 

In the background you can see a black swan, it's mate was not far away.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

 

 

 

A Bunch of Flowers from New Zealand

A Bunch of Flowers

 

I just finished this painting of a bouquet of flowers which a friend received for her

birthday.  It contained a peony which won't grow here in my garden

as it is too warm, they mostlygrow in the South Island where they are

farmed for their amazing blooms.

At Dovedale near Nelson the roots are used to make an eczema ointment,

which is said to be very healing.

Here is my rendition of a celebration bunch of flowers.

 

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Foxgloves in a New Zealand Garden

Foxgloves in my garden

 

The foxgloves in my garden are now over, they were mostly of the wild kind

in shades of pinky mauve with darker blotches which seemed to attract the

bumble bees.  I did have one white one though with dark splotches of mauve

and also a pretty apricot one.

 

 

They will seed well for next year and no doubt the white and apricot will be

mauve as well by then.  They are one of my favourite flowers to grow for the bees.
 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017

Green Knitting from New Zealand

 

Smoke Screen

This knitted work is called Smoke Screen and was made in response to the burning

of the worlds forests to increase profits from agriculture and building.

These knitted parrots are caught in the smoke and flames and although we hear

about the loss of the trees we do not hear about the wild life caught up in

a fire storm.  I have read about the charred bodies of the kiwi left behind after the

burning of the bush on D'Urville Island when it was cleared for farming.

 

 

 

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2017