Some Garden Paintings on Exhibition Now

 Some Garden Paintings on Exhibition

Here are some paintings of mine which can be seen on exhibition at

the moment.  The first one is Poppies at the Bason Reserve, this is

in Gallery 85 in the Glasgow St Art Centre Whanganui.  Called The Residents

Show it contains work by artists who have been residents at the centre.

It is a painting which I made while resident at

the centre in January last year.  The Bason Reserve are gardens which were gifted to

the citizens of Whanganui, they have been further developed and maintained

by the city council and are a favorite with local families for picnics and walks.

This painting is called Endless

A Summer painting it is one of the paintings I took to the Tennyson Gallery

in Napier last week. 

Here is another one, this is called Red Flax and was originally made

from a friend's garden.  There were blue flowers in front of a beautiful

patch of native bush.

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2020

Midnight Collective

Shop windows at night in New Zealand

Night Tokens 

I made these paintings from shop windows at night.  I photographed them 

dodging the restaurant and pub crowds as they wove their way home

and then made the paintings. 

This one was from Hamilton while I was on a residency there.

This one was from a Farmer's Store in Whanganui.

This from a Postie Plus store in Whangani

This is part of a four piece work from a  women's fashion store

in Whanganui.

Capturing these was an exciting experience and one I would have

loved to continue if other work had not got in my way!

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2020

Midnight Collective

Painting During Lockdown in New Zealand

Painting During Lockdown

We have been in lockdown now for over two weeks, it's not so bad,

an opportunity to work with no interruptions.  I have managed to

make two paintings, I searched for inspiration and as it is

time to plant bulbs in our gardens I found an old packet

of anemones.

I love these flowers they are so bright and cheerful in the Springtime.

and even if they don't come in gold when the sun shines on them....

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2020

Midnight Collective

Goodbye to Kenny Rogers and I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.

Kenny Rogers has left us

So we say goodbye to Kenny Rogers of the First Edition

.I used their song title for a knitted work about the opioid crisis which

almost seems out of date now that we are in the centre of a pandemic,

The world is more crazy than usual!

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2020

Midnight Collective

Knitted Coral from New Zealand

Knitted Coral

I have been knitting coral for a small display.  I have managed to fit

it into a box and put a label 'See It Here'  It is supposed to

be a display of live coral.

Some of the only live coral left.now in a museum display.

All imaged copyright Frances Jill Studd 2020

Midnight Collective

Christmas Trees in New Zealand

Some of Our Christmas Trees

This photo is a composite from several very old photographs, taken

almost one hundred years ago, of our trees and bush canopy.  The rest are

some that I have taken more recently.  May these amazing trees never

burn as Australian trees, native creatures and people's habitat are

burning at present.

Our beautiful Christmas tree, the pohutukawa

On Ulva Island

At Bushy Park

This paradise duck and her seven ducklings were all swimming in the sea

and digging into the seaweed. We saw them on Stewart Island just

a month ago. 

Australia burning.

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2019

Midnight Collective

Stewart Island New Zealand

A Visit to Stewart Island

Last month we visited Stewart Island the third island of New Zealand.

We were lucky as it was a quiet couple of days before the 

tourists returned after Labour Weekend.  We went to

Ulva Island and this is the bay which we left from. The most

amazing amount of seaweed grew around the rocks and you

can see some in the foreground.

Here is a tui feasting on our native fuschia tree, this is unlike

the garden varieties as it grows into a small distinctive tree.

The tui is a honey eater.

This is the bush on Ulva Island, this island is alive with birds, many of

which can no longer be see on our mainland except in special reserves.

We had barely got off the boat than we saw yellow crowned parakeets

and the lovely kakariki nesting in a hole in a tree.

This is a sketch of the micro flora which grows beneath this canopy,

our amazing guide - also called Ulva, spent some time

naming the tiny mosses, liverworts, orchids and ferns

which were growing in the leaf litter.

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2019

Midnight Collective