My grandfather Paul was an artist. I began painting in his studio with some of his oil colours, many of which were home-made – by grinding raw materials and mixing with linseed oil.
However, most of my early work was in watercolours, learnt by experimenting and reading books. No art school for me, although I did attend a night class run by Colin McCahon while at Auckland University. I still have the painting I did then in 1958 of Albert Park pine trees. Much later in Whitianga l attended Paula McNeill’s classes; from both, I learned important elements of composition.
Painting was a parallel pastime to pottery, which was a full time occupation for many years. I was a founding member of Albany Village Pottery, which was a very successful outlet in the 70s. Some people may remember Peter Sinclair’s TV programme ‘Happen Inn’ and other shows. He also owned Alicat Gallery in Ponsonby and would buy whole kiln loads of pottery ranging from small porcelain sculptural pieces to large crocks.
Our family came to live at Rings Beach in 1979, to establish my pottery here. It operated for a number of years with brushwork being a feature, especially on bowls – experimenting with copper reds, particularly for pōhutukawa blossom. Then I damaged my wrist playing badminton, which called an end to potting and made me concentrate on my painting.
The local environment inspired a wide range of subjects including underwater depictions of pāua, piper, seaweed and surf.
Judy Mehl of ‘Art People’ and Upstairs Gallery in Whitianga held exhibitions for my art in the 90s. I now have my own gallery at Rings Beach and have been a member of Mercury Bay Art Escape for a number of years.
There’s a mixture of landscapes and abstract paintings on the walls at the moment. The landscapes vary from realistic to stylistic to bordering on abstract.
The local environment inspired a wide range of subjects including underwater depictions of pāua, piper, seaweed and surf. Judy Mehl of ‘Art People’ and Upstairs Gallery in Whitianga held exhibitions for my art in the 90s. I now have my own gallery at Rings Beach and have been a member of Mercury Bay Art Escape for a number of years. There’s a mixture of landscapes and abstract paintings on the walls at the moment. The landscapes vary from realistic to stylistic to bordering on abstract.
Abstraction gives me the opportunity to explore colour combinations and unusual compositions. For example turquoise on orange and red produce optical 3D effects with varied success.
For the past few years, I have posted a painting a day on Instagram and Facebook, with my latest work featuring dragons, typical of Viking carving and mythology. There are quite a few Lidgards in Sweden I believe.
Warwick Lidgard’s Facebook and Instagram
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