7
The dramatic Manukau Harbour of Grant’s hometown was a strong influence
on the boy’s love of the natural world, a love he expressed through art while
in school in Auckland. Holidays at the beaches around Auckland including
Waiheke Island as well as the Coromandel made Grant aware of the qualities
displayed by nature and how they speak to the heart. “Awesome beauty,
wisdom, and power can be seen in the natural environment, and even love
can be seen, in that we ourselves have been have been given the ability to
appreciate and enjoy these things.”
Until 1998, Grant concentrated on his business career, but his move to the
Coromandel rekindled his desire to paint, and to make this fulfilling activity his
livelihood as well. From 2003, he didn’t look back, and this self trained artist
‘went pro’. His first exhibition exhibition in Harrison’s at Whangamata in 2005
was a great success with almost all works on display selling on opening night.
Living in the Opoutere area, Grant works out of his home which is surrounded
by orchards and farmland. (Look for the gallery sign just south of Opoutere
Orchard on SH25). Grant is quick to credit the rich Coromandel art scene, as a
key to his sucess here: “the many artists working away in their home studios,
the art walks in Coromandel and Mercury Bay, and especially the galleries
headed by such knowledgeable people.”
Christine Rabarts, owner of Whitianga’s Bread & Butter Gallery, has carried
Grant’s work at her gallery for years. “Grant uses a variety of skills with his
brushwork, capturing the energy and movement of a windy day or the roundness
and gnarliness of the pohutukawa or the warmth of a summer’s day under a
tree’s shade. His consistent abiity to capture colours, such as the turquoise of
the sea, the depths of blues in the sky – and at times the softness of the
setting sun or an early evening’s gentleness – brings alive a special quality of
beauty, a beauty that the Coromandel Peninsula is known for.”
See a large selection of both originals and prints at the Bread & Butter Gallery, including the
original of the cover art “Summer Feeling, Simpsons Beach”, just completed for this issue. It
will be available soon in limited edition prints. His work can also be seen at The Little Gallery
of Fine Arts in Tairua, Heritage Gallery in Cambridge and Art Of This World in Devonport.
View Grant’s website: gvsimpson.vc.net.nz/artist/gartsimp/Artworks/
Or contact him on 07 865 6113, E:
gvsimpson@xtra.co.nzMilly’s on Main
078647464
236 Main Road in Tairua
KAYLA
078689063
522 Pollen Street in Thames
www.millysonmainstreet.co.nzSummer Feeling,
Simpsons Beach
by Grant Simpson
believes new energy is found and ideas are expressed in individual and
challenging ways. Her beliefs fit well with the Art Escape Trust mission to
promote and develop the growth of the visual arts in Mercury Bay.
About the Mercury Bay Art Escape Open Studio Tour
Over 50 established and emerging artists in the Eastern Coromandel open
their studios the first two weekends of
March, 7-8 and 14-15
. It is a fabulous
opportunity for residents and visitors to interact with the artists and purchase
artwork direct.
The new edition of ‘The Guide’ is an expanded 156-page full-colour reference
manual including bios of all 52 artists, including 12 new ones. This guide is a
must whether you are attending or not – it offers maps, artists’ profiles, galleries,
cafés, B&B’s and tours. Can’t come this year? Contact artists for visits at other
times. Following the Opening Night Party at Hot Waves, all
artists will have a piece of work on display and for sale at the
caf
é
through Easter Monday.
Purchase Guide and tickets to opening night (always a sell
out!) at the MBAE website (or find local locations selling it).
See
www.mercurybayartescape.com.Keep to date via
www.facebook.com/mercurybayartescape.