Coromandel Life Magaizine 2017 Winter

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We have long admired Waihi artist Paul Herbert’s style and the fun feeling his works
evoke, so upon receiving a preview in January of his new painting, “Flight of Fancy”,
we knew we’d found our next cover.
Paul loves to distort some of his chosen subjects, making them fit his style, and
enjoys making them appear a bit ‘wonky’. We were thrilled when he confirmed the
birds in this new work were indeed tui. What synchronicity! – as a special tui feature
had already been planned for this issue (see following pages).
Paul mentioned that returning to art after
a lapse of all those years was like “a ’70’s
retro time warp!”. After studying at the
School of Design, Wellington (1971-
72), he was inspired and influenced by
artists such as renowned Coromandel
artist Michael Smither, Robin White, Don
Binney, Rita Angus, and Dean Buchanan.
THE MOVE TO WAIHI BEACH
Several years following recovery from a
triple bypass, Paul craved a more laid
back lifestyle, one preferably close to
the ocean and surf. He sold his home in
Cambridge and moved to Waihi Beach in
2014, where he opened a home studio,
Gallery27, at 27 Fyfe Road.
The gallery is open daily in summer,
weekends in winter (look for the open
flag), and all year by appointment. He
would be delighted to show his current
works, discuss painting a commission, or
even plan a graphic arts project.
Also view his art at The Little Gallery (Tairua),
Inspirit Gallery (Hamilton), Matapihi Gallery
(Raglan), and Helena Bay Gallery (Northland).
Reach Paul at 021 235 8988, 07 863 4114
or d see more art
online at Facebook at
Gallery27.
‘Flight of Fancy’, 710mm x 570mm, is acrylic
on canvas. Interested in purchasing the
original or limited edition prints? Contact Paul.
“The driving force behind this painting
is my passion for the sea, surfing, the
bush, native wildlife, and the tui which
have been a big part of my life and my
environment,” Paul shares.
“We lived in Cambridge close to the
Maungakawa Reserve where dozens
of tui gathered in a large Japanese
walnut tree to eat, play and court,”
he remembers. “Their wild and mad
aerobatics – along with their loud
squawks and beautiful sounding bellows
– dominated the air around the trees!”
Paul used an acrylic paint ‘dry brush’
method found in all of his paintings. “I
endeavour to put visual energy into the
shapes so they connect to each other
without actually joining.”
He formulates a style heavily influenced
by both his graphic design skills and
a fascination with nature’s ‘jumbled
randomness’ of shapes and colours. Paul
reinterprets these into a more ordered
form in his paintings’ structure. Repetition
of the Nikau palm, for instance, allowed
for segmentation of the painting, a tie
back to his graphic arts style of ‘ordered
randomness’.
After almost 30 years of running a graphic
design business (Graphic Eyes Limited),
Paul decided to get back to some of his
grass root passions of painting, carving
and surfing.
Milly’s on Main 07 864 7464
236 Main Road, Tairua
KAYLA 07 868 9063
522 Pollen Street, Thames
See our website and facebook for more new arrivals
Paul Herbert
Cover Artist