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COROMANDEL LIFE LATE SPRING / HOLIDAY 2018
Both the cover painting and ‘Roost’, the one
Barry is shown completing above, are part of
his ‘Island Series’. “My island work is surreal,
whimsical, playful and fictional. It presents a
variety of isolated islands, surveying a range
of wild and domestic habitations.” View the
entire series of 26 island fantasies on his
website.
“The paintings can be viewed as theatrical
tableau – reflective spaces which highlight
mankind’s complex relationship with the land,
its beasts and the all-encompassing ocean.”
As whimsical as Barry’s paintings may appear,
some artworks also reflect a serious thought-
provoking side. The combination of humour,
skill and intention make his overall art career
much respected. Well known
NZ Herald’s
art
critic TJ McNamara describes Barry’s paintings
as “hymns to rural New Zealand ... tellingly
observed and cleverly rendered.”
Barry adds, “I like to create a rapport with
the viewer by playing with reminiscences.
Creating icons from our shared Kiwi past – the
beach, the bach, the farm – but mostly, the
people.”
THE JOURNEY TO OIL
The family of this Northland born artist, like many
of the time, moved around a lot before eventually
settling in Tauranga when Barry was a teenager.
Although he excelled creatively early on –
coming top in 5th and 6th form art at Tauranga
Boys College – he initially chose the more
practical career as a signwriter. “I had my own
sign shop in Tauranga (SignArt), but would
airbrush freehand onto cane blinds and album
covers of my favourite bands, selling these
from my shop as well.”
While on his OE, Barry spent five years
working with
Signs Illuminare,
a small family-
owned business in East London, where he
was offered a partnership, but he was ready to
return home. “Whilst there a friend offered me
oil paints to dabble with. I was immediately
In choosing our cover artist, we were immediately drawn to Barry’s quirky and fun style. We felt
‘Baches’ was the perfect art for this issue’s release at Labour Weekend – the traditional opening of
the Coromandel’s holidaymaking season.
Many of his coastal scenes are inspired by visits to his wife’s family bach in Whiritoa, which actually
features top left as one of the baches in the painting on our cover (see inset right). “They have
owned and enjoyed this bach since 1972,” shares Barry. “It has specular views out to the ever-
changing sands and ocean.”
The others are also from Whiritoa – except the top gray one which was taken from the definition of
‘bach’ on Wikipedia. “I wanted to convey the quirkiness of our typical NZ baches”, says Barry, “from
the pink flamingos in the succulent garden to the traffic cone on top of the Norfolk pine tree.”
hooked – the richness of colours and the
organic nature were such a pleasure to work
with.”
Barry picked up the oils when he returned
to NZ in 1994. He entered the Birkenhead
Licensing Trust competition and won first
prize. However, oil painting remained a hobby
until he met and married Leanne Watkins, who
would become his muse. “She encouraged
me to drop the signwriting altogether, and with
her support, I have honed my practice and been
painting full time for 15 years.
“I endeavour to express fresh ways to
represent ideas about relationships and
connections with my environment,” shares
Barry. “Each artwork attempts to articulate an
observation that has struck me as somehow
worthy of further thought.”
Barry completes the final touches
to ‘Roost’, the most recent
addition to his Island Series.
Our cover artist...
BARRY
ROSS
SMITH
The artworks in Barry’s ‘Land Series’ detail the
interdependent relationships between people
and animals within their immediate environment,
specifically the role of livestock in our food chain and
our role as custodians.
PORTRAIT
OF A MUSE
“Creating a portrait is a
dangerous profession –
get any features too big
or small and you not
only loose the likeness,
but also the client.
So I was taking my life
in my hands when I
asked my wife Leanne
to pose for me.”
Continued on page 10...