PaintNewZealand.com

Artist John Sargeant celebrates New Zealand in his exhibition entitled 'PaintNewZealand.com.’ to be shown at Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts from 21 August through 8 September 2009. John works in watercolours and oils often determined by the subject matter and his ability to fit painting in between his other commitments. The works reflect places he has been and are either of landscapes or of people with a few abstracts and surprises thrown in for good measure resulting in an eclectic range of styles and subject matter. John enjoys this outcome, as he does not want to see himself as 'pigeon holed' as a painter of one genre or another. The artist likes to think that his work has a broad appeal and will attract a wide audience because of the variety of styles and subject matter he paints and exhibits. Twenty-five works selected by the artist will be shown that reflect this diversity. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday evening, 21st August at the gallery, 33 George Street, Palmerston North from 5.30 – 7.00PM. The public is cordially invited.

'PaintNewZealand.com.’ is informally described by John as "his past flashing before his eyes" as each work has a meaning to him and his family as they are the destinations of holidays, weekends away and a few places visited by friends and family. It is a personal account of New Zealand by the artist using his ‘artistic eye’ on everyday scenes, taking mental and photographic images as references to capture on his canvas.

John Sargeant has been painting for seven years beginning with watercolour in 2002 and then working in oils as well from 2005. As he enjoys working in multiple styles, he equally enjoys looking at an eclectic range of art as possible inspiration. John can often be found visiting The Govett-Brewster Gallery in New Plymouth, the home of Avant-garde art exhibitions in New Zealand providing contrast to the more restrained values of traditional and contemporary art at the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui, another of his favourite haunts. Always drawn to German expressionism he also enjoys New Zealand artists, particularly Edith Collier, Cedric Savage, Peter Lambert and Douglas Badcock. Sargeant has exhibited in the Taranaki region at the Stage Gallery, Hawera; Village Gallery, Eltham; Black Sands Gallery, Maxwell; Zincat and Real Tart Galleries, New Plymouth. 'PaintNewZealand.com.’ is John’s first exhibition at Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts. For the artist it is a ‘test of the waters’ to see if his talent will be appreciated (and his works purchased) in the conservative Middle Districts.

Based in Hawera, Sargeant, who immigrated to New Zealand from England in 1973, works full time in local government at the South Taranaki District Council, which he sees as a bonus as he often draws inspiration from the parks and open spaces he manages ‘in the shadow of Mt Teranaki.’ With two adult children, both overseas John and his wife are looking forward to exploring the Taranaki lakes and coastline over next summer in recently purchased kayaks. John sees this as a new opportunity for sketching on weekends, especially along the 80 kilometre shoreline of Lake Rotorangi.

John is largely self-taught and his work is wide-ranging from highly detailed watercolours of old character buildings and figurative studies to oils of natural subjects and the occasional abstract. John believes that when looking at a painting, it is not a matter of whether you like it or not but what it does to you, as it may change the way you look at the world. “It is not important as to whether you understand the intent of the artist, as how the work affects you. If you do not like a work, it will still alter you as you form an opinion which you did not have prior – therefore you are changed to a greater or lesser degree.”

‘PaintingNewZealand.com’ will continue through 8th September.

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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