Viewpoint: Manawatu

With over 20 new paintings by Jack Register, one of this region’s most admired and prolific artist, this exhibition will surely be popular with regional residents and visitors alike.

Depicting the land forms of the Tararuas and the Ruahines especially the Manawatu Gorge, the papa cliffs of the Rangitikei, the beaches and dunes of our famed West Coast and the many valleys and streams that proliferate throughout this region, Jack captures it all with his unique painting skills. Featuring his distinctive watercolours and oils, Viewpoint: Manawatu will illustrate the region’s geographical odyssey of earth and water. Let Jack Register be your guide and the provider of an artistic depiction of your favourite Manawatu destination.

To further help you choose a painting the artist himself will be in the gallery on Saturday 22 May and then at various times during the extent of his exhibition.

Jack Register followed his late father Basil into the art profession. He has made a career in the fine arts as a full-time artist after being a professional, self-employed painter and decorator for twenty-eight years. Over the last several decades his art works have become iconic and sought after representations of the Manawatu and Rangitikei regions. Having a style of painting which is uniquely his own, Register has been invited to exhibit his paintings in public galleries in Wanganui, Wellington, Timaru and Palmerston North. His work is spread over major private galleries on both the North and South islands. In this region, Jack’s paintings can be viewed at Palmerston North City Council, Massey University, Manawatu District Council and Horizons Regional Council.

Jack Register was born and raised in Palmerston North; “Art ran in my blood, so to speak, and from an early age my father taught me how to see things with an ‘artist’s eye’”. During his teenage years Register attended Palmerston North Technical College; on leaving school Jack completed a Painter and Decorator’s Apprenticeship and not long after passing his trade certificate, Register became self-employed. “About 1970 I was drawn to the easel and began to paint the Manawatu landscape with an emphasis on the Gorge, the ranges and the rivers of this region. I educated myself at home using the resources of the library; digesting a regular diet of books on a variety of subjects. I graduated naturally to an ever-increasing ‘feast’ of art books, gallery visits and weekend art courses and workshops.”

“Finally the urge to paint ‘art’ instead of houses could no longer be ignored! Although in my early thirties and with a young family I began to take art more seriously. Many nights and weekends were spent experimenting with watercolour, pen and wash and oil paint. ‘Mistakes’ proved to be invaluable to the learning process often producing exciting rather than disappointing results. My hobby soon began paying for itself, which encouraged me to build my own studio and spend more time on art. Within a few years I had exhibited my work both locally and nationally. ‘Art’ had become a passion to share with others! Between1980 and1990, I taught art at Queen Elizabeth College (Palmerston North) through its continuing education programme.

“In 1988 I made the decision to become a full-time artist and I have never looked back. Although a late starter as a professional artist, I have a lifetime of art experience. I specialise in contemporary art as it allows me the freedom of expression to paint what excites me, what I feel. Painting on site (‘Plein air’) enables me to use all my senses to capture the essence of the landscape as my brush touches canvas. The connection I feel with the land and for New Zealand is, I believe, evident in my paintings.”

Jack Register has received numerous awards during his art career and has participated in over forty-five solo and group exhibitions. He was a recipient of a QSM – Queens Service Medal – in the 2008 New Years Honours List for his services to Art and Music.

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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