A few photos from the first Painting New Zealand Holiday, 2012!

The Crew of Southern Cross ArtVentures gives a hearty thanks to all who participated in the premier New Zealand Painting Holiday! We appreciate everyone who spent the week with us and hope that your week on the Kowhai Coast of New Zealand was memorable!

Joanne pours Bev the first glass of wine at the welcome dinner!

Wendy, Tera, Jan, Mel & Bev enjoy the evening at the Riverside Matakana boat dock on the Mahurangi River below the resort.

The crew of SCAV served up a hearty welcome dinner and wine!

Tera painting on Kawau Island.

Rob & Dee on the launch to Kawau Island

The entire group enjoying an evening at the Tawharanui Peninsula home of Lindsay & Brian.

SCAV crew, Joe Garcia, Adele Earnshaw, Jim Hanson, Anne Garcia and Joanne Hanson

Kia Ora!

Southern Cross ArtVenture crew escorted our flock of artists and their friends to the airport in Auckland last Sunday. Several folks had later flights, so we treated them to lunch in the artsy district of Parnell and a trip to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. There, we enjoyed a performance of traditional Maori dance, music, and folklore, complete with the intimidating Haka-- Maori preparing for battle.

Monday we moved our gear to “our” bach (vacation house) in Matheson Bay, a quiet residential community in Leigh about 2 hours north of Auckland. The neighborhood overlooks a beautiful small bay and beach.

Bush walk near the house

Reserve walk through the neighborhood

Joe Painting at nearby Scotts Landing. Cloudy, but warm.

Today we met the owners, Justine and Kevin. They told us of the eccentricities of bach living, and it was really great to meet this retired couple from Auckland. The bach journal testifies to their hospitality and generosity with friends and family. They instructed us to finish off the summer garden veggies of tomatoes, string beans, parsley, basil. And to please see that the beetroot seedlings get enough water—not usually a problem here!

After lunch each of us went our own way. The artists—Adele, Joanne and Joe—went to the little bay below the house to paint. Jim had an errand to run into Warkworth, and I had a walkabout the neighborhood on the footpath reserves that follow the coastline.

A reserve is a wonderful concept in this country. In most residential areas or off any highway, you will see designated reserves for the public to enjoy. Many times a path may cut along the edge of someone’s yard or paddock. The attitude is that the beauty of the land is to be shared. So, unlike in the USA, where usually one must see the sights only from the road or in a park, New Zealand allows it’s citizens and visitors the right to have an “up close and personal” experience with the land and coast. Many times the paths are simply dirt or grass that is kept shorn by the resident sheep or goats. Other reserves are more elaborate with boardwalks built above the mangroves and through ponga forests (silver tree fern). Along with this willingness of owners to share their property, comes the responsibility of the public to respect their privacy and to help keep the reserves safe and clean. It seems to work. It’s one of the things I look forward to most when I visit here. Clearly, property rights and liability suits are not an issue here. How refreshing!

A few words to describe my New Zealand experience so far:

Hurt-the-eyes green, sunny, rainy, windy, calm

Sheep

Kauri, totara, rimu, ponga, pohutakawa, tea tree

Tui, fantail, bellbird, pukeko, oyster catcher

Sheep

Tawharanui Regional Park

Amazingly blue ocean, marine reserves

Friendly people, crazy drivers

No screens on the windows

Open doors and windows

Walking, tramping, hiking

Jandals—flip-flops, togs—swimsuit

Sheep

Veggie gardens, orchards, vineyards, fish

Bountiful land and sea.

Cloudy, but warm

Sunny days that scorch the skin in seconds

Sunscreen, hats

No Worries, Mate!

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Posted by Anne

Yesterday we spent a few hours on Kawau Island - a short trip by launch from Sandspit.  Some chose to paint, others hiked some of the trails on the Island, looking for wallabies (one of the Australian species introduced by NZ's first governor, Sir George Grey) and wekas, which were everywhere.  A weka is a chicken-size bird native to New Zealand.  It is flightless but also swims well!

New Zealand's summer has been unusually cool and wet but we've been lucky with good weather so far, though today we have a 50/50 chance of rain.  Today we're spending the morning painting at the retreat - then in the afternoon will do the bush walk at the Parry Kauri Park in Warkworth.  Late in the afternoon, we're visiting home and studio of artists Robyn and Valerie Pendred, who happen to live in the house my sister and I grew up in.  Must be something in the water!

View from the launch - Kawau Island

Back in the Motherland!

The view from the bach; mangroves on a tributary of the Mahurangi River

Back in the Motherland!

I'm back in the part of New Zealand where my sister, Joanne, and I grew up, the Kowhai Coast about an hour north of NZ's largest city, Auckland.  This afternoon the temp has been about 70 F, a little blustery at times as if it might rain, but then the sun comes out again.  Starting tomorrow, it is supposed to be clear and sunny - just in time for our Painting Holiday which starts in the morning after we pick up our seventeen American guests at the Auckland Airport.  

We hope to blog daily during this week's painting holiday, so stay tuned!

Using our Blog

Hi to all of you who will be joining us in New Zealand.

We're hoping that you might start using our blog to ask questions, communicate with each other and share information. You'll see "COMMENT" at the bottom of each post. If you click on it, you can make a comment that the rest of us can see. In a month or two, I'll make a post about airfares. If you have found a great deal that you'd like to share with us, post the information in the 'comment' section.

If you have trouble using the comment section, email Joanne, Anne or me and we'll help you work it out.

And don't forget to scroll down to previous posts. We've been posting lots of helpful information for you!

Making a Watercolor Journal

You'll be receiving your supply list (by email) for the New Zealand painting holiday in just a few days. Most of you are working in watercolor, but no worries if you've chosen another medium. Here, I'll give you instructions on how to make a watercolor journal to use on your trip.

Watercolor is the perfect travel medium - lightweight and easy to pack. There are different brands of watercolor paper, which come in different weights from 90lb to thicker-than-cardboard. The heavier the paper, the less likely is it to buckle when wet. Joe has worked on 140lb Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper for years while I prefer Arches cold-pressed 300lb. He also prefers ready-made watercolor sketchbooks, specifically the Pro Art brand, however I've had no luck finding these online. Someone sent him a stack of the sketchbooks years ago so this is what he continues to use. Not sure if they're made anymore. There is what appears to be a reasonably good Arches watercolor sketchbook available through ASW that is made of 140lb Arches cold-pressed paper. You'll find an ASW link for it in your emailed supply list.

I tried different watercolor sketchbooks over the years and couldn't find one with decent paper so resorted to making my own. I've learned there are some major advantages to this - mainly that if I wait until I get back from my trip before having the paper bound into a book, I can leave out the paintings I didn't finish or I didn't like! I can also arrange the pages in the order I like.
ASW sells a 3-pack of 22" x 30" 300lb Arches cold-press watercolor paper. If you click on the link for this on your supply list, it will take you to the right page in the online ASW catalog. The paper comes in 'natural white' or 'bright white'. I use 'natural white'. Either will work.

If you make your sketchbook according to my instructions, the three-sheet pack of paper will give you 24 pages for your sketchbook. If you use all of these in the week-long painting holiday, you'll be sure to win the highly coveted Perseverance Award at the end of the week!


Cut a 22" x 30" sheet of watercolor paper lengthwise, giving you two 11" x 30" pieces of paper. Then cut each 30" length into 7 1/2" pieces. This will give you 8 pieces of 7 1/2" x 11" paper, each with a deckled edge. You can make your sketchbook larger or smaller - but I find this size works well for traveling with no wasted paper.


You can arrange the sheets of paper so the deckled edges are all on the same side, which makes for a smart-looking sketchbook once it is bound. I stack the paper and pack them in a big envelope (Fed-ex has a perfect paper envelope which will last through the trip without tearing. You can borrow one from the shipping supplies at a Fed-ex office or Kinkos, but don't tell them I put you up to this!)



Using a carpenter's square to make sure my corners are square, I draw a rectangle on each sheet of paper. You can see here that my rectangle is 1 1/2" in from the edge of the paper on three sides, but there's a wider margin on the fourth side of 2". This will be the side that will be bound - so I'm giving a little more room. This allows for a 4 1/2" x 7 1/2" painting. You can make yours any size you wish. I use a 2H pencil (it doesn't smear) and draw a very light line which can be erased after your painting is finished. (I've used a dark line here so you can see how I do it)




Once I return home, I sort the paintings in the order I like and take the pages to Kinkos. There are several different types of bindings available - I prefer the spiral. You also have a choice of covers. I like the black plastic. With some of my sketch books, I've inserted a piece of vellum in between each painting before it is bound. If you have any questions, email me!

If you prefer, you can take your watercolors home and have them framed....but there's something impressive about a finished watercolor journal of your travels.

Plein Air Painting Holiday with Michael Chesley Johnson

Michael Chesley Johnson is a Master Pastellist of Pastel Artists Canada, a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and the Pastel Society of New Mexico, as well as a juried member of Oil Painters of America and other prestigious groups. His work has been in shows in both the US and Canada and has been published in The Artist's Magazine, The Pastel Journal, American Artist and Fine Art Connoisseur (Plein Air Magazine).

Michael's workshop will include daily demos and critiques.  He will be painting in oil but you may choose to paint in any medium you wish.   
 

Michael Chesley Johnson

Michael teaches throughout North America and also conducts intensive workshops at Friar's Bay Gallery on Campobello Island in the Canadian Maritimes and in Sedona, Arizona, at Pumphouse Studio Gallery. All students, from beginner to professional artists, praise his relaxed but helpful manner of teaching. He has taught at workshop centers and for art groups such as: Art Barn (IN); Acadia Workshop Center (ME); Sedona Arts Center (AZ); Old Forge Arts Center (NY); Sunbury Shores Art & Nature Centre (NB); Pastel Artists Canada (ON); New Hampshire Plein Air (NH); Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (MA); York Art Association (ME): Springfield Area Pastelists (IL); Los Reyes Gallery (AZ); Bay River Art Guild (AL); Roswell Museum (NM); Hubbard Museum of the American West (NM); ArtCenter Traverse City (MI); Lawrence Academy (MA) and Cloudcroft Art Workshops (NM).(Click here to visit his current workshop listings.)

Into the Flow, oil on panel, 12 x 16

Michael' is the author of the books, Backpacker Painting: Outdoors with Pastel & Oil, Through a Painter's Brush: A Year on Campobello Island and The Art of Ann Templeton: A Step Beyond. He writes regularly for The Pastel Journal, and is a Contributing Editor for The Artist's Magazine.

Michael lives on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, in the Canadian Maritimes and in Sedona, Arizona. Winter studio:Pumphouse Studio Gallery.  Summer studio: Friars Bay Gallery.