Painting the land in its primordial condition

Press, 6 December 1989, Page 26

Painting the land in its primordial condition

By

PAULINE MOORE

Bill Sutton calls his latest paintings “little holidays.” Packing his painting gear and some sandwiches in his car and heading into Canterbury’s hinterlands for a day out in the fresh air is great fun, he says. The paintings produced from his days out reflect the distinguished Christchurch painter’s pleasure in the Canterbury countryside. Landforms and skies — their changing faces and moods — are favourite subjects. Sutton’s latest collection of watercolours, all painted during the last three months, is on display at the Brooke/Gif-

ford until December 15. Nine of the 12 paintings are of the Port Hills area, which the born-and-bred Cantabrian says are part of him. Two depict the Lake Coleridge area, and the other, late snow around Cass. Sutton paints the countryside as it was before human interference. Using artistic licence, he paints as if ugly roads and .fences — “dreadful things” — simply did not exist. “I paint the land in its primordial conditiqn,” he says. He prefers the typical brown of the hills in high summer to their present “bilious” green after

the October rain. The more familiar browns and ochres contrast well with blue/grey skies, giving a pleasing juxtaposition of warm and cold colours. He ■ finds weather changes and the effect of colour especially interesting. The sarfte view takes on a different aspect when the sky changes from clear to dull. “You can look at a hill 20 times and make 20

different statements about it. “Weather changes transform it. When I paint, I grab one piece and manipulate nature for pictorial purposes. “My method of observing and selecting gives a record of the permanent structures of nature and adds ephemeral instances of light and shade.” For major series, he

sketches a few vital points and shapes to serve as the basis of future works. He paints watercolours on site and touches them up later in his studio. He may add crisp, dark edges, and perfect the descriptive quality and pictorial balance. Painting in watercolours is “tricky stuff — wretchedly so.” The medium is fascinating, the equipment simple, but the technique difficult. Heat,

humidity and cold affect the results enormously. On hot days, paint dries too quickly, creating hard edges, so he has to adapt his technique to suit the conditions of the moment. On cold days, when the paint stubbornly refuses to dry, he makes cunning use of a portable hairdryer. When it is humid, the paint fuses and blurs. Sutton, at a sprightly 72 years of age, is painting prolifically, without defer-

ence to advancing years. He’s got a lot more painting to do — you never give up unless you run out of things to say, he says. “Painting is part of being alive. I like to share my observations and appreciation with other people in a pictorial way.” Portraits are a major ■ part of his work and he is at present completing a portrait of the Chief Justice, Judge EiChelbaum.