NEW ZEALAND ARTIST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21716, 3 February 1934, Page 18

NEW ZEALAND ARTIST

RETURN FROM ABROAD ' PAINTING IN MINORCA The opinion that Britain was ten ron- t ;s behind the Continent in art was bv Miss era- "V lal, a INew Zealand artist, who returned yesterday by theß uahine from her third trip abroad. Continental artists spent months in floi/is the [preliminary drawing of their picture before commencing to paint, Miss Vial said. With the famous artists from the Continent nothing was too much trouble provided they procured the best results. A striking example of this painstaking thoroughness was [Yo 7 Koster, the famous Dutch woman crtist. On her last trip to the Continent Miss yial said she had seen more beautiful drawings and paintings than she had ever seen before, and mentioned that the impressionistic type of painting seemed to have had its day. btill-liie studies appeared to be preferred by Continental artists., although they were bv no means restricted to this type. 'Miss Vial intends to paint m New Zealand, but expressed the opinion that although New Zealand was very beautiful, it was difficult for painting owing to the strong light. The European light was much more veiled. With Miss McEldowney, another well-known rsew Zealand artist. Miss Vial was recently at Minorca, Balearic Islands, where they both did a considerable amount of painting. The scenery there was beautiful, particularly the groves of 2000-year-old olive trees, which transformed it into an artist's paradise. In the small town of Selva, Minorca, Miss Vial and Miss McEldowney were the only Eng-lish-speaking people who had ever visited there. They were not, however, looked upon as intruders, for the peasants were most hospitable, showering them with gifts. . Miss Vial left last evening for Wellington and will later visit all parts of New Zealand with her easel and palette. An unfortunate accident which, occurred on the steamer about ten days ago, when Miss Vial fell and injured her ankle, has made her temporarily lame, but has .not had the effect of checking her eagerness to commence painting immediately.