Art and Abart

Irises on the day of my Mother's farewell At the end of September winter gardens begin to stir in Taihape. The first daffodils flowe...

Frances Ruth Gordon, 1920 - 2013 My mother Frances Ruth Gordon died last Thursday aged 93.  She was a passionate gardener and left behin...

Jackie Orszaczky , Watercolour on Arches paper, 76 x 56 cm Today I found Jackie Orszaczky on YouTube. I have been playing the clips and...

Rheinmaidens in costume (Picture from Opera Australia) When the Ring Cycle was performed in Adelaide the Valkyries were bar-girls and sa...

Steven Isserlis's cello runs away with itself (12 x 17 cm) The virtuosic cello player Steven Isserlis is one with his instrument a...

What a charming fellow, explaining why you should turn your mobile phone off in concerts.

'You have to go alone' A Dunedin Art School graduating student in 2008 had some books on a table which he was asking visitors t...

Grane, dashing through the musical flames As I look at my previous posts I can't help but think my images for the Melbourne Ring Ex...

Firefront map Over two hundred homes have already been lost in NSW and we are in for a scary week. Hoped for rain now looks unlikely, th...

Brünnhilde's horse Grane. Collage of Intaglio etchings Wagner's Ring Cycle will be performed in Melbourne in November and all so...

NSW is experiencing a most dreadful fire day. It is very hot and the wind is so strong it is frightening. Wind gusts of 90kph are ripping ...

Bravo to the organisers and participants who meet at cafes to discuss how to die well. The conversation is overdue. I suppose it is unders...

Eleanor Catton accepting award Congratulations to young New Zealander Eleanor Catton on winning the Man Booker prize for her book Th...

Felicity Smith, mezzo soprano from New Zealand, died last month from a pulmonary embolism at only 32. A tragedy for her family, her friends ...

I wish this flashmob would appear in my town.... How better to celebrate Verdi's 200th birthday?

Acrylic on Canvas 50 x 75cm Painting a selfie is not so easy because you think you know your own face so well, but perhaps you don't...

Helene, Rebecca, Timo-Veikko and Christopher play P ä rt Sometimes you hear a concert and you say to yourself:  'That was just perfe...

Back seam I am enamoured with the Swedish travel-trousers  maker Fj äll Rä ven. They make the back trouser seam extra wide so you can ea...

Amy and Ruby (Acrylic on Canvas) Amy and Ruby Fourteen, going on fifteen

When I was in Dunedin I took a ceramics class and to my surprise I learned to love clay. Beginner students often experiment to see how thi...