Routeburn, Kepler & Greenstone trip
Feb 14, 2019
On the 31st of December my wife and I departed Tauranga airport to further discover the untamed wilderness of the deep South. Over the following two weeks we walked the Routeburn, Kepler and Greenstone tracks which created a natural loop setting out and returning to Glenorchy, with only a couple of nights in Te Anau to resupply.
I am always torn between my love of the ocean and love of the mountains. As we live only a minutes walk from the sea the ocean influences my work greatly. But setting fourth on these Great New Zealand walks is incredibly inspiring. Over twelve days we covered 130km, traveling self sufficient and camping along the way is how we like to do it.
I mainly photograph and sketch along the way but now that I am home I realise how important observation is; studying how the delicate Beech tree leaves create dense layers of foliage, how the filtered sunlight pierces through mist and clouds catching bush edges and alpine tops. I myself am not a great photographer, catching light with the camera usually alludes me so when I’m at the easel I’m often relying on my memory and the time spent observing and studying nature.
Back in the studio I have launched into a series of paintings/memories of our latest adventure. More than ever I am inspired to represent the landscape as I remember it. To honour it’s beauty, to capture untouched nature with oil on linen.
