I am an artist and writer. I have been an an art teacher and as an illustrator of children's books. I love writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, and have written many short stories. I am also a keen reader and write book reviews, among other art related articles on my blog site – viviennelingard.net
Frances Hodgkins working from her studio in Croft.
A few months back I was in Dunedin, and visited their very good public art gallery. I was thrilled to find an exhibition of works by New Zealander Frances Hodgkins I’d not seen before which were all completed in England. She was in London in 1939 at the start of the war, and for safety reasons I imagine moved to the Dorset countryside. She lived in Corfe Castle village on the south-west peninsula, where she remained until 1945. She was able to move a little between the small villages, and set up a small studio in nearby Croft. Because of the war-time restrictions foisted upon her, she set about documenting the rural life of small villages and communities in her paintings. She was often forced to stay indoors, whether through atrocious weather, or air raids and coastal gunfire. It is testament to the dedication she gave to her art practice that she was able to work under such conditions.
I had always thought myself a reader of fiction which relied on stories which were grounded, and didn’t take you to other realms, such as fantasy, or science fiction. I am speaking as my adult self here, for I certainly read and enjoyed fairytales as a child. Recently I attended the Auckland Writers Festival, and was lucky to hear Australian writer Trent Dalton speak. The Auditorium was packed, and the audience didn’t just wait until the end to show spontaneous applause. Afterwards I bought the title All Our Shimmering Skies, rather than Boy Swallows Universe, as the blurb on cover said it was better. Perfect timing as I was flying to Australia soon after and I was keen to get ‘stuck in’. It certainly was a page turner and I’d almost finished it before touchdown.
I am lucky to have a husband that enjoys gardening and is chairperson of our local Ngataringa community organic gardens (affectionately known as NOG). A week back he brought home some Seville oranges with the intention of making marmalade and might have, had I not said, ‘I’d like to draw those,’ as the orange of the fruit contrasted perfectly with the green leaves still attached by short stems. I hauled out my very heavy drawing easel ( circa 1960s! with a metal base) and started to arrange pencils and paper needed for the job. Three closely drawn pieces of fruit takes a while, so I started, hoping not to have many delays.
This year has been one of friends’ dealing with difficult health issues, and deaths, and I was very much affected when learning of each. Just two weeks ago, we were set to holiday on Vancouver Island, and were looking forward to this, when we learned a brother of Kerry’s had died following a long illness. That same day we learnt the health prognosis for a very old friend in Melbourne was far from great. Instant panic, as we cancelled hotel bookings and postponed the Canada flights, while Kerry booked to attend the funeral down south, and we booked another flight for Melbourne a few days later. We had made the right, and best decisions we believe. With other family living in Melbourne we shuttled between various houses, and the 10th floor suite in the CBD where we were based.
But our main purpose in Melbourne was to see our unwell friend. He has been very busy putting together a volume of his poetry over the past weeks, which had been published and arrived in time for our visit. So good to know that he had this positive project to focus on throughout his treatment, for it has kept his spirits up, that’s for sure, and we are now very pleased to have his book. We enjoyed our time with our friend very much and were so pleased to have moved our holiday plans to later in the year.
A day after our return I learned my brother had fallen and broken his femur, and was due to be operated on in a few days’ time. The operation was done, his hip pinned and he was transferred to the hospital near his home to recuperate. The following day I heard he was in ICU on oxygen and given strong antibiotics for the pneumonia he had contracted. Now, this is when I had to dig deep, to find something that might help me relax and lift my spirits. So, first I did what I know always helps me, and that is to walk. Look to the sky, the trees, the birds, say ‘hi’ to strangers that kind of thing. But once home I didn’t feel like doing anything, but did plan a project for the next day, a sketch.
Another view to the Auckland CBD and Devonport naval base.
I heard my brother was improving today and that was the incentive I needed to finish my sketch. The mediums used: water-soluble colour pencils, ink, watercolour, and graphite. PS, the small brown ferry building (centre) was once one of the tallest buildings the waterfront!
I hope you like the sketch Bob (brother) and Barry (friend).
I opened a recent post on Sunnyside showing a painting by American artist Frederick C Frieseke called Through the Vines and it immediately reminded me of the work of New Zealander Evelyn Page (1899 – 1988). Like Frieske she was most adept at showing the human form through dappled light.
There was a retrospective of her paintings shortly after her death and I enjoyed viewing the collection.
This week I’ve been unsettled as I wait to receive my manuscript back from the editor, so I can go over my work for the last time. I have all the extra bits of writing required for sending off to publishers, even the dratted synopsis, waiting in the wings. The synopsis was scrutinised by my husband, daughter, and members of my writing group, and finally I was happy with it.
While pacing my study, I looked at the two beautiful persimmon I was given the other day languishing on my desk and knew what would help me relax. I would draw the fruit!
I sat down to begin a pencil sketch this morning, but was diverted by some cloud drawings I found in the sketch pad, so … I decided to put these together for this week’s post. Just a brief description of the mediums used, and not so much of a story this time. The top six sketches are from the Devonport area near my home, the seventh sketched on Waiheke Island, and the eighth done in Port Douglas Australia.
I usually sketch out the scene quickly, returning to fill out detail. I so love sketching clouds.
It certainly can. Last Friday I joined my daughter Lara on a road trip from Auckland through to Wellington. It was so good to be away from the city and the cars that crowd our highways as we drove the back routes with few people on the roads. We skirted Hamilton, past Waitomo and onto Tauramunui, the weather truly perfect for this special ride. We stopped often to take photos of the countryside.
A view of Mt Ruapehu (my photo)
Lara had hinted at a stop-over a day or two earlier, but kept it a surprise. She kept me guessing the destination all the way, hinting at Raglan at one point, where I’d thought, ‘nice, haven’t been there for a while,’ and then past Otorohanga, where we’d both seen Kiwi some years ago. But no. We pulled over for lunch, and filled up the car, and turned back to join the Forgotten Highway, a place now popular with sporty types who like to go biking in forest terrain. There’s a railroad alongside the road which runs trips for tourists using rail carts. The long road stretches between Tauramunui and New Plymouth and takes in hilltop views and ocean vistas amongst its many splendours.
A recent photo of Oriental Bay, Wellington [photo V. Lingard]
Yes, the first draft is done, and now sits with the reader, though I would like to add a little more about what went into reaching that goal. Writers will know that it isn’t just a matter of coming up with a great idea and sitting at the computer and let the words fill the pages, easy peasy. There is the matter of plotting, and making a loose timeline. For me the setting was 1970s Wellington and the years my protagonist lived there. I sketch this out by hand rather than type it up, and mark where I think specific scenes, or events may occur. What was happening during those years? Research next, to top up my memory of these times. So much goes into this, for example: what movies were shown, what music was played, who was prime minister, what sports were popular, what programmes ran on the radio? You get the idea.
There is a reason I haven’t been churning out any posts recently, and it’s because I’ve been focussed on finishing my novel. It’s been a long road, sometimes smooth, often bumpy, as I squinted at my computer screen and squeezed out the words. How lovely it must be to write some people have said to me, and it is, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great creative thing to be making up a long piece of fiction. But it is hard work. I think I summed it up when my granddaughter gasped when I told her how long it had taken. I said, “I guess it’s a little like homework, it needs plotting, planning, and a lot of patience to work it all out.” My manuscript is not huge at 74,000, though enough I think, since it’s taken me two and a half years of my life to produce it.
ARTISTRY 