Deirdre Boleyn Art
I was born and raised in the Manawatu in the lower part of the North Island of New Zealand. After a childhood in which, like many children, I drew on the back of every available envelope, I left home to embark on my ‘Big OE’ (Overseas Experience), a rite of passage for many New Zealanders. Like so many New Zealanders before me I found my way to Britain, and like many others, I have never left. On my arrival in Britain I settled in the North West of England and in North Wales where I have found a generous mixture of culture, countryside, and friendship.
In 2009 I took up watercolour painting after a lengthy break from doing any painting and drawing. I’m now hooked on this beautiful medium partly because there is so much to learn and to try out. Anyone who has tried watercolours will know how satisfying, how surprising, and how infuriating painting with them can be! I’ve learnt that sometimes I am mostly in control of the paint, while at other times I need to adapt to what the paint is doing. Learning to work with watercolours has allowed me to become less critical of my pictures as they progress, at the same time as striving to improve in ways that I didn’t expect.
My paintings and drawings can be grouped into several themes and styles; I like to paint the shapes of plants as they grow, and to paint flowers and foliage in general for their shapes and colours, and I like everyday objects and scenes. When I paint pictures of New Zealand I like the different colours of the native trees, and I especially like the colourful houses which are often made from wooden weatherboard and corrugated iron roofing. I am also beginning to paint children playing and exploring more often. North Wales, like New Zealand, is full of stunning clouds and ever-changing skies, meaning that I seldom moan about the weather. Themes in my paintings are derived from what I see around me, and I often paint in a fairly representational style. However, I also enjoy finding patterns in looser paint application and in geometric shapes and where natural shapes intersect with manmade shapes, especially in houses and their surrounds.