‘Roll Me Away’ – Acrylic – 23.5 x 35.5 inch

This painting is about our farewell to the most amazing, clever, enigmatic rebel ever. Gary built this coffin sidecar so it could be towed as well. The idea was that he could take it anywhere and just crash in it if he had had a couple too many beers without having to worry about accommodation or drink driving. Awesome.

He took it on a long road trip, had too many beers, crashed in it… and then it started to rain. The thing wasn’t mentioned again for a month or 4 or 5 and I thought it had died a premature death. Next minute Gary has started a free community service: anyone who wants to be buried by the mayor can be carried out in style in the coffin bike. He was actually quite busy with that!

Then the time came that he wanted to move on from his role as rebel biker mayor of a small Wairarapa town and the service became less popular. Then came the day we all feared… we took him to the pub for the last time and gave him one for the road. We buried him the next day in his coffin sidecar.

Gary McPhee, we salute you. You so could not be missed. Actually, not a day goes by that I don’t miss you so very much my friend.

‘Wild Thing’ – Oil – 30 x 40 inch

“Oh no!” I exclaim. “There is a dead baby zebra lying on the road. Really, I did not need to experience that!” I indignantly huff. We are getting closer and when we are only meters away from the body, it stirs! It gets up, bucks, runs around in circles and then cuddles up to it’s mother to have a proper look at that monster that rudely awoke it from it’s deep sleep. What a beauty with it’s fluffy baby hair, big eyes full of expression and soft nose.

Lake Of Dreams – Oil – 30 x 40 inch

The lake moves with the surfacing and diving bodies of a vast amount of pink rimmed giants and their calves. Bubbles indicate where hippos are under the surface snacking on the lake “cabbage”. The air is full of their snorts, vibrating huffs, rumbles and whistles.

On their backs is a variety of birds, unperturbed by the constant movement of colossal bodies creating huge waves, they just gently step onto the next animal when their host disappears under water. There is a sense of peace and rightness about the place but you know you are being watched when you see eyes rise from the surface.

Free Bird – Oil – 30 x 40 inch

On one of my frequent travels through the Black Hills of South Dakota I came across this woman and her partner riding their Harley Davidsons. Usually I am there on a Harley myself but this time I was just briefly visiting friends and driving a rental car. Their route was the same as mine and I followed them from Lead to Deadwood to Sturgis where our paths diverged.

By this time I was in total agony. I so badly did not want to be in a car! I SO wanted to be her and ride that bike that it was hurting physically. At that moment I decided that I had to paint her. In this painting I poured everything that motorcycle riding means to me. My whole heart and soul and longing is contained in this one picture. I must have unconsciously mixed her image with my own because everyone thinks this is a self-portrait.

Across the Magic Mountain – Pastel – 16 x 22 inch

An hour north of where I live is a truly magical place called Mt Bruce. A large chunk of unspoilt mountain area was bought by the people of the valley to preserve the flora and fauna unique to New Zealand.

The area is contained by a high fence and kept predator-free by several rangers. A large variety of breeding programs boosts the population of critically endangered species. One of them includes the Kaka, a large parrot with chocolate coloured feathers that have a green/yellow sheen to them. The underside of their wings is red.

These birds are real characters that love to boisterously interact with each other and humans and they don’t mind stripping half a tree of its bark in the process. I enjoy their expressiveness and their beauty. Look at these two cuddling on a branch while preening each other’s feathers.

Sunshine Of Your Love – Pastel – 18.5 x 24 inch

Under the shade of some trees, the women of the village are working hard. They are pounding corn, sweeping dirt, skinning chickens, carrying firewood, tending small cooking fires and looking after babies. The older children swarm around me like I am Peter Pan. I take note of all the colours, especially the colours of the fabric the women are wearing. The designs, colours and detailing tell what tribe she was born into.

My eye is drawn to one woman in particular because of her fine bone structure, her regal posture, the unusual, light and clean fabric she is wearing. I notice an almost impeccably white lace trimmed top under her dress, which is amazing as there is a constant cloud of red dust everywhere. Her skin colour is lighter than that of the other women in the village. She is carrying a baby in a sling on her back while savagely quartering chickens. She seems distant, unhappy and has an aura of despair around her.

When she notices me I see a glint of hostility then sadness in her eyes before they go back to looking vacant. I wonder what her story is. Her baby has noticed me as well and her little eyes go round with fear. She clutches her mother and looks up at her as if to verify that this is the boogie(wo)man and she is actually allowed to cry. Her mother looks down at her and in that moment the mother’s facial expression and body language are totally transformed and I see the glow of utter, complete and all-encompassing love of a mother for her child.

‘Empire Of The Clouds’ – Acrylic – 15.5 x 31.5 inch

My version of Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland. Looking out over the Loch towards the castle, feeling the space and the freedom it exudes, the wildness of the rugged hills and the castle standing proud surviving the test of time.

Here the decision was born to leave behind the small-mindedness of a suffocatingly tax-heavy Europe and to emigrate to a still free and wild New Zealand.

Pride – Pastel – 29 x 30.5 inch

It is pitch black and the blackness is full of rich sounds and smells. You hired a spotter and the village chief to be your guide and drive your vehicle. In the knee-high grass you can make out a form and it appears to be a dead lioness. Then her whiskers twitch. You can smell large cats and know that she is not alone.

The chief slowly drives through the high grass while the spotter is spotting feverishly. The chief stops the open jeep. Switches off the engine. Listening. Straining eyes and ears and nose in the dark. Then the spotter wildly turns his spotlight to a point three feet away from your knee and you look straight into the lounging lion’s eyes.

If you would stretch out your hand you could have rested it on the old lion’s head.

Highway Star – Acrylic – 12 x 16 inch

We are high in the Rocky Mountains. After a long, hot and dusty day of solid, hard riding from Dallas, Texas, we found the perfect biker motel. All the bikes are lined up and safe in front of the units, the location is quiet and remote with stunning mountain vistas. The thin mountain air is fresh and clean. Tumbleweeds are rolling across the rocky outcrop surrounding the motel. Rock music is drifting from several of our units, mingling its riffs and vocals with ours.

Some of us had to go quite a ways to source cold beers for the troops but made it back with plenty (the complete stock of the only place in a 150-mile radius, not that it was that much…). We are joking around, checking the condition of the bikes, telling tales, laughing, exclaiming and reminiscing while recounting the particulars of the day’s ride.

Cold beer in hand, bikes and friends reflecting in his sunglasses, he smiles his Mona Lisa smile. And that smile, ladies and gentlemen, says it all.

Journeyman – Oil – 31.5 x 47 inch

Put in a blender: my love for motorcycle riding and my favorite movie in a Pop Art style. I loooove this painting.

‘Black Magic Woman’ – pastel on paper – 56 x 42.5cm / 22 x 16.5in.

I love painting nudes as they are a great exercise for an artist. The human body is a continuous flow of movement both inside and outside. The mental space the model is in plays a huge part in the feeling of the pose, therefore a great joy and challenge to paint as the mood can shift in a split second.

However, why always paint such a fascinating subject in boring colours? Green like she has risen from the forest floor and red reflecting a fiery sunset. Much better.