Exhibition highlights new creative journey for artist

JULIA WADE

16 Jan, 2023

Art lovers looking for an acrylic treat these holidays can find it by venturing out to an old country hall where an artist/author will be showcasing artwork of her own adventure, albeit of the self-explorative kind.

‘Life Journeys’, a pop-up exhibit by local Phillipa Reeve and held at Hakaru Hall on January 21, is a showcase of 50 original abstracts which reflect the first-time exhibitor’s year-long artistic exploration. Encompassing three-months training and many more spent painting, usually for up to six hours a day, Phillipa’s art journey was kick-started by her need of illustrations for the 71-year-old and her upcoming book, ‘WOW: Ageing in Partnership with Creativity’, set to be released in the first half of this year.

“It seems quite appropriate that my first art show is happening in my early seventies, as the book looks at capacities we can all develop which support a creative way of living, to bring us an expansive experience of aging,” she says.

“The past year has opened me up to a whole world of colour, shape and texture, and I deepened my connection with the confident, curious, playful part of myself.

“For me, painting is about jumping wholeheartedly into the unknown, a process full of tension, frustration, dead-ends, discovery and delight.”

Through her year of experimenting with acrylics, cavasses and brush strokes, Phillipa found herself welcomed into a global tribe of artists and also came to the attention of both domestic and international art collectors.

Most importantly she says, the artistic experience framed the next ten years for her, not of decline, stagnation or retreat, but as an opportunity to discover and deepen her artistic voice.

“A chance to contribute. A time to become louder and more colourful,” she says. “The paintings are an abstract glimpse into the life journeys we all take, both inside ourselves and out there in the world. They are bold with intense colour. I hope that as well as adding energy to any environment they are placed within, they might also become windows into people’s own journeys.”

n ‘Life Journeys’ pop-up art show, Hakaru Hall, 740 Settlement Road, Hakaru. Saturday January 21, 10am-3pm. Can’t make the show? See more about Phillipa Reeve online at phillipareevecreative.co.nz

“For me, painting is about jumping wholeheartedly into the unknown, a process full of tension, frustration, dead-ends, discovery and delight.”

Phillipa Reeve’s art journey was kick-started by her need of illustrations for her upcoming book. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED