Oil Painting by Neil J Bartlett - Autumn, Lake Hayes No5013

Autumn, Lake Hayes - Queenstown New Zealand

Neil J Bartlett  

Oil on canvas - framed

33.5cm x 22cm including frame

Signed


Neil's Painting Technique and Style:

Neil goes to the site, and makes pencil sketches of his subjects on site.  References of colour, texture, shadows etc. are noted beside the sketch - information that is all drawn upon whilst producing the painting over time in his studio.

From the sketch, very basic underpainting is applied to the canvas.  Underpainting involves 'sketching' the subject in one very thin layer of paint and blocking out any background so he knows where to put this later in the creative process.  It is a tool used by many of the great masters. 

High grade artists oil paint is then applied with a brush onto the canvas in layers to produce the painting.  

Neil's style of painting would best be described as impressionism.   When you stand back and look at the painting, your eyes tell you that there is a lot of detail in the painting, because your eyes are seeing what you want them to see. Keeping that level of detail in your mind, you can then step closer to the painting and see that the detail you thought was there was in fact only a paint stroke, with actually little detail at all.   

About Lake Hayes:

The local iwi of Kai Tahu originally named the lake Te Whaka-ata or Te Whaka-ata a Haki-te-kura after an ancestress called Haki-te-kura whose image was said to be reflected in the lake. 

Settlers originally knew the lake as Hays Lake after D. Hay, an Australian who came to the district looking for sheep country in 1859. Its name gradually changed to Lake Hayes, as its discovery was credited erroneously to Captain "Bully" Hayes, an early local character of the district.




Photo credit:  Renee Edwards, Birdsong Photography, Lake Hawea