Central plateau features in oil painting exhibition

25 January 2016

An exhibition of oil paintings featuring Central North Island landscapes will open at Taupo Museum this week.

Auckland artist Russell Hollings created the exhibition by drawing inspiration from the landscapes around Taupo and Rotorua. He will also be displaying a number of still-life paintings.

Interested in painting from an early age, Hollings is largely self-taught. After he joined a Papakura art group he was inspired to pursue a career in art. He has been holding solo exhibitions in New Zealand since the 1960s and exhibiting internationally since the 1990s.

Hollings has worked in many mediums but has a great love for the special qualities that oil paint offers. I work from observation and experience and draw and paint what inspires me, he said. Translating a subject into paint is challenging, and often mysterious.

He paints on prepared boards, canvas boards and stretched canvas, and also has a picture framing business in Auckland.

The community is welcome to attend the opening of the exhibition, which will be a wine and cheese evening on Friday, January 29 at 5.30pm. The museum is open seven days from 10am to 4.30pm. Entry is free to children and Taupo District residents with proof of address. The exhibition is on until March 7.