Brand new day, Georgy
27 July to 15 August 2015

1. Rehutai
   oil on board
   765 x 765 mm
   2015
   NFS
2. Brand new day, Georgy II
   oil and gold leaf on board
   605 x 500 mm
   2015
   $1,800
3. Damian
   oil on board
   765 x 765 mm
   2015
   NFS
4. Brand new day, Georgy VI
   oil and gold leaf on board
   590 x 600 mm
   2015
   $1,800
5. George
   oil on board
   765 x 765 mm
   2015
   NFS
6. Brand new day, Georgy IV
   oil and gold leaf on board
   500 x 595 mm
   2015
   $1,800
7. Kahurangi
   oil on board
   765 x 765 mm
   2015
   NFS
8. Brand new day, Georgy V
   oil and gold leaf on board
   595 x 500 mm
   2015
   $1,800
9. Jacob
   oil on board
   765 x 765 mm
   2015
   NFS
10. Brand new day, Georgy I
    oil and gold leaf on board
    505 x 595 mm
    2015
    $1,800
11. Caleb
    oil on board
    765 x 765 mm
    2015
    NFS
12. Brand new day, Georgy III
    oil and gold leaf on board
    500 x 600 mm
    2015
    $1,800

I am not my own art historian:

I can't give details of what, if any art movement or category I would maybe fall into.

However I can tell you something of the background to this present body of work.

The material is oil paint and gold leaf on board.

There are 6 head and shoulders portraits of 3 men and 3 boys.

I am their parent and grandparent - they are Ngati Wai men and boys in part.

It is to this part, this slice of their whakapapa, that I address my whakaaro, my korero, since this portion is what I do know.

I hereby acknowledge huge and ongoing potential within my son and within each of my grandchildren, their extraordinary beauty, their individual abilities, the mindful strength of their collective character,

Their Rangatiratanga

 

Blue signifies sky, father omnipotence

 

Gold signifies hope and days that dawn always brand new

 

I didn't get these men and boys to sit for me.That would have been an impossible mission. It would have also be a torture for all of us: what with their own lives to live and their work, their rugby, running, basketball, not to mention their studies and other activities taking up most of their time. I just took their pictures on a digital camera and printed the photos - I used these second hand images to paint the final portraits. I hoped that the image would be close to what the men and boys actually looked like.

The painting process was a fraught one since I have not painted in this manner before - so I started at the beginning.

Shona Rapira Davies
July 2015