Artist before he knew it
Taranaki artist John Schumacher likens his works to a chemical reaction and art buffs love it. The New Plymouth painter and picture framer last month received a highly-commended in the Lysaght Watt Trust Art Award for his acrylic on board painting, With Head and Heart.
Schumacher says the brief was inner space.
‘‘Structures in the piece convey the rational mind and the rest are the emotional.’’
He describes his style of painting as abstract and says his art is more about the process of something than what you first see.
Modern science, poetry, clouds and even butterflies are among his many creative influences.
‘‘I assimilate all my ideas and pour them into creating a new work,’’ he says.
Schumacher was born and raised in Taranaki and after 30 years of working as an artist he believes art has always been in him.
‘‘As a young boy I observed, and found particular things fascinating that others didn’t,’’ he said.
He distinctly remembers being in a Maori church in Otaki and how its decorative features resonated with him.
‘‘The walls, the roof, the patterns, shape and colours had me completely immersed in another world. Looking back to that time, I was an artist before I knew it.’’
No stranger to the Taranaki art scene, Schumacher also took part in the latest Taranaki arts trail.
‘‘I had great feedback from people coming through,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a good thing for our artists because sometimes it’s hard to get your name out there.’’
Schumacher often paints over paintings and improvises because art materials can be costly.
‘‘I had a spoon constellation I had done, but sawed the other half off to create a new painting. People that came through during the trail regretfully really liked the leftover half.’’
Schumacher, a former head technician at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, also had plenty of behind-the-scenes experience and has worked with renowned artists including Len Lye and Don Driver. ‘‘I helped Len Lye set up his first show there.’’
Schumacher now has the painting Turning Point on display in the exhibition Ex- Strats at the Percy Thompson Gallery in Stratford.