The urge to paint has not dimmed R
obin Shepherd isn’t sure if the exhibition he opened in Te Ahu’s Art Space last week will be his last on such a scale — at 85 years of age, he says, life becomes increasingly uncertain.
It is unlikely, however, that will he will cease painting any time soon, and adding to the huge collection that remains in his studio at Pamapuria, unseen but certainly not forgotten.
Robin says he grew up in a family of amateur painters, who encouraged him to draw from an early age. He was very well tutored as a student at Otahuhu College, learning a range of techniques that he continued to develop as an art student while teacher training in Auckland.
For some years he painted in oils (along with pen and wash, even using a ballpoint pen on occasion, and coffee or tea to produce roadside sepia sketches), and indulged his passion sporadically. But he has wielded his brushes regularly over the last 50 years, in part thanks to the inspiration he continues to draw from Northland’s landforms and seascapes.
These days he favours acrylics, which he says satisfy his impatient approach to completing a work.
His paintings now hang in Thailand, Singapore, the US, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Canada and of course New Zealand.
The Art Space exhibition comprises 21 scenes, all for sale, from North Cape to Rawhiti, many of which will be instantly recognisable by those who know the Far North, ranging from a small-frame acrylic on board of Taratara, a fishing boat at Unahi, a boat sitting on a cradle at Awanui and a launch heading out of Rangaunu Harbour on the full tide to the Hokianga Harbour heads, Motupia (off 90 Mile Beach), The Bluff, a little further south, and the Parengarenga Harbour entrance.
The show is open to the public whenever Te Ahu is open and will remain on display until the month’s end.