Adrienne Ranson: Body of Work

Adrienne, who gained a Masters degree in Fine Art in 2004, lives in Awakeri, Eastern Bay of Plenty.  

In addition to her busy life as a painter she also works as a very successful freelance art tutor.

Adrienne in her Awakeri studio.

At the beginning of her art making process Adrienne spends long periods of time drawing and researching information in preparation for her large colourful abstact works. I ask Adrienne about her new exhibition and she says, "for these works I began with my perception of the body and of the land”.

"As my starting point in referencing the body I have used medical drawings of internal organs and for the land I have used aerial mapping and geographical diagrammatic conventions.

"These are combined with other art-influences such as, Asian calligraphy, Byzantine mosaics, Australian Aboriginal art, Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism and artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miro.

"These are all intertwined with Buddhist philosophies that emphasise impermanence, change, flux and the practice of mindfulness, specifically with the making of a brushstroke".

Overall Adrienne's intention is to integrate her response to the body and bodies of land. In the act of painting she creates images that sing with the rhythms and movement of life. 

Detail of Adrienne's painting 'Of Waves and Strata'.

In the photo we see detail of a large painting that was based on aerial images of the Bay of Plenty and of Byzantine mosaics.

After much research the resultant drawings were stretched or compressed culminating in this design that was then painted in a series of repetitions. For the last twelve years Adrienne has been exhibiting paintings, mainly in solo shows in Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin, Christchurch, Whakatāne and Oxford, Canterbury.

In 2010 she was awarded the Local Artist Award at the Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Awards in Whakatāne. For 10 years Adrienne has been tutoring art to adults, eight years of which was with the Adult Community Education Programme in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and is currently teaching regular classes in the Whakatāne area.

It was great to hear that on the 1st and 2nd September 2012 she will offer a weekend workshop called 'Painting Impressionist Landscapes' to painters of all abilities in Tauranga. See more of Adrienne's work at http://www.adrienneranson.co.nz/  and contact her on adrienneranson@actrix.co.nz 

by Pete Morris (August, 2012).

Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an art lover. He is a freelance writer with a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.