Applying layer upon layer of paint on his canvases, Blenheim-based artist John Shotton Parker, (1944 – 2017) is best known for his Plain Song series which he began in the 1980s.  Establishing an enduring relationship between the land and his materials, Parker’s technique was unique, his oil paint applied with a pallete knife on large canvases.  Part of his process was to mix his own colours, however he didn’t fully blend all the pigments when he applied paint to canvas, subtle specks and streaks of the colours he used in the mixing process remained evident.  His painting, Plain Song: The Inscape Out to-Sea brings a wondrous sense of depth to its abstract geometric forms, its central square creating the feeling of a window within its spaces and its contrast of colours, evoking an individual story for each of its viewers.   Awarded the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000, Parker holds a highly deserved position in New Zealand landscape painting, creating unique works of exceptional beauty and timelessness.  

DETAILS:  J. S. Parker, Plain Song: The Inscape Out to-Sea, oil on canvas.

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