BRILLIANT COLOURING

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 38, 15 February 1938, Page 7

BRILLIANT COLOURING

VISITING ARTIST'S

WORK

MR. BOUSFIELD'S PICTURES

An authoritative volume on the history of art describes the work of Mr. Peter Bousfield, the English artist who is ■at present in Wellington, as being "suffused with bright light." As that is true, and as it is equally true that New Zealand's varied scenery is more often than not suffused with bright light, it would naturally follow that confronting Mr. Bousfield and his easel with glimpses of , the Dominion's charms would result in canvases which would fairly radiate colour and light. The exhibition of his work, on view in Messrs. Kirkcaldie and Stains's lounge and opened this afternoon by the Mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, demonstrated this very conclusively, and it is refreshing to find a visiting artist who can so spontaneously capture through the medium of watercolours the kaleidoscopic changes which are to be found in the scenery of the different parts of the country. ; Mr. Bousfield has been painting in New Zealand for the last nine months or so,".and his exhibition shows that all parts of the country- have offered him subjects to his liking. Possibly the Southern Lakes, with their bold, mountainous settings and wonderful reflections, appeal to him most, but the softer. landscapes offered elsewhere have their beauties equally well portrayed. Although colour may be said to be Mr. Bousfield's strong point, it is at once obvious that he is a master of design and composition and the possessor of a varied technique. He builds on a sure foundation, which is what many would-be artists do not, hence his paintings are thoroughly satisfying from all points of view. When occasion djemands, Mr. Bousfield skilfully conveys to his canvases atmospheric effects which are not suffused with bright light. This is seen particularly in a striking painting of Ngaurtihoe, and again in another picture in which the first rays of dawn are colouring the snowclad tops of the Hikurangi Mountains. Such studies as these contrast very forcibly with the brightness * radiating from sun-kissed landscapes, and show what a versatile artist Mr. Bousfleld is. One has only to look- at his various studies of Mount Egmont to realise this versatility. A point of added interest in the exhibition is the inclusion of the three pictures purchased by the Government Tourist Bureau; for inclusion as reproductions in Centennial ■ publications. One of these is "Dawn on Hikurangi," mentioned above, and another is "Snow Waters, Kangitata," a bold and colourful painting of mountains and their reflections in clear waters. The third is "Jellicoe Point, Lake Taupo," wherein a joyous splash of yellow broom at the foot of tall green poplar trees flaunts its blazing colour against a bank of billowy white clouds. This really is Taupo on. a summer's day, but then all Mr. Bousfield's paintings really are the scenes which confronted him. There is no affectation in this artist's work: it is frankly what it purports to be,- and as such-will have a wide appeal. , . The exhibition will be open daily un'il the end'of next .week.