A VISITING ARTIST.

Shannon News, 13 April 1928, Page 2

A VISITING ARTIST.

PAINTER, MODELLER AND NATURE STUDENT.

Now that particular attention is being drawn by correspondents and public speakers' to the natural beauties of the Levin district, it is interesting to note that an artist of repute has arrived here in the course of a tour of the North sland, and is making the Lake camping ground his headquarters for the time being. The visitor is Mr J. A. Bond, an Aucklander who has returned to New Zealand after an absence of 25 years, bringing with him his niece from Australia, who is accompanying him in his travels. It is Mr Bond's object to again familiarise himself with the scenery, of this Dominion, and for that purpose to tour the country from end to end. He has motored through from Auckland via the East Coast, and has had several adventures on the steep roads of the inland districts, on one occasion being nearly precipitated over a mountain side in a mist when the steering gear was out of order. Mr Bond is an tist in oils, pastels and etchings, aiid also a modeller in clay and plaster. For his sketches lie endeavours to select subjects which are well away from the beaten paths, and in modelling he some interesting work with Maoris as sitters, the plaster being afterwards painted to give a lifelike representation of the figure. The period of his absence from New Zealand was much occupied with travel, and he accompanied the Commonwealth scientific expedition to the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast. Exploring the Australian tropics he pushed far to the north, and spent five months in the jungle 155 miles above Cairns, in North Queensland. These wanderings have resulted in the coipposing of pictures of wild life which are of a rare type. Mr Bond will probably spend a few days at Otaki, which has historical associations that » re bound to make an appeal to him. He proposes to take up his residence in Wellington for the winter, tour the South Island in the summer, and then proceed to Australia and South Africa en route to England. Mr Bond is engaged in the compilation of* a book describing his travels, and he is making arrangements to display some of his art productions in local shop-windows.