One morning in early September 2019 I was walking through the quadrangle between the Clocktower and The Department of Geology on my way to my city studio when I was stopped in my tracks!
Above my head large pink blossoms had popped out and covered the magnificent magnolia tree standing tall in stark contrast to the bluestone backdrop of the Registry Building and the chilly grey day.
This particular magnolia tree Magnolia Campbellii “Charles Raffill” was planted in 1965 by Dr Geoff Baylis, Head of the Department of Botany from 1945 to 1979, and is now dedicated to his memory. The tree flowered for the first time in 1978 and every year since 1995 staff from the Geology department have recorded the date of the first bloom, dubbing that day “Magnolia Day”!
I took some quick reference snaps and tried to capture the germ of the idea in a tiny study to see if I might be able to convey the feeling of what I had just seen in a larger painting. Then it was back to the University of Otago a few days later with my giant surface to lay up the painting. Returning to the studio the challenge began – sometimes it felt like two paintings in one and the details on the building were overwhelming at times! Over the next two and a half years I shifted house and studio, exhibitions came and went and still this painting was unfinished…..until now. My mother describes the 500 plus hours of painting as being like “an elephant’s pregnancy”! Here are some photos of the journey….
