New Zealand

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry.
Currently on display in Selah Gallery.

$2250: framed, UV70 glazing. Reproductions available.
For purchase inquiry, please contact the artist.

I look across to these wonderful mountains every day. Never do I find them uninteresting! What a wonderful part of New Zealand this is, here in the heart of the Maniatoto Valley of Otago.

This painting comprises a view of the Mt Ida Range and includes other icons of this area such as the riverside cliffs such as those near Kyeburn, cliffs that often catch the last light.

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry - 2021
Image size: 685 x 493
$2000

I live on the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range, overlooking the Maniototo Plain in Central Otago. This country was once acres of tussock. Early farmers burnt it off or grazed it hard; the land only seen as useful for sheep. Wool sheds were built of local stone, as was this one, though most are in a sorry state now. In country like this it is not unusual to see the New Zealand falcon. It is a magnificent hunter and I never cease to thrill at seeing one.

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry.
Available.

An enjoyable, "happy" painting of a memorable spot. The Cardrona Hotel is a much frequented venue for those spending time in nearby Wanaka. It's a picturesque area with much to see and do. As an observer of people and places, I find myself amused by folk enjoying detailed conversation, in this instance about the Chrysler, and who are seemingly oblivious to the colour, light, dancing leaves of myriad colour, mountains.... and more. Each to their own, eh?

(Now, is it the four cyclinder or the six cylinder version?)

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry - 2021
Available after framing.

Lake Wanaka is quite a place. It can be storm tossed and wild or breathtakingly beautiful - or anywhere in between, all on the same day! The willow in this picture resembles the tree which has become something of an icon for the area. Here, it represents that life can be hard, even when surrounded by so much that is good, but with roots set into strong, resilient and proven foundations, each day can be a day worth living for.

The coastal scenery near Dunedin is endlessly fascinating, and one of the prettiest areas is that near Karitane where the Waikouaiti River meets the sea, just 35 km north of the city. I have completed a number of paintings of this area and I know there’ll be more coming.

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry
Image size 380 x 260
AVAILABLE : original, reproduction prints.

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry.
Image: 385x285. Available. Prints also available. Inquiries welcome.
St. Bathans is a small village found off the northern end of the Manuherikia Valley in Central Otago. Its timber buildings are being attractively renovated, and dotted amongst them lie buildings from its gold mining days. It’s a favourite spot for me, especially in autumn.
(Original sold; reproductions available)

An original watercolour painting by Russell Perry.

Northern Rebel on the Queen Charlotte Sounds, early. Sun is up, chill easing, cloud blanket still rolling over the top hills, steady breeze and good water - so, so good.

Available:
Framed 500 x 390

There are some icons people tend to associate with “typical” Central Otago scenes: old buildings, sere landscapes, bare but majestic hills, golds and browns and greys, rock and tussock. This set of buildings is deep in Central Otago on the Home HIlls Runs Road. I’m sure some great stories have been lived and told here.

SOLD
Prints available:
a: 420mm
b: 550mm

An original watercolour painting by Russell Perry 2021

Near Outram, in the Taieri Valley not more than a few kilometres from Dunedin’s Momona Airport, drivers will spot this rather grand gateway. It is beautifully built and has stood the passage of many years with little deterioration. It piques interest immediately, for it speaks of stature and success. In contrast, just in behind the gate lies this once impressive but now very tired barn. Like me, it has some saggy bits. Some things last, some don’t.

GIFTED
Prints Available:
420mm wide Framed: 575mm

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry.

Whilst the Ahuriri Valley is readily accessible, it is surrounded by so much other stunning country that it is largely ignored. It lies just of the highway at the southern end of the MacKenzie area of South Canterbury. The road follows the river through farmland and river flats, then turns north into views like this one.

SOLD - Prints Available
420x305 Framed: 570x460

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry. Framed: $525

Lake Wanaka has many moods. I loved what I found on this morning, a cold and wet morning in a landscape well on the way to winter.

Available:
Framed: 500 x 400

Original watercolour by Russell Perry.

Crossing the scrolling headwaters of the Taieri River is this one-way bridge on the Linnburn Runs Road. It is remote, wild and beautiful country.

375 x 270
SOLD - Prints Available

Original watercolour by Russell Perry

The sand bars and river mouth at Karitane provide safe anchorage for small boats weary from tough seas.

Available:
Framed: 650 x 510

Original watercolour by Russell Perry

The estuarine lower reaches of the Waipu River (Northland, NZ) provide some easy, exceptionally peaceful paddling. Sometimes the loudest thing you will hear is the skittering susurration of the water passing under the hull. It is so quiet that when the paddler glides past the unguarded spaces and descending steps of riverside gardens, there is a sense of being invited into an intimacy one would not normally intrude upon.

Available:
Framed: 490 x 395

From an original watercolour by Russell Perry.

The Kingston Flyer is operated on a 14km section of line near Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand’s South Island. The AB steam class locomotive draws carriages filled with train enthusiasts and tourists through a small part of an area it has serviced since the 1890s. The Flyer has had a chequered history, sliding into obscurity as rural rail declined throughout the country, then brought back into “heritage service” as a tourist attraction in 1971. It has had periods of extended downtime and is currently (December 2019) in storage. Ongoing costs, fluctuating support and monetary woes means its future is far from secure.

Singularly inefficient as energy converters and messy to boot, nonetheless these historically interesting machines lend a wonderful grace to the landscape as they chug their way through. The train in this image has just pulled into the tiny Fairlight station.

Framed 525 x 460

SOLD
Prints Available
420 x 310
Framed: 575 x 460

Original watercolour painting by Russell Perry

Lake Wanaka is a vibrant jewel parked in the middle of some magnificent hill and alpine scenery deep in Otago country. On this day, the storm cloud was dissolving into lovely, showery ribbons.

Original available:
Framed 390 x 495

Watercolour

Lake Wanaka offers some beautiful quiet shores where you can forget about the world for a while. This quiet day was a sweet one, the water moving only to the slightest of breezes.

Original Available
Framed: 390 x 495

The gravel river flats around the town of Cromwell in Central Otago, New Zealand, produce superb wine. I like wine, though I rarely drink it now, but I’m really sold on the beautiful vineyards, especially what happens to the vines in Autumn. The colour is absolutely glorious. The yellows, golds, oranges, reds and bronzes provide an unbelievable feast for the eyes.
This scene is relatively early in the autumn so there’s very little leaf fall.

SOLD
Reproductions available:
370 x 270 Framed: 490 x 395

The Clutha River, New Zealand’s largest in terms of water volume, is sourced from the mountains of Central Otago. It’s big, deep, cold and clean, and riverbank trims of autumn colour do little to warm up.this grand waterway.
(Original sold; reproductions available)

Original Watercolour by Russell Perry

Hawke’s Bay has some magnificent farming country. This scene, taken from the Argyll Road, offers a glorious sweep of landscape from hilltop to distant Te Mata Peak, the cities of Hastings and Napier, and the Pacific Ocean.

Original Watercolour - 2019 SOLD
Framed in rimu, white matboard.

The Central Otago Rail trail has a number of highlights, but none more spectacular than the magnificent Poolburn Viaduct. Built (1901–04) on piers of locally mined schist rock, it sits 37m (121 ft) above the Ida Burn which flows through the Poolburn Gorge. This gorge bisects the Raggedy Range and is the only water exit from the lovely Ida Valley.

The viaduct is well worth the small effort it takes to view it.

Winter: snow on the ground and a chill in the air. What could be nicer than finding a wee hut at end of day, one with dry firewood, a door that closes out the draught, and a good stove on which to get some bacon sizzling and brew a cup of hot, sweet tea.

Outside: silence. Lots of it.

Worth the effort? For sure! Even the best hotels can’t offer such blessed luxury!

Original watercolour by Russell Perry

This mud brick wool shed sits just off Ridge Road, near Naseby, Central Otago. Though it has seen better times, it is still a thing of substance. Mud brick was a frequently used building material in this region, often made of a mixture of local clays, tussock grass for binding, and cow manure because that’s what grandpa did. The bricks were strongly made, often more so than the mortar which held them together.

From an original painting by Russell Perry.

Original Sold. Prints Available.

On the south east coast of the South Island is "The Catlins”, a place of stunning seascapes, forests, vistas and bird life. It is raw, vital, endlessly interesting and deeply refreshing - a delightful place to immerse in God's creation for a wee while. One of the highlights is the low tide walk to Cathedral Cave. The sea action has worn deeply into the fractured cliffs to form a large cave. You can walk right in, then walk out again via a second cave. You can see both as the dark areas in the line of cliffs in the painting.

Original Watercolour $950 unframed
Prints available
2018

860x625.

Original Watercolour $415 framed
Prints available
2018

This old mud-brick and timber building has withstood many years of Otago weather, a harsh and cold place in winter, dry and very hot in summer. The bricks would have been made nearby. It is one of many dilapidated buildings in this area that give testament to the hardy souls who first dared to farm here.

Original Watercolour $315 framed SOLD
Prints can be available
2018

Dotted around the edges of New Zealand’s rich, verdant bush lie these little cottages, some no more than huts, where those who find city life to be an anathema can replenish their souls. The sun and its stately rhythm govern the pace of life. In our cities, we starve ourselves of His Creation. Some of us miss that more than others.

Original Watercolour         $325 framed
2017

Naseby is a wonderfully restful little village, nestled under the hills on the northern side of the Maniototo Plains in Otago, New Zealand. Occasional cyclists wend their way there and ... rest, I suppose. Enjoy a quiet walk around "town" or sample a milkshake made by the lovely Marilyn on one of those old fashioned green milk shake machines. Naseby is one of those places that gets under your skin: you keep wanting to go back to see if such genuine peace and quiet is real. 

This sketch, rather loosely based on Naseby's main street, became a completed work rather by accident. I had tried some experimentation with alcohol pushing the paint - it didn't work! Not sure why. I sort of made the decision to dismiss the piece but I never got around to taking it off the board. With a few minutes spare here and there, a little more got added - and added - and yesterday I thought "Why not push it through to completion". I did, and whilst it has some good bits and not so good bits, it does present a nice work for the wall. 

Original Watercolour - SOLD
2017

Prints available

NZ Fantail in belligerent pose

Original Watercolour     517 x 400     $375 (framed)
2017

Prints available

St Bathans Lake, Central Otago, once the site of extensive sluice mining. Wonderful site for photography and painting.

Original Watercolour      767 x 325     $400 (framed)
2017

SOLD

Prints Available

Nurses Hostel and Flats at the old sanatorium hospital. View NE across Maniototo Plains of Otago NZ.

Original Watercolour 615 x482 $525 (framed) SOLD
2016

Original Sold - Prints available

Summer route north out of Otago, NZ. A place of golden tussock and starkly striated rock.

Original Watercolour 850 x 670 $1150 (framed) SOLD
2016

Prints available

Mountain range north side of Maniototo Valley, Otago. It comes alive when frosted with snow on its tops and when the sunlight bathes the tussock slopes.

Original Watercolour  360 x 310     $160     Framed
2016

With a multitude of buildings in view, the roof tops were always going to offer a chance for some painting fun. And so it proved.

SOLD

Original watercolour    568 x 372    SOLD
(fine art prints available)
2016

This is a somewhat unusual sight for the Maniototo region of North Otago: a wet, green landscape. Yet is captures the region perfectly, drawing the viewer's eye through the gate, across the valley below and into the distant hills of the Rock and Pillar Range. It is a commanding piece.

Original Watercolour - Gifted
2016
(Prints available)
 

Shoreline remnant off Hawke's Bay coast, NZ. It catches the last of the afternoon light every day, displaying its whitewashed face beautifully. That same late light brings playful light to the breaking waves and the surf sweeping over the rocks in the foreground.

Original Watercolour       522 x 406      $385  (framed)
2016

Prints available

Twilight over this man-made lake, Otago, NZ. Fishing huts (and other structures!) are scattered around the lake margins. This place is stark and beautiful, filled with deafening silences and stunning light.

Watercolour - SOLD
2016

COMMISSION:
This image of two strong kauri fusing into one, growing out of a nurturing, loving environment, was used as the Wedding Guest Register for one of my children's wedding.  - it worked brilliantly. Guests signed their names in the darker areas of bush using metallic ink pens. Framed, it now furnishes the family home as a beautiful reminder of the wedding and those who attended.

Such paintings will always be original. 

If you have an interest in commissioning a painting for a special occasion, do call. 
Pricing begins at $750.

Original Watercolour      633 x 872     $1100  SOLD
2016

Prints available

Autumnal fogs, looking north across the Maniototo Valley, Otago. The viewer is drawn across the breadth of this spectacular region of New Zealand, engaging the eye at each of the bands of countryside lifted above the fog. There is much to see here, one of the favourites of our gallery visitors.

Original Watercolour   -   SOLD
2015

Prints available

Here sits a sad, awfully dilapidated 1913 McCormack Deering Tractor - a roadside gem found near Lauder on SH85, Otago, NZ. Since I painted it, this tired machine has slipped further into decay. I was much taken with the symbolism: this tractor had probably borne the burden of breaking in land for a generation of early farmers: small farms, small machines, different times.

Original Watercolour     865 x 642      $750  (framed)
2016

I visited the Naseby swimming pond on an unusually chilly day that glassed the water and drove all swimmers to a warmer pursuit. I had come with a view to capturing material for painting, and though it wasn’t the busy, splashing, noisy scene I had anticipated, the pond presented a completely softer and peaceful mood that I found quite captivating.

Prints - 3 sizes

For the story of the light in this painting, click here.

Original Watercolour    On Loan     ($575 - NFS)  (framed)
2015
Please contact the artist if you are interested in purchasing the original of this painting.

Hebron House is the home of the Bradfields, the folk who have been custodians of the En Hakkore Christian community for more than 30 years. When night falls early, the leaves are distant memories and wind driven snow is testing the thickest of socks, there is always a warm welcome and a good strong cup of tea in this lovely home.

Prints available. 

Original Watercolour - SOLD
2015

North side of Maniototo Valley, Otago, NZ, on a winters day. The clouds were spectacular on this day... and quiet undecided about what to do next. 

Prints available

Original Watercolour - Gifted
2015

Prints available

Hawkdun Range, Maniototo, Otago, NZ, looking north across this magnificent valley. Viewed from the En Hakkore parapet. 

Original Watercolour - Gifted
2015

Summer adventures on the local weir at Patearoa is a wonderful way to spend a baking Otago summer afternoon. Here, the son of good friends at En Hakkore tests his mettle negotiating this concrete ledge as water tumbles behind him. Good fun!

Prints available

Original Watercolour - SOLD
2015

Concrete forming business, now closed, at Waipiata, Otago, NZ - a remnant of a once thriving agricultural service area when New Zealand's biggest stock yards operated here.

Prints available

Original Watercolour    785 x 635     $700  (framed)  SOLD
2015

Blue Lake, St Bathans, Otago, NZ. This lake fills the bed of a heavily sluiced stream that provided good supplies of gold. There's still gold here of course. Once a year, the trees are robed in golden crowns, a gold all can enjoy.

Prints available - 2 sizes

Watercolour - SOLD
2014

Enjoyable moments together on a sunlit beach with Kapiti Island (NZ) in background.

Watercolour - SOLD
2015

Stone barn beyond the old gold mining town of Hamiltons, Otago, NZ

Original Watercolour - On loan - ($325 Currently NFS)
2015

Pines, gums, long grass & sunlight on the flanks of Te Mata Peak, Havelock North, NZ.

Watercolour    233 x 315     $125   (framed)
2014

Big southerly seas dumping on stony Tongoio Beach, Napier, NZ. 

Watercolour -  Gifted
2014

The home retired to - sadly for such a short time. A gift to a loved uncle and family.

Watercolour - Gifted
2014

Lazy estuarine waters near Waipu, Northland, NZ

Prints available

Watercolour - SOLD
2014

Ngaruroro River mouth, with Napier city in the near background.

Watercolour - Gifted
2014

So many full experiences make it hard to settle to home by the sea again.

Watercolour - SOLD
2014

Prints available

Uretiti Beach with Bream Heads/Whangarei (NZ) in the background.

On this day a place of glistening sand, whispering surf and all the room in the world to share companionable time.

Watercolour: Gifted
2014

Tidal flood zones, Clive River, Napier, NZ

Prints available

Watercolour - GIFTED
2014

Tainui Reserve in late afternoon: high track. Havelock Nth, NZ

Prints available

Watercolour - SOLD
2014

Tainui Reserve: pines, gullies and dappled light. Havelock Nth, NZ.

Prints available

Watercolour - SOLD (UK)
2014

View from high on Te Mata Peak overlooking the Tukituki River, Hawke's Bay, NZ.

Watercolour: Gifted
2013

Teasing out watercolour properties in a make believe garden, just for fun.

Watercolour: Original NFS; Prints available (3 sizes)
2013

Glorious autumn colours provide just the right throne for this little waxeye. 
(Painting "Peep Show")

Original watercolour - SOLD

An early painting, one which expresses delight in the variety of autumn leaf on this plant. Each seemed to celebrate how much it had enjoyed the summer sun.

Original Watercolour by Russell Perry
Available: $550 framed: image 370x270

Leigh Harbour is one of those delightful, tucked-away havens to be found on the eastern coast line north of Auckland. Boats come in through Omaha Cove and can find safe anchorage there. This scene depicts the tide out flats and the boatshed.