Opening Night

Art enthusiasts left Friday's cold winter air aside to climb the stairs to the Art Attic, pushing the Gallery door open to be greeted by the warm, spicy notes of mulled wine and the melody of friendly chatter.

Local artist Lynn Brocherie Millar joined me in presenting a collective body of 39 works of art. Each piece is distinctly Southern in inspiration: Lynn has drawn from a trip to Stewart Island and walks around Invercargill's Thompson's Bush, while my art references Invercargill's Queens Park, CBD and local pockets of native bush. Though there's a timeless and placeless quality to the art too - my bokeh paintings could be from any city in the world and Lynn's birds, bees and trees defy geography.

The Art Attic Gallery

If you've never been before, the Art Attic Gallery is a unique and beautiful space in the heart of Invercargill's CBD. Views from the street-fronting windows reflect some of the art hung inside - with the H&J Smith's clock, Civic Theatre and city lights all featuring in my work.

The 'B' Exhibition is primarily spread across 4 rooms, but don't miss the art as you climb the stairs. Without planning, my work intersects and compliments Lynn's work in a way that made hanging the work come naturally to us.

Invercargill's soaring trees and gardens are celebrated in the 'main' room beneath the stunning high ceiling, while a smaller room off to the side promises a watery experience with my round paintings giving the illusion of a ship's portholes.

The crowd that attended the opening on Friday night filled the gallery and our hearts. After many months of work to create the paintings and imagine the details that would bring the Exhibition together, we were so warmly encouraged and pleased with how the Opening Night went. The mulled wine and Spicy Apple drinks were popular with many requests for the recipe (see below) and a number of the works already have new homes to go to after the exhibition closes.

Our special thanks to Campbell for many hours of work hanging the art and supporting us to bring this exhibition to life - and for rushing out to buy the Attic a new Slow Cooker when I left mine sitting on my kitchen bench... 🙈 Thanks also to friends, family and followers for believing in our art and your patience while this exhibition has consumed all our time and attention lately 😉.

We'd love you to pop up to the Art Attic during exhibition hours to enjoy this special place and experience our art. These dates may be of particular interest to you:

• I will be painting live in the Attic on Thursday (12.30-2pm, 3 Aug), 
• Lynn and I are holding an "Artists' Talk" this Saturday (5 Aug) at 11am, and
• Join us for Devonshire Tea as we close the exhibition on 26 Aug (2.30-4pm)

x Mel

P.S. We were delighted to have local photographer @sayjayzieplease attend our opening and create these photographs for us 😍