A pair of artists are preparing to demonstrate what can be accomplished through a shared passion and friendship at Taupō Museum.

The Friends Who Paint exhibition is the culmination of an 18-month journey by Taupō artists Wendy O’Callaghan and Maggie Rudd, who met several years ago through a shared love of art.

The pair first mooted the idea of an exhibition around May 2020. Both Wendy and Maggie have painted and displayed locally before, but never had their own exhibition. From a casual conversation, the idea took root, the shoots were put out, and this is the fruit.

Wendy has been painting for many years and has enjoyed using different media. She is an accomplished watercolour artist, loves mixed media and has more recently developed a passion for abstract art, albeit with a dash of realism at times.

Her work in this exhibition has come about through her love of the local landscape, in particular the lake glass which washes up on the foreshore. The glass is abstracted, and the rocks which abound also take centre stage. The colours she uses are predominantly blues but there are also some surprises in store.

Maggie made more time for painting once her working life came to an end. She enrolled in art school in Wellington, completing a three-year Diploma in Creativity and Art via distance learning. During that time, she was able to experience many different facets of art, before deciding abstract was her favourite.

She has three distinct strands to her work; acrylic painting, contemporary drawing, and more recently, abstract collage. These collages start with hand printing blocks of transparent colour onto papers of different weights, overlapping them and creating many varied tones in the process.

All three are united by Maggie’s love of line, colour and shape, reflecting her original training in cartography and her later career as a maths teacher. Her work in this exhibition is strongly influenced by colour, using a limited palette in a harmonious way.

The artists’ preparation for the exhibition has sometimes been a rollercoaster ride, but both agree it has been very worthwhile and they are already looking forward to the next stage in their artistic careers.

Friends Who Paint is open at Taupō Museum from 21 October to 26 November. The museum is open from 10am to 4.30pm daily and entry is free for Taupō District residents with proof of address.

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