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Kia Ora and Greetings from New Zealand
Law is my training, and art is my life's blood... Having practised law in Government in our capital city Wellington, I now live at home on our rural 10 acre property in the far North of NZ looking after my elderly mom, so the Internet and my art have become my lifeline. I freelance in graphics and webdesign and have a small hosting business with my programming partner Scotty in Costa Mesa.
The outdoors became very important to me when I was working in the city. One of my colleagues introduced me to walking the high country and I spent most of my weekends and holidays in the hills of central New Zealand, from the North Island plateau with its great volcanoes, which I love, through the "Lord of The Rings" forests in the Tararuas just north of Wellington, to the mountainous country of the South Island West Coast. One day I will return to these places, but meantime they form the subject of much of my art.
At about that time my parents bought this property. It is really special, being adjacent to a reserve that was once a Maori burial ground, and it has a huge outcropping rock, pristine bush and a great presence about it. It has been a wonderful inspiration to me. Now that I live here, I have a horse, three dogs, five cats, five ducks and a few dairy goats - all of which take looking after, but I guess it's worth it. I could not bear to live cooped up in a city now.
I have done art ever since I was a small child - both painting and sculpture - and I dearly wanted to do it as a career, but my parents insisted I get a "proper job". In spite of having quite a taxing career in law, the thread of art through my life has been strong, and I produced, sold and exhibited art "on the sidelines" while working fulltime for a number of years.
Spending time in the outdoors gave me a strong feeling for conservation which led to a position as solicitor for the NZ Commission for the Environment. I worked there for 2 years, gaining more insights into conservation issues.
I finally went teaching law part-time at Polytechnic to free up my time and held my first solo exhibition. But my father died of leukaemia not long after, and then I was faced with the decision of staying put with a job, or moving to the country without one. It hasn't been easy, but I am very happy now that I am at last finding the means to make art my central focus.
In painting, I strive always to convey the presence and sanctity I feel in the land, and the enduring qualities of the animals that inhabit it. The process of creation is completed for me by knowing that someone has found meaning (and enjoyment) in my work.
Patricia Howitt
Artist, Webmistress.
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