James Dignan - Art 2002

Last updated September 26th 2007

The mustard fields, Charlton
Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 25 cm (12 x 10 in).
January 2002.
Not for sale.
England this time - this is a view of mustard fields near the village of Charlton, between Brackley and Banbury on the Northamptonshire/Oxfordshire border, and just one mile from where I spent much of my childhood. Lower (nearer) parts very heavily impastoed. And yes, the fields really were that bright (at least, they seemed so to a child of nine). My 'van Gogh' moment!

Under Harbour Cone
Acrylic/board. 52 x 44 cm (20 1/2 x 17 1/2 in).
February 2002.
Sold.
Harbour Cone is a volcanic peak on Otago Peninsula. This view, from the other side of the Otago Harbour, shows the cone and the township of Broad Bay nestling at its foot. This picture is one of a series of paintings of Southern New Zealand landscapes bordered by two black panels.

Southern man
Acrylic/board. 78 x 52 cm (30 1/2 x 20 1/2 in).
February 2002.
A farmer on his land near Tarras, high in the hills of Central Otago.

Maniototo terrain
Acrylic/board. 52 x 44 cm (20 1/2 x 17 1/2 in).
February 2002.
Sold.
Another of the series of 'black panel' works. This view is of some of the strange rock formations around the upper Taieri valley of Otago, the region known as the Maniototo. Fans of the Lord of the Rings movies would recognise the Maniototo from scenes of Rohan in part two of the trilogy.

Cricket at the Oval, Dunedin
Acrylic/stretched canvas. 52 x 52 cm (20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in).
March 2002.
Dunedin's Oval sportsground, shown against the backdrop of the central city and the 10km-distant peak of Mount Cargill. The ground is the scene of many social cricket matches every weekend in summer.

Study in light: The park bench
Acrylic/stretched canvas. 36 x 25 cm (14 x 10 in).
March 2002.
A woman reads a book outside Dunedin Railway Station on a sunny summer's day.

Self portrait: The beach guitarist
Acrylic/canvas. 17 x 58 cm (6 1/2 x 23 in).
April 2002.
As it says, a self portrait - from a photo taken on St. Kilda beach, Dunedin.

Waiting round on you
Acrylic/canvas. 76 x 51 cm (30 x 20 in).
June 2002.
Sold.
A young student sits on the steps of Otago University library on a sunny afternoon.

My little town: Dunedin from Bank Street
Acrylic/canvas. 38 x 26 cm (15 x 10 in).
July 2002.
Sold.
A view of central Dunedin taken from above the north end of its main street, from a photograph taken some 15 years previously.

Awaiting eternity (for Morten Skjefte)
Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 41 cm (12 x 16 in).
July 2002.
Sold.
A statue in Queen's Gardens, Dunedin, against the city skyline behind it. Morten was the listmaster of the first mailing list I was on back in about 1995 (for the Australian band, The Church). He died in November 1998. Morten used a line from Rose Chronicles' song Awaiting eternity in his email sig file, and even though we never met I think of him whenever I hear the song.

A hazy shade of winter
Acrylic/canvas. 76 x 38 cm (30 x 15 in).
August 2002.
Sold.
The rooftops of the Dunedin suburb of Caversham, seen on a winter's afternoon, looking north across the city towards Mt. Cargill.

At the crossroads
Acrylic/canvas. 46 x 30 cm (18 x 12 in).
September 2002.
Sold.
A young woman crosses the road at Dowling Street, Dunedin.

In dark trees
Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 53 cm (14 x 21 in).
September 2002.
Sold.
Painted in a ‘fit of painting’ on one day. The view is of a path through a stand of trees at Sandymount on Otago Peninsula.

Strewth Mansion
Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 46 cm (12 x 18 in).
September 2002.
Sold.
"Strewth Mansion" is a delightful old house some 500 metres from where I live. It got its nickname from a sign put up in its window about ten years ago when it was being renovated. It is a familiar landmark in the Forbury-St. Clair area of South Dunedin.

The embeditors
Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in).
October 2002.
Not for sale.
The first of the 'drift netting' pictures, made by grabbing a random image from the web, distorting it so that it is unrecognisable, and then painting it up in unlikely colours. The titles are suitably obscure, but relate obliquely to the original pictures. I apologise if the original pictures are copyrighted, but believe the new images are different enough from the originals for that not to matter. The lettering was re-worked in January 2003.

Rail unit '231'
Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in).
October 2002.
As with The embeditors, this is a drift-netted picture, captured from a web image, and then distorted beyond recognition. Again, as with The embeditors, the lettering on the frame was re-done in January 2003.

Dark decibels
Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in).
October 2002.
A group of Irish shopkeepers was distorted for this third drift-netted picture.

Alice on the sofa
Art pen/paper. A4.
October 2002.
Not for sale
Alice was asleep, I felt like doing some art.

Reclining nude I
Art pen/paper. A4.
October 2002.
This drawing was done for the Boy racing 2002 group exhibition at Introspect Gallery, Dunedin.

The ibis eaters
Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in).
November 2002.
More drift-netting. The titles for these pictures are usually (but not always) similar distortions of the names of the webpages from which they came. This picture originated in a picture of a group of computer programmers somewhere in northern Europe. Unlike the earlier drift-netted pictures, this one is flat rather than impasto - I was trying to get a wood-cut like feel to the piece.

Tangata pheromone
Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in).
November 2002.
A further driftnetted picture, heavily impastoed (you can see the texture in the centre of the indigo shirts). The title is a pun on a Maori name for their people, Tangata whenua (literally, "people of the land"). The original picture is not of a group of Maori, however, but a church group somewhere in the U.S.A.

The wrong scrapbook (Twisted sisters)
Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in).
December 2002.
Another drift-netted picture, this time - for the first time - including metallic (gold) paint in the frame, giving it a vaguely Edvard Munch-like feel.

Ottavia
Acrylic/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in).
December 2002.
Not for sale.
More drift-netting, but an early attempt at focusing on a close-up portrait, with less distortion. There is less of a hard edge between the different colours of the picture, as well. This style seems to be working, and I hope to continue with it, possibly with portraits of people I know. It seems to work well with goths! :)

	The mustard fields, Charlton Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 25 cm (12 x 10 in). January 2002. Not for sale. England this time - this is a view of mustard fields near the village of Charlton, between Brackley and Banbury on the Northamptonshire/Oxfordshire border, and just one mile from where I spent much of my childhood. Lower (nearer) parts very heavily impastoed. And yes, the fields really were that bright (at least, they seemed so to a child of nine). My 'van Gogh' moment!
	Under Harbour Cone Acrylic/board. 52 x 44 cm (20 1/2 x 17 1/2 in). February 2002. Sold. Harbour Cone is a volcanic peak on Otago Peninsula. This view, from the other side of the Otago Harbour, shows the cone and the township of Broad Bay nestling at its foot. This picture is one of a series of paintings of Southern New Zealand landscapes bordered by two black panels.
	Southern man Acrylic/board. 78 x 52 cm (30 1/2 x 20 1/2 in). February 2002. A farmer on his land near Tarras, high in the hills of Central Otago.
	Maniototo terrain Acrylic/board. 52 x 44 cm (20 1/2 x 17 1/2 in). February 2002. Sold. Another of the series of 'black panel' works. This view is of some of the strange rock formations around the upper Taieri valley of Otago, the region known as the Maniototo. Fans of the Lord of the Rings movies would recognise the Maniototo from scenes of Rohan in part two of the trilogy.
	Cricket at the Oval, Dunedin Acrylic/stretched canvas. 52 x 52 cm (20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in). March 2002. Dunedin's Oval sportsground, shown against the backdrop of the central city and the 10km-distant peak of Mount Cargill. The ground is the scene of many social cricket matches every weekend in summer.
	Study in light: The park bench Acrylic/stretched canvas. 36 x 25 cm (14 x 10 in). March 2002. A woman reads a book outside Dunedin Railway Station on a sunny summer's day.
	Self portrait: The beach guitarist Acrylic/canvas. 17 x 58 cm (6 1/2 x 23 in). April 2002. As it says, a self portrait - from a photo taken on St. Kilda beach, Dunedin.
	Waiting round on you Acrylic/canvas. 76 x 51 cm (30 x 20 in). June 2002. Sold. A young student sits on the steps of Otago University library on a sunny afternoon.
	My little town: Dunedin from Bank Street Acrylic/canvas. 38 x 26 cm (15 x 10 in). July 2002. Sold. A view of central Dunedin taken from above the north end of its main street, from a photograph taken some 15 years previously.
	Awaiting eternity (for Morten Skjefte) Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 41 cm (12 x 16 in). July 2002. Sold. A statue in Queen's Gardens, Dunedin, against the city skyline behind it. Morten was the listmaster of the first mailing list I was on back in about 1995 (for the Australian band, The Church). He died in November 1998. Morten used a line from Rose Chronicles' song Awaiting eternity in his email sig file, and even though we never met I think of him whenever I hear the song.
	A hazy shade of winter Acrylic/canvas. 76 x 38 cm (30 x 15 in). August 2002. Sold. The rooftops of the Dunedin suburb of Caversham, seen on a winter's afternoon, looking north across the city towards Mt. Cargill.
	At the crossroads Acrylic/canvas. 46 x 30 cm (18 x 12 in). September 2002. Sold. A young woman crosses the road at Dowling Street, Dunedin.
	In dark trees Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 53 cm (14 x 21 in). September 2002. Sold. Painted in a ‘fit of painting’ on one day. The view is of a path through a stand of trees at Sandymount on Otago Peninsula.
	Strewth Mansion Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 46 cm (12 x 18 in). September 2002. Sold. "Strewth Mansion" is a delightful old house some 500 metres from where I live. It got its nickname from a sign put up in its window about ten years ago when it was being renovated. It is a familiar landmark in the Forbury-St. Clair area of South Dunedin.
	The embeditors Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in). October 2002. Not for sale. The first of the 'drift netting' pictures, made by grabbing a random image from the web, distorting it so that it is unrecognisable, and then painting it up in unlikely colours. The titles are suitably obscure, but relate obliquely to the original pictures. I apologise if the original pictures are copyrighted, but believe the new images are different enough from the originals for that not to matter. The lettering was re-worked in January 2003.
	Rail unit '231' Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in). October 2002. As with The embeditors, this is a drift-netted picture, captured from a web image, and then distorted beyond recognition. Again, as with The embeditors, the lettering on the frame was re-done in January 2003.
	Dark decibels Acrylic and plaster/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in). October 2002. A group of Irish shopkeepers was distorted for this third drift-netted picture.
	Alice on the sofa Art pen/paper. A4. October 2002. Not for sale Alice was asleep, I felt like doing some art.
	Reclining nude I Art pen/paper. A4. October 2002. This drawing was done for the Boy racing 2002 group exhibition at Introspect Gallery, Dunedin.
	The ibis eaters Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in). November 2002. More drift-netting. The titles for these pictures are usually (but not always) similar distortions of the names of the webpages from which they came. This picture originated in a picture of a group of computer programmers somewhere in northern Europe. Unlike the earlier drift-netted pictures, this one is flat rather than impasto - I was trying to get a wood-cut like feel to the piece.
	Tangata pheromone Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in). November 2002. A further driftnetted picture, heavily impastoed (you can see the texture in the centre of the indigo shirts). The title is a pun on a Maori name for their people, Tangata whenua (literally, "people of the land"). The original picture is not of a group of Maori, however, but a church group somewhere in the U.S.A.
	The wrong scrapbook (Twisted sisters) Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 60 cm (19 1/2 x 23 1/2 in). December 2002. Another drift-netted picture, this time - for the first time - including metallic (gold) paint in the frame, giving it a vaguely Edvard Munch-like feel.
	Ottavia Acrylic/canvas. 60 x 50 cm (23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in). December 2002. Not for sale. More drift-netting, but an early attempt at focusing on a close-up portrait, with less distortion. There is less of a hard edge between the different colours of the picture, as well. This style seems to be working, and I hope to continue with it, possibly with portraits of people I know. It seems to work well with goths! :)