James Dignan - Art 2007

Last updated October 11th 2008

St. Clair apartments
Acrylic/canvas. 51 x 41 cm (20 x 16 in).
January 2007.
The corner of an apartment complex 400 metres from my home in St. Clair, Dunedin.

The summer game
Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 23 cm (36 x 9 in).
March 2007.
Sold.
A panorama of a cricket match played at Dunedin's University Oval, in the tricky (and annoying to paint!) ratio of 4:1.

Heavy eight
Acrylic/canvas. 41 x 61 cm (16 x 24 in).
April 2007.
The "Heavy eight" of the title is local musician David Kilgour, lead singer and guitarist of the Heavy Eights. David, best known from his other band The Clean, is a regular feature around Dunedin music venues. This was painted for an exhibition in May 2007celebrating Dunedin music..

Sunday morning, Princes St. (after Hopper)
Acrylic/canvas. 55 x 38 cm (21 1/5 x 15 in).
April 2007.
Sold.
From a photograph of Princes Street in central Dunedin. Once I'd cropped the image I realised how like the classic Edward Hopper painting (Early Sunday morning) it was, and it seemed wrong not to acknowledge the fact with the title.

Life's a long song
Acrylic/canvas. 51 x 41 cm (20 x 16 in).
April 2007.
This one had a long genesis. I had taken the photo of a young woman with a pushchair in the Octagon, central Dunedin, a couple of years earlier and had always intended to paint this, but it wasn't until I was approached for an exhibition celebrating motherhood that I decided to paint it - which I did in only a little over 24 hours.

Evening light, St. Joseph’s
Acrylic/canvas. 23 x 30 cm (9 x 12 in).
June 2007.
Early evening at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Dunedin, with the floodlights higlighting the building’s frontage.

In the pines
Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 61 cm (36 x 24 in).
June-July 2007.
This one took forever to paint, and is a much more realistic style to my normal paintings. It’s also unusual in that it’s a composite - the house is in St. Clair, close to where I live; the trees are on Signal Hill, some nine kilometres from there; and part of the house (mainly the porch area) is invented.

Cargill midwinter
Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 30 cm (24 x 12 in).
July 2007.
Midwinter snow on Mount Cargill, north of Dunedin.

From Ranfurly
Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 38 cm (20 x 15 in).
July 2007.
The road leading out of the town of Ranfurly, Central Otago, looking down towards Naseby.

Walking on sunshine
Acrylic/canvas. 45 x 30 cm (18 x 12 in).
August 2007.
Sold.
A crowd at a street market day during Dunedin’s festival week in March 2007.

Dunedin skyline VI: Above the Octagon
Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 51 cm (14 x 20 in).
August 2007.
The clocktower of Dunedin's Municipal Chambers rises above the Octagon.

Ozymandias of the South Seas
Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 61 cm (36 x 24 in).
September 2007.
The shell of Cargill's Castle, on Forbury Hill above St. Clair, Dunedin, as with In the pines there is a more realistic, yet very flat, approach here. The title is a reference to the famous poem, with the edifices of the mightly eventually tumbling to ruins.

Are you ready for the country? (From Karetai Road)
Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 46 cm (24 x 18 in).
September 2007.
A bit looser in style than many of my paintings - this is the view from the end of Karetai Road on the Otago Peninsula, looking back north towards the road.

Alice and Bolt
Acrylic/canvas. 41 x 21 cm (16 x 8 in).
October 2007.
Not for sale.
My partner and one of my two cats - an experiment using a paint pen and thin washes of colour to try to get the same style as I achieve when drawing with a standard art pen.

Chance meeting
Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 41 cm (12 x 16 in). October 2007.
Sold.
Another scene of Dunedin's Octagon.

Somewhere on the coast
Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 55 cm (14 x 21 1/2 in).
November 2007.
A simplified (and fairly peaceful) scene of from above St. Clair, Dunedin, looking east across the Pacific coast to Lawyer's Head, Bird Island, and Maori Head on the Otago Peninsula.

Steev P
Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 46 cm (24 x 18 in).
December 2007.
The first of a planned series of portraits of artists from the Dunedin art scene - this is Steev Peyroux, painted from a photograph of him at his exhibition at the Artists Room Gallery .

	St. Clair apartments Acrylic/canvas. 51 x 41 cm (20 x 16 in). January 2007. The corner of an apartment complex 400 metres from my home in St. Clair, Dunedin.

The summer game Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 23 cm (36 x 9 in). March 2007. Sold. A panorama of a cricket match played at Dunedin's University Oval, in the tricky (and annoying to paint!) ratio of 4:1.
	Heavy eight Acrylic/canvas. 41 x 61 cm (16 x 24 in). April 2007. The "Heavy eight" of the title is local musician David Kilgour, lead singer and guitarist of the Heavy Eights. David, best known from his other band The Clean, is a regular feature around Dunedin music venues. This was painted for an exhibition in May 2007celebrating Dunedin music..
	Sunday morning, Princes St. (after Hopper) Acrylic/canvas. 55 x 38 cm (21 1/5 x 15 in). April 2007. Sold. From a photograph of Princes Street in central Dunedin. Once I'd cropped the image I realised how like the classic Edward Hopper painting (Early Sunday morning) it was, and it seemed wrong not to acknowledge the fact with the title.
	Life's a long song Acrylic/canvas. 51 x 41 cm (20 x 16 in). April 2007. This one had a long genesis. I had taken the photo of a young woman with a pushchair in the Octagon, central Dunedin, a couple of years earlier and had always intended to paint this, but it wasn't until I was approached for an exhibition celebrating motherhood that I decided to paint it - which I did in only a little over 24 hours.
	Evening light, St. Joseph’s Acrylic/canvas. 23 x 30 cm (9 x 12 in). June 2007. Early evening at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Dunedin, with the floodlights higlighting the building’s frontage.
	In the pines Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 61 cm (36 x 24 in). June-July 2007. This one took forever to paint, and is a much more realistic style to my normal paintings. It’s also unusual in that it’s a composite - the house is in St. Clair, close to where I live; the trees are on Signal Hill, some nine kilometres from there; and part of the house (mainly the porch area) is invented.
	Cargill midwinter Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 30 cm (24 x 12 in). July 2007. Midwinter snow on Mount Cargill, north of Dunedin.
	From Ranfurly Acrylic/canvas. 50 x 38 cm (20 x 15 in). July 2007. The road leading out of the town of Ranfurly, Central Otago, looking down towards Naseby.
	Walking on sunshine Acrylic/canvas. 45 x 30 cm (18 x 12 in). August 2007. Sold. A crowd at a street market day during Dunedin’s festival week in March 2007.
	Dunedin skyline VI: Above the Octagon Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 51 cm (14 x 20 in). August 2007. The clocktower of Dunedin's Municipal Chambers rises above the Octagon.
	Ozymandias of the South Seas Acrylic/canvas. 91 x 61 cm (36 x 24 in). September 2007. The shell of Cargill's Castle, on Forbury Hill above St. Clair, Dunedin, as with In the pines there is a more realistic, yet very flat, approach here. The title is a reference to the famous poem, with the edifices of the mightly eventually tumbling to ruins.
	Are you ready for the country? (From Karetai Road) Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 46 cm (24 x 18 in). September 2007. A bit looser in style than many of my paintings - this is the view from the end of Karetai Road on the Otago Peninsula, looking back north towards the road.
	Alice and Bolt Acrylic/canvas. 41 x 21 cm (16 x 8 in). October 2007. Not for sale. My partner and one of my two cats - an experiment using a paint pen and thin washes of colour to try to get the same style as I achieve when drawing with a standard art pen.
	Chance meeting Acrylic/canvas. 30 x 41 cm (12 x 16 in). October 2007. Sold. Another scene of Dunedin's Octagon.
	Somewhere on the coast Acrylic/canvas. 35 x 55 cm (14 x 21 1/2 in). November 2007. A simplified (and fairly peaceful) scene of from above St. Clair, Dunedin, looking east across the Pacific coast to Lawyer's Head, Bird Island, and Maori Head on the Otago Peninsula.
	Steev P Acrylic/canvas. 61 x 46 cm (24 x 18 in). December 2007. The first of a planned series of portraits of artists from the Dunedin art scene - this is Steev Peyroux, painted from a photograph of him at his exhibition at the Artists Room Gallery .