Ashburton artist Robin Arnst is excited at being invited to show her work in an exhibition starting this week at the Ashburton Art Gallery.
Although she has exhibited at the gallery before Robin said ‘‘this is special because they asked me.’’
The exhibition is called In the Round and Robin said it is all about ‘‘getting round to it now that I’ve got this time.’’
Every painting has a circle motif as an element within the composition.
Using her time-honoured techniques of multi-layering colour and collage, she builds dense colour grounds which flow in and around figurative elements.
To observe something “in the round” is to see it in full detail, from all aspects.
The medium used varies and depends on the work she is creating.
‘‘I usually paint what works for the painting, I listen to the painting I’m working on and we follow the journey we are on.’’
The works range in size from large circular metre wide paintings to smaller square pieces featuring a CD in the middle, as the round, with an undraped model.
‘‘So we’ve got undraped music and they are quite cute little ones if someone wants to have a smile,’’ Robin said.
Robin’s favourite piece is called ‘On the wings of a prayer’ and she explained ‘‘It’s more of aspiritual one, if you look carefully there are fantails and possible angels, it is a pinky fogyish-type thing… it talks to me more than the others.’’
In 2003 she founded Robin’s Art School, where she taught art to children, teenagers and adults from her studio in the old post office building in the town centre.
At 82 years of age, she has accumulated over thirty years of experience in painting.
Robin now plans to teach and help people with their art from her home studio for a koha donation.
People who are familiar with Robin’s work will see some progression in her style.
‘‘I would invite everyone to come along and see where this journey in art has got me. As you progress you move more towards abstraction, people don’t understand that it’s what you see and how you felt about what you saw.’’
In the Round is at the Ashburton Art Galley from January 28 to February 24.
