From still life to seascapes

from Nelson Magazine - February 2023

A PINT WITH KARL RUSS

Paul Deacon and Nicole Russell have very different art-making styles. “We are the diamond versus the rough,” laughs Nicole, while commenting on Paul’s often meticulous marine paintings and her own more abstract/ impressionistic style.

The two artists crossed paths four years ago and have since enjoyed a friendship based on their mutual love of plein air painting and their own histories of ocean sailing. Both exhibit at Wall to Wall Art Gallery in Bridge Street, but this is their first joint exhibition.

Born in Dartmouth, England, with a father who was a fisherman and an artist mother, Paul spent his formative years around the Irish and English coasts, never far from the sea. Twenty years as a seafarer on cargo ships in northern Europe, the Baltic, West Africa and the Mediterranean introduced him to the ocean in all its moods and a love for the vessels that travelled across it, particularly those from times past.

Nicole from Stuttgart, Germany, was originally a lawyer. Through her love for sailing, she met a seafaring New Zealander who became her husband. The pair, accompanied by two daughters and a cat, had endless adventures over several years sailing in the Northern Hemisphere on a sixteen-metre oceangoing yacht before arriving in New Zealand.

“With our joint appreciation of the sea, I so love Paul’s art,” says Nicole. His part of the exhibition features detailed oil paintings of Captain Cook’s vessels along with a range of nautical themes in a non-traditional style that include boatsheds, dinghies, distant harbours and places closer to home, like Riwaka. He also has a range of pen and ink drawings on show.

Nicole, originally trained in the USA as a watercolour artist, is presenting a series of works in oil, from still lifes and landscapes to glimmering water reflections.

“I am predominantly a plein air painter,” she explains. “I try to complete my paintings outdoors in front of my subject and will at least start them here.”

With a love of exploring the great outdoors while being close to the sea so the family can still sail on their downsized trailer-sailor, Nelson has proved to be the perfect location. “There is so much here to inspire me,” she says.

Paul is not lacking in inspiration either. Moving with his family to Nelson four years ago since retiring from Barnados, the children’s charity, he is now able to indulge his artistic passion whenever he chooses and the results speak for themselves. As one of only a few of the country’s maritime painters, his work is in high demand and it is rare to see it in Nelson.

Together Paul and Nicole are presenting a series of works that will delight many with its skill and diversity.