FLAWLESS (ADJECTIVE) 1. HAVING NO DEFECTS OR FAULTS, ESPECIALLY NONE THAT DIMINISH THE VALUE OF SOMETHING; 2. HAVING NO DISCERNIBLE BLEMISHES OR SHORTCOMINGS
After yarning with a few mates over a cold one or three, it seems we all wanted one of what we coined the ‘Big Three’ skills. We either wanted to be able to run fast, sing great or be able to draw stuff real good. Clearly this wasn’t a particularly noble or scientific survey of aspirational abilities – we left our neurosurgery and environmental research – but we did try and keep it vaguely grounded in reality – so invisibility and x-ray vision were deemed inapplicable early on. There are quite a few among us that can put on a turn of speed when the need arises, and we’re all Stan Walker around the house, but drawing – well, it’s hard to fake that one. Especially when you are doing it as a mural, on the side of a three-metre wall. But as far as that side of things goes, Taupō’s Tāne Lawless has it well and truly covered. Founder of the Flawless Clothing Company and design firm Poutama Prints as well as being an acclaimed mural artist, the man is flawless by name and flawless by nature. “I grew up in Taupō and when I was younger I developed a love of the New York bombing (graffiti) scene,” he says. “I’d always loved painting since primary school, and I spent a lot of my younger years mucking around with ideas, working on my own stuff, just putting heaps of designs on to paper.” This New York art influence is just one elements of Tāne’s artwork, with intricate Māori design intertwined with his own kiwi flavour, all of which relates back to his passion for conservation and in particular the monitoring of the karearea, or New Zealand falcon. The infinitely intelligent among you will recall back in Plenty 12 that we covered some great work being done by the team at Wingspan in Rotorua; this charitable trust has been going for decades, helping to care for our native birds of prey, some of which are actually more in danger of extinction than the venerable kiwi.
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“The karearea can lay their eggs on the ground, so once I hear about eggs it’s a rush to get there to keep them away from predators and give them the very best chance of survival.”
