1. Summer Sun
Oil on Canvas
3'x 5'
$8,500.00
About Richard Ponder
With a career spanning nearly fifty years Wellington artist Richard
Ponder has created several notable - and often imitated - art series,
including, most famously, Wellington at Night. A well-respected artist,
his discipline and eye for detail began back in the 1960’s as a
geologist, when his thesis required the accurate drawing of hundreds of
tiny creatures called foraminifera. In the late seventies, Richard’s
brother Michael became interested in painting. Mike quickly picked up
Richard’s palette knife painting technique and they challenged each
other with new ideas and innovations, exchanging ideas and spurring one
another on to become full time artists.Richard’s love of roaming
the New Zealand backcountry with his family led him to concentrate on
landscape painting in the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s. Already, with his
emphasis on composition and the interaction of between colours in
different lights, he was beginning to show his true potential. During
this period, the images in his paintings were based on early morning
observations, with the excitement of dawn with its variety of light and
colour. The work from this era was published in the long since sold out,
limited edition book, Quiet Places.On the proceeds of his
success Richard visited art galleries all around the world to gain a
deeper understanding of the greats. He fell in love with the strength of
Van Gogh (from Van Gogh Starry Night to Van Gogh Sunflowers), the
impressions of Monet (including the famous Water Lilies Monet), the
colour of Perceval, and the exhilaration of Pollock. Their influences
can be found in his quiet paintings, but in the 1990’s he threw caution
to the wind. The dramatic change in his art came about after a trip to
Bali where he fell in love with the work of Affandi and Sumadiyasa.Richard
now works more freely, playing with the light and colour, so that his
stunning art now takes centre stage wherever it is.