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A New Zealand Story, at the exhibition launch

An artist and her work: Trish Harding...

Hanging with Pablo

A Welcome Swallow volunteer taking a break, quietly reading next to the Gallery feature, a Pablo Picasso composition, now residing in Hamilton East till end of June....

New to the Permanent Collection

These two watercolours by Bernadette Parsons are both 470x700mm, Price: $3250 each. To the left is Haast, to the right, Glenorchy....

Pablo Picasso at the Welcome Swallow Gallery

For the duration of the exhibition, A New Zealand Story, the compositions on display will have a guest alongside them. Although Picasso is primarily associated with the cubist genre, he retained a significant interest in many forms of artistic expression. He frequently applied his skills as a draughtsman to one of his great passions in life, bullfighting. Below is just such a rendition,  now in the Welcome Swallow Gallery. If you are on lunch break or find yourself strolling the pavements i...

A New Zealand Story, exhibition opening 23rd May, 10am - 4pm

While the new wonderful exhibition, A New Zealand Story has been live and online since alert level 3, we are now able to look forward to a more traditional launch that takes place in the gallery. Typically, previous exhibition opening events have attracted up to 200 people, well beyond what is anticipated under alert level 2.  Instead, we are inviting people to join us throughout the day on Saturday 23rd May. As this is not an organized group our numbers are restricted by normal social...

Ray Ching composition @ the Welcome Swallow

Currently the gallery only owns one painting. This is a superb Ray Ching composition called The Swallow & the Falling Leaf.  It represents the name of the gallery while profiling one of New Zealand's most recognized artists. The painting can be seen below with background information on Ray Ching  and this particular piece of art, in the attached pdf plate. If you would like to see more of his art with a view to purchase, the Jonathon Grant Galleries in Auckland, currently hav...

Getting ready to open again

Sanitizer, gloves, masks at the ready. It's time......

A New Zealand Story: Filming the exhibition

The Welcome Swallow Gallery has responded to the demands to create online experiences by photographing and filming the latest exhibition, making it possible to see the paintings both in situ and via video walk-through. Board member, gallery artist and noted photographer, Sandra Barlow can be seen here applying her own particular 'lens' towards the new exhibition. This is a method pioneered by Ailene Cuthbertson for the Waikato Watercolourists exhibition earlier this year. The  exhibition, A...

A New Zealand Story exhibition online

Our new exhibition, A New Zealand Story, is available for viewing online. Click on the photograph of the catalogue cover to take you there. The exhibition catalogue is also now available below....

Birthday!

The Welcome Swallow Gallery was opened a year ago today on 1st May. The aptly named opening exhibition, Celebration, brought together the artists who had prior exhibited with the Welcome Swallow before the acquisition of the adjacent unit. Six exhibitions, showing over 400 pieces of art, special exhibits of Frances Hodgkins and Rita Angus original paintings, several installations and special features later and the Gallery is ready to open again with the exhibition, A New Zealand Story....

COVID-19 Online Auction item for Women's Refuge attracts bids

To date, the online auction for the stunning composition by Bernadette Parsons, Aotea Harbour between Raglan an Kawhia, has attracted bids to $700. The auction closes on 11 May, leaving plenty of time to raise more money for the Refuges! Send in your bid to:WelcomeSwallow.nz@gmail.com...

In Memorium

Grace Forbes was a fearless and dedicated volunteer. She was a wonderful storyteller and had experienced a very rich and interesting life. Grace was dedicated, cheerful, kind and resourceful and had a wonderfully friendly disposition. Grace volunteered with Save the Children Waikato Branch for many years and received a Long Service Award from them.  When the Waikato Branch retail gift shop closed Grace continued to volunteer with Achieving Change for Children Charitable Trust’s Welcome S...

Click and Collect now available

If you have spent the last few weeks zooming in, seeing 'the lives of others' perhaps it might be time to provide new vistas for self and those who have virtually shared your own abode. The Permanent Collection April 2020 is now online for click and collect. Take a look, the catalogue can be downloaded from the link below.  If you like what you see, contact us at WelcomeSwallow.nz@gmail.com...

A New Zealand Story

Alert Level 3. Catalogue available shortly. Click and collect. ...

Preparing for the next exhibition

What could this photo below possibly mean!? Of course, it means that the new exhibition is upon us! Although the gallery cannot be open to public viewing at this time, we are currently able to put our new exhibition, A New Zealand Story, online for virtual viewing and buying using click and collect. We look forward to seeing 35 paintings from 4 artists, including Colleen Tetley's composition shown below. In the meantime, the gallery is going to get a well deserved new coat of paint. We...

Buying your art online

COVID-19 frustratingly pegged back the length of our Waikato Watercolourists exhibition by 2 weeks. Until the new exhibition, A New Zealand Story launches, the Gallery has available the unsold watercolourist pieces.  In these challenging times, buying now enables us to raise funds for the Waikato Women’s Refuges who are currently burdened with greater pressures on their services. The work of the Trust is expressly to support and fund children’s programs that are provided by the Waikato ...

COVID-19: Support for Women’s Refuge

While in lock down it is evident that the additional stress of domestic living has placed extra pressure on the services provided by Women’s Refuges in the Waikato. With this in mind the Trust is raising money through an online auction of a gorgeous painting by Bernadette Parsons. The final auction price accepted goes towards children’s programs run by the Refuges, in particular counselling and one to one programs that enable children to deal with the impact of family violence. Bernadette Pa...

From the Permanent Collection VII

This composition is the 7th and final blog post to feature the Welcome Swallow Gallery Permanent Collection. As a watercolour artist, Denise White became intrigued with the way that internationalartists Judi Whitton and Charles Reid apply paint to paper using a loose and spontaneous approach that encourages creativity. Her style now incorporates their technique in her work. She also enjoys painting ‘plein air’ whenever possible.  Featured here is her delightful painting, ...

From the Permanent Collection VI

The Sanctuary Mountain project began with a dream to protect the diversity of plant and animal species living on Maungatautari. The community came together with an aim to restore and protect this precious ecosystem, and in 2001 the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) was formed. Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is a very special place due to the sheer enormity of the project - at 3400 hectares it is by far the largest pest-proof fenced project in the world. At 47km long it offers a safe...

From the Permanent Collection V

Robyn Ninnes's popular paintings graced the Welcome Swallow Gallery across three exhibitions before her work was placed in the Permanent Collection. Taking inspiration from a stylized or representational form of art, Robyn's compositions are emblematic of Henri Rousseau and in particular his fascination with painting pink flamingos. However, her current work in the Permanent Collection, entitled, Tui Feeding Frenzy from her Tui Series, will be more familiar to a New Zealand audience. T...

From the Permanent Collection IV

An artist from the UK, Gilian Hamilton’s graphite work creates powerful imagery. In this deeply moving composition, the artist allows us to access the private task-driven endeavours of a child from the Third World. While children of a similar age in western society might be captured in carefree play, the Solitude that is presented to us here does not encourage such expansive reflection. This is his world. We admire his determination and concentration, yet as he moves with outstretched arms to ...

From the Permanent Collection III

First seen in the christmas in the gallery exhibition last year, Sandra Barlow presents an intense study entitled, Apple Blossom. While the white tinged luxurious red blossoms in full bloom are clearly the central feature of the composition, they are augmented with several buds that are yet to fulfill their promise.  Adding to the visual impact, the leaves are allowed to intrude and spill over the faux matt board that forms the parameters of the painting.  This is a splendid ...

From the Permanent Collection II

One of the most striking compositions in the christmas in the gallery exhibition last year, was the finely crafted Tui and Jug, by Wellington artist, Helen Cairney. The unlikely juxtaposition of an item of kitchenware with four tui birds catches the imagination, especially since the vivid blue and green hues of their feathers are allowed to dazzle among the brilliant yellow kowhai flowers that are cleverly superimposed on the composition independent of any supporting tree structur...

From the Permanent Collection I

In order to curate more focused exhibitions in the gallery the Trustees decided to section off the front of the gallery from the main hall, thus enabling us to show a permanent collection from our chosen gallery artists. These pieces stay in situ until sold or rotated with new art that our gallery artists prefer to display.  All these compositions are for sale, but unlike exhibition pieces, once purchased they can be removed by the buyer to enjoy immediately.  Featured here is a fine w...

What's in a name?

Every organization or entity that provides goods and services prefers to have instant name recognition that creates loyalty, repeat business and buying habits that become viral. For example, this is what the Apple company rely on when launching a new cell phone or digital device.  In marketing terms, a brand. There are lots of them around. The most famous ones account for a significant amount of the total value of the company. According to Interbrand, the McDonalds brand on i...