Painting created with the input of Kāwhia’s community. PHOTO SUPPLIED
WITH a simple photo uploaded to facebook this year, an artist captured Kāwhia’s attention.
Heather Leonard, who has a home away from home in an Aotea bach, has painted two pieces based on the Kāwhia area – and she set social media alight with both.
She started by taking inspiration from Aotea, and a photo of the finished painting posted to Facebook group The Kāwhia Connection caught the community’s attention.
The almost caricature-style of the painting is what Heather thought best fit the energy of the village.
Heather’s art doesn’t follow just one style, she said, rather as she gets bored of one she starts experimenting with another.
But regardless of how tired she gets with any style, Heather said there was one she just wouldn’t do.
“I can’t bear realism. I’ll just take a photo if I want something that looks like that.” After uploading the painting, which looks towards Aotea from the water, Heather went back to edit something on the facebook post to find it was a hit.
“I was blown away, it had about 60 comments. I thought ‘oh my gosh,’” she said.
“They really loved it. It has been so much fun seeing the interactions.”
Inspired by the popularity of the Aotea painting, Heather set to work on another, this time with Kāwhia wharf at the centre.
Heather said she often went into Kāwhia and enjoyed watching people doing bombs into the water.
With the inspiration in her head she went to take some reference photos. “I thought I would start with the wharf; ‘I think it’ll be in the front, it seems to be a big centre of activity.’”
With just some underpainting of green hills, placement of the sky and a few iconic Kāwhia buildings starting to take shape, Heather announced the beginnings of her next piece.
Heather’s posts consistently received upwards of 100 likes and dozens of comments with suggestions about what should come next.
“If nobody was interested I would stop boring everyone.
“But everyone was interested. People wanted to buy it from the first post I put on that just had the wharf and one person on it.”
As the details formed on the painting, people got more involved in suggesting key landmarks, people and activities they’d like to see included.
During the Local Government election campaign, Ōtorohanga District Council hopeful James Mahara was in on the fun and posted his own work-in-progress update of the painting.
On the hillside was a “vote for James” sign Heather wrote and temporarily placed on the painting for a bit of humour.
“We’ve had a lot of fun with it,” she said.
This was her first foray into posting works-in-progress on social media for all to see, but the ongoing saga of the Kāwhia painting has brought both Heather and the community joy.
“It was funny. It has been really uplifting for me, it has been really good.”
Her work reached more than just current Kāwhia residents. It provoked childhood memories of people who have since moved away from the village, and from those with fond summer stories to share.
Both the Aotea and Kāwhia original paintings were bought by the same person, but to offer people a more permanent piece of her work, Heather also printed tea towels, prints and a limited run of decorative pillows featuring the Kāwhia art.
Heather is fond of the idea of nurturing creativity.
Although she had a creative streak her whole life, and said her best subject at high school was art, it took Heather until adulthood to really grab hold of it.
When her children were very young Heather bought a building company’s ex-smoko shed on skids, delivered to her house for use as a studio.
“From then on I would go out at night when everyone was in bed and I’d finished the dishes.
“I’d say ‘right, I’m going out to paint, don’t anyone come out unless the house is on fire.’”
She’s looking forward to sharing her knowledge and love of art with the community again by hosting free art lessons for adults tomorrow, January 6 and Saturday, January 7, in the Kāwhia Community Hall.
All materials are supplied with funding from the Ōtorohanga District Creative Communities fund.
Attendees must pre-register with Heather by email at heatherarty@hotmail.com
