The Good Oil
by Graeme Douglas
The Good Oil is dedicated to long form conversations with Aotearoa / New Zealand painters about their lives and practices.
Podcast episodes
Season 2
EP 19 Jeffrey Harris
In this episode I visit Jeffrey Harris at his studio in Ōtepoti. Jeffrey is a self taught artist that is over 50 years into his practice. His work is held in numerous public and private collections, including The Auckland At Gallery Toi O Tamaki, The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu, The Fletchers Collection, Te Papa and The Dunedin Public At Gallery. Jeffrey has also been the subject of a book by Justin Paton, titled ‘Jeffrey Harris’, and has received several honors and awards. There are images of the paintings we talk about on the The Good Oil Jeffrey Harris Instagram post. In this episode you’ll hear Jeffrey talk about how he considers his bright palette an antidote to lots of NZ painting, how a chance encounter in the NZ Women's Weekly and then correspondence with Michael Smither connected Jeffrey with important figures in NZ Art History that his work now stands alongside, how the awareness of having limited time left is demanding that he makes the best works he possibly can, how a sense of being on the outside looking in with family has influenced his paintings of human relationships, working on single paintings for decades and how he feels about where paintings end up, for better and sometimes for worse. Links Jeffrey Harris Instagram Page Suite Gallery Jeffrey Harris Web Page The Good Oil Instagram
EP 18 Emily Hartley-Skudder
In this episode I visit Emily Hartley-Skudder at her residency at the Francis Hodgkins Fellowship in Otēpoti at the University of Otago. Emily graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours in 2012. She has been the recipient of several scholarships and awards, and her work is held in numerous public and private collections including The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, The Hocken Collection, The Stevenson Collection and The Wellington City Council Me Heke Ki Pōneke Collection and the Gardner Family Collection. There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Emily Hartley-Skudder Instagram Post. In this episode you’ll hear Emily talk about the influence of film and film sets i her practice, the important role of photography, the fertile ground that bathrooms offer her to explore, her nod to the still life painting tradition, pushing back against what is the traditional colour palette in New Zealand painting, how she considers layering of paint as sculptural and avocado coloured baths. Links Emily Hartley-Skudder Instagram Page Jhana Millers Gallery Emily Hartley-Skudder Artist Web Page Jonathan Smart Gallery Emily Hartley-Skudder Artist Web Page The Good Oil Instagram
EP 17 Hamish Coleman
In this episode I visit Hamish Coleman in his studio in Otepoti. Hamish graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors in 2012, and has been the artist in residence at the Dunedin School of Art. He has exhibited throughout New Zealand, with his work held in public and private collections. Hamish's work walks a fascinating line of presenting what feels like a new, fresh approach to painting, while simultaneously capturing a sense of the somehow familiar New Zealand you’ve always known. There are images of the paintings that we talk about on The Good Oil Hamish Coleman Instagram Post. In this episode you’ll hear Hamish speak about finding unique, painterly source material in video stills, the presence of an Aotearoa Gothic aesthetic in his work, a want to include the equivalent of white noise into paintings, the use of interference paint pigments, how hard he works to make the work look effortless and the ongoing drive to paint motivated by not quite being able to put his finger on what he is trying to capture. Links Hamish Coleman Instagram Page Season Gallery Hamish Coleman Artist Web Page The Good Oil Instagram
EP 16 Gretchen Albrecht
In this episode I visit Gretchen Albrecht at her recent show at Two Rooms gallery in Auckland. After graduating from the The Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland with an Honors Degree in Painting in 1963, Gretchen quickly established what has become one of the most enduring and impressive abstract practices in NZ, with her much celebrated West Coast paintings and Hemisphere works, and continues to evolve her practice 60 years later. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including Te Papa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, The Fletcher Collection, The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, The University of Auckland Art Collection and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Gretchen is a Francis Hodgkins Fellow and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000 for services to painting. There are images of the paintings we talk about on The Good Oil Gretchen Albrecht Instagram post for your reference. In this episode you'll hear Gretchen speak about the influence of her builder father and seamstress mother, being taught by Louise Henderson, the stored experiences of life that she draws on in her practice, her advice to young artists, the possibilities that different shaped stretchers offer and the secret figurative references she includes in her work for her to enjoy. Links Gretchen Albrecht Instagram The Good Oil Instagram Two Rooms Gretchen Albrecht Artist Web Page Nadine Milne Gallery Gretchen Albrecht Artist Web Page
Season 1
EP 15 Imogen Taylor
In this episode I visit Imogen Taylor in her studio in Henderson, West Auckland. Imogen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Post Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Arts at the University of Auckland. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections including the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, The Fletcher Collection and The Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. In 2017 Imogen was the artist in residence at McCahon House, and in 2019 was the recipient of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship. There are images of the paintings we talk about on The Good Oil Imogen Taylor Instagram post for your reference. In this episode you’ll hear Imogen talk about how she aspires to embody the same qualities that are reflected in the materials that she uses, her celebration of NZ regionalism in her practice by applying a drag sensibility to it, her clear appreciation for modernism, wanting to protect illegibility in painting, how heartbreaking she finds parting with work when it leaves the studio, she shamelessly reveals herself to be a colour nerd and not a very good painter. Links Imogen Taylor Instagram Page Micheal Lett Imogen Taylor Artist Web Page The Good Oil Instagram Page