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'Creamery Road' by Karl Maughan

‘Creamery Road’ by Karl Maughan – October 2008
*For some odd iPhone camera-induced reason the colours are not true
(Image by TSL)

I covet a Karl Maughan painting. My parents have the one shown above hanging in their lounge. It’s the first thing you notice when you walk into the room. I love it. I want to know what is around the corner of the path. I feel as if I could just step into the painting…

According to the Gow Langsford bio’ on Karl Maughan, he is “recognised for his hyper-real paintings of lush gardens and native fauna – flower gardens, vegetable gardens, manicured bushes and out-of-control wildernesses – he finds inspiration in them all.  At first Maughan began painting these settings in the tradition of ‘plein-air’ – in the outdoors. However, struggling with changeable elements such as wind, light and weather became too problematic.  Painting outdoors also became an issue when Maughan relocated to London in the 1990’s.  Based there for many years, cooped up in a studio in the East End, Maughan found that he missed the wide open spaces and lushness found in New Zealand gardens.  Maughan began to source a growing archive, capturing gardens on film, to take back to his studio where he could then play and reinvent colours, lighting and perspectives.  The resulting works were an explosion of colour, encompassing viewers in surrealist fantasy landscapes.”

For me, Karl Maughan’s work has a colourful and idealistic joy. Looking at his paintings makes me happy. What do you think?

'Pirie Street' by Karl Maughan

‘Pirie Street’ by Karl Maughan – 2006
(Image © Gow Langsford Gallery)

'Crosshills' (detail) by Karl Maughan - 2002

‘Crosshills’ (detail) by Karl Maughan – 2002
(Image © Gow Langsford Gallery)

'Koromiko Road' by Karl Maughan - 2011

‘Koromiko Road’ by Karl Maughan – 2011
(Image © Gow Langsford Gallery)

'Awahou South' by Karl Maughan - 2006

‘Awahou South’ by Karl Maughan – 2006
(Image © Gow Langsford Gallery)

An exhibition of new works by Karl Maughan opens at the Gow Langsford Kitchener St Gallery in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday 2nd October. Sadly, I won’t be attending…

If you would like to learn more about Karl Maughan, or see him create a major (5 metre long) artwork for a limited edition wine release by Christensen Estate, there is a 60 second movie of his month-long endeavour here.