News
Navigating Her Way - 08 Feb 2010
Tauranga based artist Doreen
McNeill, has come a long way from her early days of drawing navigational charts
for aircraft, to establishing herself as an artist. McNeill’s exhibition Navigating
Her Way, on show at Tauranga Art
Gallery from Saturday 13 February, incorporates many of those earlier charts in
her abstract, Caribbean inspired landscapes. The exhibition has been curated
for the gallery by Penelope Jackson. As a young woman growing up
in post war England, McNeill learnt a trade upon finishing school. In her case
it was technical drawing, working for Southern Railways and later in Wimbledon,
London, drawing navigational charts. McNeill’s childhood love of
art was taken up during the 1960-70s while living in the Bahamas, where she
gained inspiration from the rich Caribbean Sea colours, and the emotions they
evoked. From the outset, McNeill has
painted in an abstract manner. On moving to New Zealand in 1987, she joined the
Waikato Art Society, where she was able to work alongside other artists and
learn techniques that inspired her to bring design and structure to her work. Five decades later, McNeill
has retained her sense of rich, vibrant Caribbean colours and has revisited the
navigational charts she made, bringing them into her work. Her use of acrylics
as favoured choice of paint enables her to create a washed watercolour look, or
layered surface textures, while her incorporation of maps and charts creates
the appearance of an aerial viewpoint. McNeill was a member of the
original working committee involved in planning the Tauranga Art Gallery’s
development. McNeill is now in her 80th year, and as Jackson says,
“continues to paint with passion and gusto.” Navigating Her Way can be viewed at the gallery until 18 April. 
© 2009