Jane Galloway has spent the past five years exploring abstract painting from her Raglan studio, but for Raglan Arts Weekend 2025 she is returning to the landscapes that first made her name. The Local Rag hears from Jane as she returns to landscapes for her upcoming exhibition:
Most people will feel the last few years have been challenging and for artists this is especially so. Buying art is a luxury for most and something people don’t often consider when it is hard to pay the bills. I have been fortunate to have had 5 years in the studio at the back of Artists at Work where I have space to create abstract paintings. While this work is not for everyone it has been a period of exploration and discovery of working more intuitively. This is the type of art I was doing at art school but when I had a family it was set aside for more practical ways to make a living.
For a long time I worked for brother Rob making shoes, sandals and bags which later morphed into my own bag manufacturing business. But I always wanted to get back to painting and after my children were older I finally began… a hiatus of 25 years!
It was hard to know where to start again after so long so I literally had to go back to the beginning…
I got books form the Raglan Library on how to paint in watercolour as I figured I wouldn’t need so much room to do this in my tiny bach. I painted day and night, beginning with still life and it was so exciting to be painting again I wished I didn’t have to sleep. There were many 2am bedtimes for a while.
Early exhibitions were at Show Off, in Bow Street, where I continue to sell reproductions of my paintings. However, a lot of the editions have now sold out which got me thinking I might just do one more landscape show. I have been so lucky to have this income stream which has supported me since the beginning of digital reproduction in 2003. Fortunate too that getting photos to paint from involves travelling which I love.
Choosing landscapes for this exhibition has been challenging as I have amassed thousands of photos and thinking I could only use 10 or so made me agonise over what to choose. In the end the subjects are from the 2 places I love the most….Raglan and the Coromandel.
I have worked on this exhibition since June and produced a mix of watercolours and large acrylics on canvas. The main gallery will hold up to twelve landscape paintings plus small works from other artists. Developing relationships with other artists and selling their work is a fulfilling aspect of running the gallery. Not many people know my parents ran a gallery in Hamilton for a number of years so it’s a family tradition.
The gallery has a mix of abstract and representational work. Visitors often spend half an hour viewing the huge range and thank me for the experience which is wonderful.
Artists at Work is behind Zinnia in Electric Avenue, just off Wainui Road.
The exhibition opens at 10am, Saturday 25th October. Suggested parking is by the soccer fields then walk across the footbridge and into Wi Neera Street at the back of the gallery. I’m looking forward to catching up with past clients.
See you then.
