Painting and Garden visit

We are lucky to have Jeanette Blackburn as  a resident here in Rotorua for 47 yrs now so she is classed as a "Rotorua girl" ... A group of ladies from Rotary group went to visit her this morning  at her home ....

Jeanette and her husband Graeme proudly invited us  to visit the Garden Art Gallery.

THE GARDEN
This is a superbly designed city garden featuring rose arbors, gazebo, fish pond, aviaries, dovecotes, old fashioned roses, rhododendrons and perennials. Step into a world of sweetly scented flowers, inviting pathways and cooing doves. A stroll through this delightful cottage garden is an unforgettable experience.

THE ART GALLERY
Set among the roses is a magnificent art gallery displaying Jeanette's work. Available are original paintings, limited edition prints, calendars, cards and placemats.

Jeanette's work is well sought after by collectors throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Renowned wildlife and landscape artist   …She has painted since childhood, and has been a professional artist for over 30 years. She paints mainly in acrylics because the minute detail she strives for (such as the fluffiness of birds’ feathers) is best captured in this medium. She then adds oils as a finishing touch to give the 3D effect often seen in her wildlife and landscapes. “Wildlife painting.” she says “must be accurate”. Following this philosophy, she captures realism in all her works of art. They remind us of our natural heritage and the beauty of nature in all its glory.

Through her art she tries to promote the appreciation of wildlife and conservation of all New Zealand’s natural resources. Jeanette’s paintings are held in private collections, not only in New Zealand but throughout the world. Her commission list runs into several months at a time, and she rarely has an exhibition as her art sells so quickly.

We had a glorious couple of hours with Jeanette and Graeme showing us all her little secretes and how she borrowed stuffed birds from museums  to paint from to make her pictures life like.

Jeanette has painted stamps for  NZ Post  and was commisioned to paint a picture as a gift for Queen Elizabeth ll   on her visit in 1952