No matter who you are, what you are or where you are , the place where you grow up has had a huge influence on the person that you are today. For me, Wellington was my home for the first 54 ish years of my life.
Clinging to the southern edge of the North Island, beset by winds from every direction and squashed into a small, sometimes awkward area. Surrounded in many directions by the sea which sets the mood for the city each day, I grew up on the south coast where the sea was our weather forecast most days. We always agreed that it was a good storm if one of the fishing boats broke its anchor and washed up onto the beach.
Eventually we admitted that we were over city life and moved to the South Island, where both of our families had even earlier roots. This painting "A Quiet Moment" was inspired by the very morning we moved south... watching the container wharf slowly slip behind us as the ferry moved out. The dawn was breaking through silvery clouds above the Hutt Valley and I knew that this time we were truly saying goodbye to the place where we'd grown up and raised our family.
The other painting "Wellington Silver" is also looking up the harbour. I do miss the way those wild skies roll across and send flashes of silver racing across the sea.
Even though I no longer liver there, in some corner of my heart I still see the everchanging light of Wellington harbour. It's definitely where I came from :)