Tauranga artist Lynne Sinclair Taylor is known for her brightly-coloured works of fine art, using a wide range of mediums and styles. Her upcoming exhibition, ‘Valuable‘, is to be held at Raft Cafe, opening on Friday 25 October from 5:30pm. We had a chat to Lynne about her inspiration, and what to expect from the exhibition…
Creative Bay of Plenty: Tell us about your background…
Lynne: I am self taught. Before the internet was available I had many visits to the library to gain knowledge from art books on techniques and to be inspired by looking at art. I have always been creative and have been drawing for as long as I can remember. I won prizes as a child for colouring in and drawing. I have always had art related jobs, the one I enjoyed the most was being a fashion illustrator as advertising manageress for a department store. I designed and made my own clothes for many years and I won prizes in fashion design and thought I may become a fashion designer but I realized that art was my preferred passion.
Pursuing an art career seemed a natural progression because of my love for drawing and painting. I am a realist at heart and I began with drawing and painting people’s portraits and wondering if I would be a portrait artist. When I was on a ferry on the Mediterranean in my single days I started sketching people and before I knew it I had people requesting their portraits and I sketched several portraits on that ferry trip.
CBOP: What does your art aim to say?
L: I like to believe that my works will reach people’s senses in a positive way. A common comment I have is “your paintings make me feel good. I love your colours.” This is very fulfilling for me. My paintings in my upcoming “Valuable” exhibition are mostly embellished with gold which represents the value of each individual.
CBOP: Who are your biggest influences?
L: As a person of faith I believe that God, as our creator, continually gives me inspiration. I get inspired by colour, light and shade, patterns and textures. I have about 200 art books and magazines that I’ve collected over the years.
Early in my career I was inspired by Rembrandt for his use of light and shade, Monet for his techniques and use of colour. As a colourist I particular like the Fauvists for their creative use of colour. There are many artists I admire today, too many to name. I went on my own journey with different mediums and technique and I had a passion for chalk pastels for a number of years. I also ventured into impressionism, expressionism, and abstracts.
CBOP: How do you know when a work is finished?
L: Earlier in my career I was keen to start a painting without giving a lot of time to preparation and composition. I learned over time to spend more time on the earlier stage of the work to gain the desired outcome. I usually persevere with a work until I am pleased with the outcome and I mostly just know when to make the last stroke.
CBOP: Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
L: My easel is very important and a good range of brushes.
CBOP: You have an exhibition coming up. Can you tell us about that?
L: I am working towards my exhibition “Valuable” taking place in the conference room at the Raft Espresso & Eatery, Chapel St, Tauranga at Labour Weekend. The opening is 5.30pm on Friday 25th October and the exhibition continues until 4pm Monday 28th. My creative juices are flowing and I’m excited about the works I am working on and the ones that are yet to be produced. They portray different people, mostly women, in different ways, sometimes with elaborate gowns but each painting is enhanced with gold, glitter or bronze to represent the value inherent in each individual. I believe every person is unique and valuable and that is the message I want to convey through this exhibition.
