Stepping out. Painting

I am a realist landscape painter and have been painting for forty years. I am a member of LAI (Landscape Artists International) My art mainly focuses on the New Zealand landscape, its beauty and serenity,but does include a number of French paintings from a recent visit to that country. I like to choose subjects which feature water and relish the challenge to capture light and the reflective qualities of water. As a landscaper also, the natural forms of trees and plants form an integral part of my paintings. I believe we are blessed in this country to have a wide variety of flora and natural life forms which deserve our respect and admiration so it is a pleasure to represent them in a painting. The natural light in this country often shows subjects in sharp clarity with less atmospheric interruption. I try to capture this "crispness" as it gives the painting a fresh feel and a special New Zealand quality. Many of my paintings come from photographs I have taken in areas that interest me such as the east and west coasts of the Auckland isthmus and areas of bush that incorporate streams and rivers and waterfalls. Having lived on the Auckland's North Shore for the past thirty years, many of my scenes come from the local area. As a Christian I believe I have a calling to spread my faith through this art form and so many of my paintings will contain a positive Christian message somewhere within them. I have tried to get these messages to be singularly appropriate to the nature of the scene depicted, helpful to the viewer in that they don't dominate the image yet provoke a thoughtful way of relating a message and keep the viewer engaged. Brian Norton www.bjnortonart.com