A Green Bay painter with a proud legacy talks of the pleasure and frustration of technique. Sharu Delilkan reports Being a professional sign writer and a member of one of the country's most exalted artistic families, didn't give Colin Blomfield a free ride when he took up water colours. "I've hadmy fair share of frustrations," he says. "The principles were the exact opposite to signwriting. "It's taken me years to be able to relax while doing it." The 75-year-old, who lives in Green Bay, is showing some of his work at the upcoming Titirangi Painters winter exhibition. Colin's great-uncle was Charles Blomfield, who was renowned for his landscapes, particularly the Pink and White Terraces which were destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera. Another great-uncle, William Blomfield, nicknamed "Blo", was political cartoonist for The Observer newspaper and his grandfather, John Blomfield, was a political cartoonist for the New Zealand Herald. Colin paints every Thursday with Titirangi Painters' president Robin Mansfield. "Even though we sometimes paint in silence for four hours it's a companionable silence which we both really enjoy." Despite frustrations with water colour, Colin says it's his favourite medium. "I love the soft, liquid effects you can achieve with water colours. Although the fluid is extremely difficult to control, once you master it, you can do amazing things." As with Charles Blomfield, landscapes figure prominently in Colin's water colour collection, while his acrylics mostly are bright flowers. He avoids portraits. "I find them too hard and I don't think I have the talent. But I love looking at and admiring good portraits when I go to exhibitions." He urges novice painters to enrol in classes, having studied with local watercolourist Don Nathan and renowned painter Nancy Tichbourne. "Those classes are worth a lifetime of hard work on your own." Titirangi Painters Winter Exhibition, War Memorial Hall, Titirangi, Aug 23-24. Free entry. Contact: ph 827 2210
