Capturing coastal light

Artist Veronika Lambert at her latest exhibition at Matawhero Art Gallery. The painting behind her is one of her larger scale works of Māhia and she holds a smaller print of a scene at Okitu. Picture by Paul Rickard

For Gisborne artist Veronika Lambert, her immediate environment of Okitu provides ample inspiration for her landscape oil and acrylic paintings.

“I like to capture a mood or atmosphere in my paintings and the ever-changing light on the coast provides that,” Veronika says.

Coastal Light, her latest exhibition at Matawhero Art Gallery — at the Matawhero Cellar Door — features a selection of larger scale oil paintings of Māhia and Wainui Beach as well as smaller prints and hinterglass works, where the painting is directly painted on to a glass plate and then viewed by turning the glass over.

This process originated in her native Germany, specifically in the little Bavarian town called Murnau where she was born. On a recent trip back to Germany, Veronika got talking to a hinterglass artist who encouraged her to try it for herself. The result is a number of small hinterglass works featuring scenes from Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

Hinterglass painting is intricate and complicated to do but Veronika loves the depth it brings and the vibrancy it gives to the colours.

She uses a varnish on the larger scale artworks once they are completed, as a way of protecting the paint. This means that if a painting gets dusty as it ages, the owner can always have it restored by a process that involves removing the varnish and having it reapplied.

“This will restore it to its original state,” she says — which is important to her, as she puts a lot of time and energy into each artwork and wants to ensure they remain in good condition for their owners.

Describing her style as moving more towards realism, she loves working in oil paint as it gives her more options for blending colours.

She exhibited at Tairāwhiti Museum in 2022 as part of the Gisborne Artists’ Society and also has work at the Aviary Collective in Gisborne. She is thrilled to be able to show her work at the new venue at Matawhero Winery.

“It is fantastic for us local artists to have the Matawhero Art Gallery to show our works. It is such a charming place.”

The exhibition runs until April 6; Thursday-Friday 12pm-3.30pm; Saturday and Sunday - 12pm-4pm.