Stroke survivor follows art passion

Since having a stroke 13 years ago, Wanganui East man Ewen Stratford has been developing his painting skills and is selling more and more.

His exhibition at the Community Arts Centre opened on Friday and finishes Sunday. The watercolour paintings and pastel drawings are portraits of people and animals, especially horses, historic and farming scenes.

Before his stroke Mr Stratford was an agricultural contractor, living at Waitotara. His life was cutting and baling hay, cutting hedges and pruning roots with large machines. He had a staff of four that covered a wide region.

The stroke affected movement on his right side, including his dominant hand. But Mr Stratford did karate in his 20s and said that helped him quickly adjust to using his left hand. He had also always enjoyed art and had been drawing for years.

About 10 years ago he did some Community Education Service (CES) classes in watercolour and pastel and his work has taken off. Looking at the paintings in the show, it is evident that his marks on paper have become surer and more fluid.

He has had little formal training, but said he was subject to new influences.

When a friend bought one of his paintings, he realised they had the potential to make a small income. He has now sold more than 100 paintings and has had work commissioned for the Splash Centre.

He works in a room at his Wanganui East house, for about 12 hours a week, while listening to soul, blues and R&B; music.

His favourite subjects are all outdoors - with historic scenes based on old photographs and calendar pictures. The individual works can take him anywhere from a few hours to weeks or years to finish.

This show is his second at the Community Arts Centre, and it includes wood and metal sculptures by his cousin, Stephen Hooper, a third-generation farmer at Kohi, near Waverley.

As well as the ongoing exhibition, Mr Stratford is gearing up to open his studio to the public next month, on March 17-18 and 24-25.