Viewing Room
The Stuart Shepherd Gallery
After many years of collecting and curating artwork with a folk emphasis in New Zealand, Stuart is pleased to announce his new online gallery.
Recent Additions
Click on any image for a larger view, and to scroll through all images in the section.
Victorian hall painting
Great example of a Victorian hall or parlour painting, decorative rather than “serious”. Nevertheless, this is a beauty. These might be cactus flowers. I reckon Diego Rivera would have been happy with this. The painting has been cut down and re-stretched crudely to fit the frame … so the right side of the painting has been shaved off. I found this painting in a junk shop in Wellington, or was it Christchurch, in the 70s. Oil on Canvas, circa 1920. – Unknown
Victorian Hall painting detail
Great colours; the smokey pink/ green background is smart, and the brush work is confident … and with the composition, and the pathos of the lone petal falling at the bottom, this is a winner. – Unknown
Oil on hardboard
Painting and frame are in rough condition. They could both be from the 40s. I got this from a dealer at the West 26 St flea market in NY in the 80s. I always admired the composition of this tough little painting, and the muscular paint strokes, as if the brush was held in a fist, and the odd viewpoint – from on top of a barge on a load of logs, being towed out to sea. It’s just an oil sketch but I reckon the artist had some skill and maybe some training. Oil on hardboard, 300x50mm. – Unknown
How to Paint practice
This was one of my practice pieces following guidance from the famous Hal Foster How to Paint… books from the 60s. Oil on canvas board, 45x35cms. – Stuart Shepherd, 1980.
Rendezvous
Excellent paint-by-numbers example. Warhol was a fan of paint-by-numbers art. The package of pop culture, concept and commerce is perfect for Andy. This anonymous piece was framed in Wellington, probably in the 60s. I enjoy this scene with the gendarme inspecting the street stall selling minimalist artwork. – Unknown
Rendezvous detail
Great colours carefully applied thick, and finished with light varnish. Who wouldn’t want to meet at the Rendezvous across the dappled street?
Eliot and the stingray
Watercolour on paper 210 x 300mm. Study for a painting. A rendition of an actual event on the occasion of an alcohol-fueled night fishing expedition in Raglan. – Stuart Shepherd, 2018 .
Rock Island, Illinois
This was painted at Desoto studio in Rock Island, Illinois in 2019. It depicts the street person I had encountered in Chicago. He had a dog and a beer, under a bright light. I put in an owl instead of the dog. The owl was living near where I was staying in Rock Island. Oil on canvas. 400 mmx520mm. – Stuart Shepherd, 2019
Golf Figurine
Origins unknown, I reckon this stylish, classy, modernist golf figure is from Germany, maybe Switzerland (because of the stylish figurines produced there pre- and post-WW2.)
Golf Figurine detail
The material is heavy, like cast resin with stone aggregate, the metal details are cast aluminium, and glossy pants are hand-finished. Figurine, 300x150x150mm.
Mexican Pulp Comic, noir
Illustration for Mexican pulp comic. I like the way the lilac shadowy highlight touches lips, nails and death mask in the camera lens. Artist unknown, circa 1970. Gouache on card. 210x320cm. Signed RD.
Mexican Pulp Comic, shock
Illustration for Mexican pulp comic. Masterful handling of paint with fine brushes and some airbrush. Signed RAD (this would be a professionals hack tag rather than a real signature). Artist Unknown. 210x320cm. Original gouache on card, circa 1970.
Greek Myths
I was playing with the figurative tradition, and the convention of translating 3D to 2D. Something about the images generated by greek myths seemed to interest me back then. Oil on canvas on hardboard. 120x80cm. Dunedin 1989.
Stylised Heroic Figures
I painted a series of stylized heroic figures back in 1989 in Dunedin when I seemed to have some certainty about the act of painting. Oil on canvas on hardboard, 1984. 1.2m x 80cms.
Papier mache bird
A great , wacky/ elegant 3D piece by Wellington artist Reece Tong. Papier mache bird , 55x30x20cms Circa 1999.
Retro wall piece
Waxed Plaster wall piece from 1982. This was part of a series of wall pieces , shown in lower east – side NY / retro / furniture shops. 40x14cm.
Sketches, Stuart Shepherd, 2010
Graphite on paper 30x42cm. 2010
Life Drawing 2023
Life drawing 2023. 5-10 minute pose. Looking at the gesture of the figure, tonal treatment of 2-D space, fingers and toes. A3 size, graphite on paper.
Sketches, Stuart Shepherd
Graphite on paper 30x42cm. 2010
Sketches, Stuart Shepherd
Paddle-board dude and grey heron, Raglan harbour. Graphite and acrylic sketch on paper 40x30cm. 2021
The Christmas Scene, 2019
Part of a series of drawings produced at Desoto studio, Illinois. I was imagining religious scenes as theatrical tableau featuring hippies and movie stars. Graphite on paper 60x45cm.
Medicine Men
Combining a muddy green, the inspirational TV show “big mouth” and the threat of global disease. Acrylic on paper 75x60cm. 2020
Calf Day at Puketaha Primary
A from-memory painting. The teacher with the clipboard and the green tartan dress is Mrs Soames. Acrylic on paper 2022.
The Red Tie
A composition featuring a guy in a suit, a girl with an eel, a surfboard, stylized hands and googly eyes … Raglan. Acrylic on paper 2022
Poppie and Poppin Fresh A, front
Poppie and Poppin Fresh. Collectable Mascots for the Pillsbury company circa 1965. In the animated versions … push their tummies and they giggle.
Poppie and Poppin Fresh B, rear
Poppie and Poppin Fresh. Collectable Mascots for the Pillsbury company circa 1965. In the animated versions … push their tummies and they giggle.
Poppie and Poppin Fresh B, front
Poppie and Poppin Fresh. Collectable Mascots for the Pillsbury company circa 1965. In the animated versions … push their tummies and they giggle.
Poppie and Poppin Fresh B, rear
Poppie and Poppin Fresh. Collectable Mascots for the Pillsbury company circa 1965. In the animated versions … push their tummies and they giggle.
Oil Painting on Linen
A deceptively clever small oil painting on linen. I enjoy the play of geometry in the composition: like the pair of flat rectangles (one blue and one black, on and beside the building on the right) very fine brush work, and finishing with super fine brush or pen. A sophisticated painting masquerading as naive. Probably by a neglected Euro master, probably worth a fortune. I can’t read the cavalier signature. 270mm x 220 mm. The stretcher is old wood, circa 1930. Other origins unknown.
Painting on Linen detail
Probably by a neglected Euro master, probably worth a fortune. I can’t read the cavalier signature. But then it might also have just come from a community art class in Te Kuiti in 1963.
Retro / Cafe Art series
I was living in a summer rental on Long Island. I made a bunch of stylized paintings, aged the backs, back-dated them to ‘54 and framed them in old frames. I sold them out of bars and cafes in lower Manhattan. This crab/ seagull scene is from Long Island, and is one of the better works from that series. Oil on canvas 1990. 320x400mm
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Retro / Cafe Art series
I was living in a summer rental on Long Island. I made a bunch of stylized paintings, aged the backs, back-dated them to 1954 and framed them in old frames. I sold them out of bars and cafes in lower Manhattan. This crab/ seagull scene is from long Island, and is one of the better works from that series.
Oil on canvas 1990 . 320 x 400 mm
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