The faces of Otago are revealed in a larger-than-life exhibition opening in Queenstown this weekend. Nigel Benson meets Deidre Copeland.
Cromwell artist Deidre Copeland loves men. And the older the better.
"I have got a thing about men. I just love the landscape qualities in men's faces - the way they reflect the life they've lived; like a map or a puzzle," she says.
"I especially love older people. They have so many hidden stories in their faces. They've been and done so much and they have such a lot to give the world.
"To me, they are precious pieces of our history. Gently powerful and wise in ways we haven't even learnt about yet."
There was a time Copeland would actively hunt interesting-looking men; even haunting Central Otago pubs and cafes in pursuit of her prey.
"I'd ask around for a great subject; someone notorious, or with character," she says.
"I always seem to paint men, although I'm about to embark on a series of women. Men have wonderful character in their faces and, to be honest, they're easier to find. A lot of women aren't too keen to see themselves blown up, with every little wrinkle and blemish showing.
"I've also found that women don't age the same as men. Their faces often don't have that lovely landscape quality of the hills and the valleys; it's the landscape of the face. I can see reflections of the Central Otago landscape in their faces.
"There's something special about the Central Otago light. It's startling and crystal clear and it heightens the landscape. It turns its characters into similar landscapes."
Copeland unveils her most ambitious project to date this weekend, when her latest exhibition, "Face Forward", opens at Queenstown Airport.
"I made a list of people I really wanted to paint. I started off doing men who had had a positive effect on Central. Inspirational characters who have made New Zealand a brighter place to live," she says.
"I usually paint local characters, but I really wanted a big challenge for something like this and it grew to include a few other people - but they all have an affinity with Central. I wanted to capture a real likeness for these 11 guys.
"I have a great deal of respect for these people, who have contributed a lot to making New Zealand a better and more interesting place."
"Face Forward" features a series of 11 large-scale portraits of South Islanders, including philanthropist Sir Eion Edgar, writer Owen Marshall, cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee, equestrian Mark Todd, Queenstown Mayor Clive Geddes, Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, bejewelled golfer Michael Hill, bungy pioneer A. J. Hackett, mountaineer Guy Cotter, winemaker Alan Brady and entertainer Gary McCormick.
"Usually, I have a bit of artistic licence. I don't always paint what's in front of me. I rearrange what is real and build my own interpretation."
Her large-scale canvases measure up to 1m by 1.4m and can take a month to complete.
"I love the impact of the size. Again, it has a real landscape quality.
"A lot of these characters really are larger than life. Their wonderful faces tell the story of who they are; describe the lives they've lived. I also try to incorporate hands because they're an expression of character as well.
"There are little messages and interesting stories woven into details on the canvas. In some portraits they are theatrical and others more restful. Each one is a tribute to that person.
"I strive to make my next painting better than the last," she says.
"I know I have done a good one when I kind of fall in love it with it and can't stop looking at it."
Copeland (37) grew up on the family sheep farm in Dipton and has been living in Cromwell for the past five years.
After completing a fine arts degree in printmaking and photography at Otago Polytechnic School of Art, she gained a diploma in teaching from Dunedin and worked as an art and photography teacher in New Zealand for three years.
Copeland then spent seven years travelling the world as an illustrator, teacher, photographer and painter, exhibiting in London and Tokyo.
She returned to New Zealand three years ago and settled in an early-1900s villa in Cromwell with her builder partner, Jase, and their two children, Willie (2) and Charlie-Jean (4 weeks).
"I started the exhibition when I became pregnant and finished it just before I had the baby, four weeks ago. I don't know whether it helped me or not, but it certainly made me more motivated."
And Copeland is nothing if not motivated. Just before Christmas, on a flight from Queenstown to Tauranga, she scaled new heights.
"We were on our way to see family at Mount Maunganui. It was a leap year, when women can propose to men, and I'd been trying to find a novel way to do it. So I scribbled a note on a piece of toilet paper and had it passed to the captain.
"It said: 'Deidre has an urgent question for you, Jase. Will you marry her?'"
The captain read it over the intercom and Jase got so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything. So I got down on one knee and proposed.
Then Jase said 'yes' and the whole plane clapped."
The show
"Face Forward" opens at 6.30pm tomorrow at Queenstown Airport and runs until October 25.
