The show showcasing David Elliot’s new line of work opened at the gallery last weekend and runs until the June 21.
An award-winning illustrator and writer for children, Elliot mixes mediums with canvases, and history with mythology, and displays a unique insight into the artistic process.
The illustrations play on the theme of “wind and waves” , drawing from old witches’ tales of weaving the wind into rope to create sculptures or as Elliot puts it, 3-D illustration, and also playing on Port Chalmers where he is based.
Elliot said the idea came into his head after a sailing trip up north had the crew battling 10m swells and he found himself enthralled by the power and mystery of the sea.
The project also developed when he created a piece to raise funds to save a Port Chalmers business, where he drew the famous lost band rotunda on the back of a flying whale, and he drew on the theme of human civilisation for two other pieces.
An insight into Elliot’s creative process can also be seen as he has put up some drawings detailing his drawings from the first conception on the page to the final pieces seen around the exhibit.
Elliot said he often did not know what the page would end up looking like but enjoyed the creative process, often finding more satisfaction in the art revealing itself than in the finished product.
Once the exhibition closes the artist hopes the pieces will be provided to a local library, calling it the natural endpoint for the art.
