A brush with time | Auckland Lifestyle News | Health, Fashion, Food and Wine in Auckland

A Howick artist is preserving history on canvas. Sharu Delilkan has a look over his shoulder.

Peter Hall's inspiration for his latest exhibition, When Time Stands Still: The Heritage Collection arose from a collapsing shed he saw on the road to Maraetai.

"It struck me as a gem because, often, structures that are that dilapidated usually get whisked away. That's when I started looking at old buildings."

Since deciding to fulfil his desire to record "historic" buildings, the Howick artist has averaged one painting a month and hopes to exhibit 15 at the show.

"Most of the paintings are of local Kiwi subjects, but I've decided to include one that I produced after visiting Marysville [Australia] two years ago," he says. "I feel so privileged to have seen it first-hand and managed to preserve it, especially since this historic village was destroyed in the Victoria bushfires last year."

Hall, formerly the head of textiles at Loughborough College of Art in the UK, says being a textile designer has kitted him out for the discipline of painting with a limited palette.

"When working with textiles you're restricted to 12-18 colours per design and, although I don't follow that strictly, it prevents me from using unnecessary colours."

Hall uses flat acrylics and gouache water-based paints and finishes his paintings with satin spray varnish to give the colours a deep, rich lustre.

In recording older buildings Hall says he's not in any way making a political statement. In fact, he says, the opposite is true.

"I use my artistic license to take out the ugly bits. All I'm interested in is preserving that little bit of heritage by painting them before they get swept away."

When Time Stands Still: The Heritage Collection, Monterey Art Gallery, 5 Cook St, Howick, Mar 4-25. Ph 532 9022 or see www.montereyartgallery.co.nz