Raumati boatshed reborn as art studio

A disused Raumati Beach boatshed has been repurposed to form the base for local abstract painter, Tania Dally.

The Boatshed Studio is located just over the footbridge from the carpark at Marine Gardens near the Waterfront Bar. To mark the opening of the studio, Tania is holding an exhibition of her latest work on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 April from 10am to 4pm.

“Essentially, I paint New Zealand landscapes, but I’m not trying to reproduce the landscapes as they are,” says Tania. “To me it is not the shapes in the landscapes that are important, but the colours and textures. My paintings are made to be touched as well as seen!”

Tania has exhibited regularly at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts over the past 18 months and her current work can be viewed at www.taniadallyart.co.nz

“In the main I use acrylic paints, dyes, inks and varnish,” says Tania. “I have used ash, charcoal, sand, salt, coffee and bark in certain pieces.”

Chance, nature and drying times play a considerable part in the composition of Tania’s work. “For example, the heat of the sun or the chill from a good frost can affect the surface and the final effect achieved,” she says.

“I like that nature plays a role in creating the end-product. In some senses at this point, the processes run themselves and I become more of a facilitator of raw imagery.”

Check out Tania’s work for yourself on the weekend of 1 and 2 April at the Boatshed, across the footbridge at the Marine Gardens carpark, next to the Waterfront Bar.