Finalist in the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize
 
“Queenstown Alps” – inspired by the treasures in the South Island of New Zealand.
Measures 630mm wide x 480 height mm.  Framed by Lewis Paape Framing.
Canvas :     Sustainable canvas 340gsm.
Paint:           Winsor & Newton Professional oil paint, AA rated.
 
Over six layers to achieve the colour and depth in this painting. 
 
Narrative:
High above Queenstown, where the air sharpens and the land lifts into rugged silence, the alpine world reveals  beauty and fragility. This painting reflects that tension—vast, forms shaped by time, weather, and ice, standing as quiet witnesses to change.
 
At home in these high places is the remarkable Kea—the world’s only alpine parrot, known for its intelligence, curiosity, and resilience. Once widespread across Aotearoa, kea were gradually pushed into the harsher alpine regions through habitat loss and human pressure. For many years they were misunderstood and persecuted, their playful nature mistaken for nuisance. Today, they remain nationally endangered, facing ongoing threats from introduced predators and environmental change. Yet, there is hope: through conservation efforts and growing awareness, kea populations are slowly being protected, their presence in the mountains a symbol of both survival and the importance of coexistence.
 
The glaciers that shape this region have long carved the dramatic valleys surrounding Queenstown. Though the town itself sits just beyond the largest ice fields, nearby formations within the Southern Alps speak to a powerful glacial legacy.
 
These ancient rivers of ice are now retreating at an accelerating pace, softened by a warming climate. Their slow disappearance is a quiet but profound reminder of the changing world, echoed in the shifting light and tones of the alpine landscape. “Queenstown Alps” invites a moment of reflection—on resilience, on loss, and on the enduring beauty of a place where sky, stone, and story meet.
 
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