Ewan McDougall will give a floor talk in conjunction with his current exhibition, Freed Up in Lockdown, at Gore's Eastern Southland Gallery

The talk, next Saturday, 3 September, at 4.30pm, is an opportunity to meet the artist and hear him speak about the painting process and inspiration behind the works.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Born in Wellington, Ewan McDougall later moved with his family to Oamaru where he was educated at Waitaki Boys High School and taught art by Colin Wheeler. He attended Otago University while also working in freezing works and drumming in rock bands.

After gaining an Honours Degree in Political Studies in 1971, he worked at Otago University as an academic before travelling widely, before becoming a full-time painter in 1988.

When the first Covid-19 lockdown arrived in March 2020, Ewan and his wife Sarah were content as they had ample time to devote to their mahi; Sarah to write and Ewan to paint. Their home, located in beautiful Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsular, became even more tranquil and energetic, he says.

All of the works in Freed Up In Lockdown were completed during and after lockdown, although not all are specifically related to Covid-19.

The paintings are a distillation of his intense period of creativity, when the oil paint flew liberally onto the canvas every day. True to his style, the paintings are vibrant and witty.

Ewan painting Love in the Time of Covid [after Marquez]

"I am an expressionist painter. I rarely plan a painting or do preparatory drawing. I commence the work with a quick wash of strong, primary colour and then begin to hurriedly paint figures-people, animals and hybrid creatures.

"I add crude marks for volcanoes, hills, sea, buildings, boats, clouds, sun and moon, working with vibrant impasto.

"The painting forms and informs me as to what it is. The last stroke is always the title. Above all I prize spontaneity, colour and a good dose of irony. I love being a painter."

The exhibition runs to 18 September, 2022.

Home, Home and Deranged, 2020, oil on canvas