Penny Otto

A blog by artist Penny Otto

The works below are all inspired by my watery surrounds; Tamaki Estuary and the Waitemata Harbour, which defeat the camera and challenge me!

“Low Tide” (above) pastel on paper.
Sketching in my local Tamaki estuary has its own special challenge with the  movement of the tides. Here the sand and mud is exposed in the late afternoon light.

“Swamp” (above) acrylic, mixed media. The cardboard collage, “Swamp” was made after attending a workshop taken by Marion Gordon-Flower. Once she had got the group into the bird sanctuary of Tahuna Torea she instructed, “Find a SPACE that you like.” For me this was a different take on anything I had done before. I found I was approaching drawing from a new angle which was how “Swamp” resulted.

“The Flowing Landscape”   (above) acrylic, mixed media, collage. At low tide on Glendowie Beach we can see fascinating lava rings from the Rangitoto eruption which happened six to seven hundred years ago. it is a reminder of how volcanos have shaped Auckland.

“Low Tide” acrylic, mixed media and collage. At St Heliers Beach there are sometimes kids floating paper boats. There is something about paper boats that never fails to fascinate me – they are easy and cheap to make and can be made to sail for as long as a child’s interest lasts!