Neil Driver
Apricots & Billy
Acrylic on Board
690 x 630 mm
$11,500
Available
Neil Driver’s deeply evocative ‘Apricots & Billy’. The old blue billy, time-worn and rusted at its seams, has clearly lived a life; a heightened sense of history rendered through Driver’s tactile and exquisite attention to detail. Against the muted tones of the shelf and ground, Driver places two apricots grown in his own Central Otago garden, their sun-warmed golds and blush oranges radiant against the cool blue, weathered enamel beside them.
The chromatic tension between the two is arresting. This is a painting about contrast, about the beauty of what has aged and what has just ripened, placed together as if by chance and yet composed with absolute intention.
Artist Bio
Born and raised in Dunedin, Neil Driver moved to Central Otago in 1975. It is from this land that he derives his inspiration, with its magical light and breathtaking landscapes.
Driver is a painter of light. From landscape to still life, his work evokes serenity, calmness and effortless grace. Painting in a mixture of traditional and contemporary styles that is uniquely his own, Driver often depicts details that are generally overlooked by the human eye. This gifted artist brings life and beauty to the simplest objects, such as a shirt hanging on a chair, a tablecloth or bowl of fruit.