'Early Start'

Oil painting on canvas by Grant McSherry. 1200 mm x 800 mm.

Original oil painting available for purchase NZ $9,500

The oil painting ‘Early Start’ germinated in April 2005. I had decided to add a couple of days to my Anzac weekend break for a brief excursion to Aoraki / Mount Cook National park in search of material for a new Mackenzie Country landscape oil painting.

Having arrived at Glentanner the previous day, my start on April 27th was early as it usually is on an image-finding mission. I got up while it was still dark, not feeling too guilty that the noisy group in the cabin next door, who kept me awake, might be hearing the car engine and roaring air conditioning as I defrosted the thick ice from the car’s windows with hot air and water.

The morning was awesome. Even in the dark, Aoraki was glowing white in the frosty starlight.

Having staked out a point to watch and photograph the sunrise over Aoraki / Mt Cook the previous day, I found my spot, set up the camera on its tripod and waited shivering, for dawn to break.

After I achieved my initial goal by getting some good photos at dawn, I was back in the car. At this point I felt it would be rude not to make the most of the fantastic early morning sky from my favourite road. It had been four years since I painted ‘Highway 80’ and I imagined a 2005 version would be fun. I enjoyed the project right from the start, scooting up and down a stretch of the empty road for a few kilometres in both directions searching for the right image to work with. The cloud that had gathered over the peak of Aoraki / Mt Cook at dawn was quickly multiplying and it was clear that within a short time the mountains would be shrouded, as they were for much of the previous day. Everything came together to give me what I wanted… my next statement about Highway 80, vastly different from the first.

I began painting ‘Early Start’ in May 2005 and completed the oil painting in September. Revisiting the original ‘Highway 80’ subject made the painting ‘new light through old windows’ for me.

‘Early Start’ depicts Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park from Highway 80. The oil painting focuses directly on Malte Brun and the Tasman Glacier beneath. To the left of Malte Brun is Mt Wakefield. Further to the left is the Mt Cook Range with the peak of Aoraki / Mt Cook towering above it. The mountains to the right of the painting include the Nuns Veil and Mt Blackburn.

Original painting 'Early Start': oil on linen
Original painting size:1200mm x 800mm. Available for purchase NZ$ 9,500.