Troy Packer

I grew up in the Bay of Islands and have always had an interest in visual art, everything from traditional art, photography, film and animation. I started as so many do with a pencil and paper and as time went on, progressed to other media, painting, printing and further on to photography and then to computer illustration and 3d animation, which I have had the good fortune of doing from home. This gives me the chance to spend more time with my kids as well as painting.

I am for the most part a self taught artist with 3d animation the only discipline I have studied for. I have won awards for my work throughout the years, most notably a national secondary schools art competition (1992), The Contrasts of the North landscape photography competition (2003), and most recently the winner of the Yellow Art Awards for the Northland region (2010 Edition).

 I have had one group exhibition which was a success having sold 20 paintings in the few months we were there. I work with Acrylic paint on canvas. The quick drying characteristic of acrylics suits my style which is impressionistic in nature. I like to work quickly and with a loose style of brush work, leaving the tighter brushwork for the finishing flourishes. I prefer to paint local scenes at the golden hours of the day when the sun is lower in the sky. This gives a more dynamic image, longer shadows, a better play of colours and colour temperatures and more depth in aerial perspective. When I paint a scene I want to capture the feeling of that place. I want everyone who views my artwork to feel a connection to it.