Peter Ishu Lawless
Peter draws inspiration from nature based on a long career of caring for the environment of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Trained as a freshwater ecologist, a role as the freshwater lead for the Commission for the Environment led to a career that included managing national parks and wildlife to leading conservation strategy for the whole country.
Realising that human dynamics were the issue for the planet, he trained as a facilitator and for twenty years worked to resolve conflict between people and their containing environment. For Aotearoa this involved making a deep connection with Te Ao Maori, the worldview of the indigenous people who are kaitiaki (guardians) of te Taiao (the natural world).
A lifelong passion for art drew Peter into painting through his Zen Buddhist practice. The Mountains and Rivers Order emphasises eight gates of training, and one of those is art practice.
Encouraged by his teachers, he decided to dedicate his life to expressing the world through painting. Loving colour he moved from watercolour to ink, from the intensity of acrylic ink to the greater drama of alcohol ink.
are in watercolour, acrylic ink and alcohol ink on synthetic paper or alcohol ink on glass.
Every painting is an exploration and a learning experience. The journey is play, rather than a search for perfection.
Peter draws on the iconography of Polynesia.In his upcycled art, he takes old objects and turns them into new art.
Peter’s paintings are in watercolour, acrylic ink and alcohol ink on synthetic paper or alcohol ink on glass.
The paintings seek to balance spontaneity and control and express the seen and the unseen. With a science background as a zoologist and ecologist, he particularly works to express the experience of the subject in its environment. This includes the person, the animal and the insentient. Subjects are drawn from the surrounding environment. The image below reflects his travels in Turkey, USA and his home in Aotearoa. The juvenile bush robin became the cover piece for the cover of the Tasman Biodiversity Strategy.
Peter draws on the iconography of Polynesia while avoiding appropriating images and patterns from the indigenous cultures. He reflects the impact of their world view on himself through his images.
All paintings except upcycled art are professionally framed to archival standards at the Art Box, Tasman. The inks should be treated as watercolour and should not be hung in direct sunlight, despite the UV protective glass used in every framing
Upcycled art takes old objects and turns them into new art. Peter does this with old pictures from the recycling centre. The one below was on loan to the Nelson recycling centre and will be used with the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum in teaching people how to re-purpose old art.
Upcycled art