Lazy Days - Painting the Kiwi Lifestyle

In this collection of vibrant, evocative paintings, Graham Young has set out to capture the essence of the quintessential Kiwi lifestyle – not the sugar-coated views that sometime exist in tourist brochures and coffee table books, but rather the familiar but often overlooked scenes and places that call to mind the relaxed, laid-back nature of the Kiwi attitude to life.     Intrigued by signposts of the past, Young enjoys exploring the architectural heritage of both town and country, capturing memorabilia that is fast being swept away by progress – the tumbledown shed, the line of ancient caravans, and an old Land Rover put out to grass. His deep affection for the traditional coastal bach, boatsheds, country barns, corner dairies and old villas is also plain to see in these distinctive paintings, which are grouped together to reflect place and scene: beach and coast, town and country.     Young’s style is often referred to as realism. “Although I am not really hung-up about terms and labels,” he says, “I do think it is important to see the artist’s hand in a painting, rather than create a perfect reflection.”     His work has been the subject of a number of popular calendars and greeting cards, but this is the first time it has been collected together in a book.  About the author

Graham Young has built up a reputation for his realistic works of contemporary New Zealand life, with regular exhibitions and publications of prints, greeting cards and calendars. Born in England, he trained as a photo-lithographer and ran his own design and prepress studio in New Zealand, before returning to his first love of oil painting. He has exhibited widely in this country, Australia and the UK, and he works on numerous private commissions. In 2013 two paintings Graham was asked to produce, one of two America’s Cup yachts and another of Murray Halberg and Peter Snell winning Olympic gold in Rome in 1960, were auctioned at prestigious events, collectively raising over $30,000 for charity. New Holland - $29.99