The Colour of Resilience
Born in Southampton, UK, Pauline Watts has traversed a path as vibrant and varied as her canvases. A graduate of the Bath Academy of Art (1965–1969), Pauline’s creative journey took a detour through the worlds of mental health and general nursing – a career driven by necessity and the demands of raising a family. Yet the “need to paint” remained a constant pulse. From early commissions of polo ponies and faithful copies of Alfred Munnings to her eventual retirement in 2009, art was the quiet engine of her life, waiting for its moment to take centre stage.
A New Zealand Renaissance
Since emigrating to New Zealand in 2014, Pauline has experienced a creative flowering in Golden Bay. Moving from spare bedrooms to a purpose-built studio, her work has gained rapid national acclaim. She was awarded the 2D Prize at Bay Art shortly after her arrival, followed by the Supreme Award, and most recently, the Supreme Award at the Tasman National Art Awards in Mapua. These accolades serve as a powerful affirmation for an artist who, for decades, viewed her talent as “just something I’ve always done.”
Style and Philosophy: The Impressionist Pulse
Self-described as an “impressionist junkie,” Pauline’s work is a dialogue with nature’s “surprising things.” Driven by the changing seasons and a love for interesting colour, she explores the landscape with a gaze influenced by the bold palettes of Kandinsky and the rhythmic tree studies of David Hockney.
Her process is physical and fast-paced. Preferring acrylics for their immediacy, she often begins with a black gesso base to achieve an intense depth of colour, allowing the dark undertones to peek through the vibrant layers. Whether she is capturing the architectural skeleton of a tree or a wide-reaching landscape, her work is about “looking and seeing” – often using her iPad to “grab” a fleeting moment of light before translating it to the canvas.
Overcoming the Elements
Pauline’s art is a testament to survival. Having navigated a major life transition following a divorce and later battling breast cancer and spinal osteoporosis, she has adapted her practice to her physical reality. While she can no longer haul a trolley into the countryside for plein air sessions, her studio serves as a sanctuary where she works from a “comfy adjustable chair,” turning personal obstacles into a focused, honest creative energy.
Community and Connection
A member of the Nelson Suter Art Society and a key figure in the Golden Bay Arts Trail, Pauline finds strength in the collective. As part of a local group of women artists, she has found an antidote to the isolation of the studio, fostering a space where ideas – and upcoming experiments with collage and pencil drawing – can flourish.
For Pauline Watts, painting is no longer just a necessity; it is a race against time and a celebration of being alive. She continues to “quietly roll along,” producing works that invite the viewer to see the world with the same awe that she is finally beginning to recognise in her own hand.
See more about Pauline here: Paulinewatts.carbonmade.com
