Talented impressionist painter dies

INFLUENTIAL ARTIST: Gaston De Vel in his Orewa studio.

Long-time Orewa resident Gaston De Vel, a man who sought refuge in New Zealand for his family and made a huge contribution to the country's artistic wealth, died after a short illness on Sunday.

His funeral is today.

Gaston's art training was at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where one of his most influential tutors was Alfred Bastien, a friend of Claude Monet and John Singer Sargent.

It is believed he was one of the last painters to have been taught in the classical and impressionist style by a tutor who was directly involved with some of the leading artists of that movement.

I first became aware of Gaston's work at an exhibition in McGregor Wrights gallery in Wellington in the mid-1970s. His impressionist style of painting was equal to the best I had seen in a recent trip to the great galleries of Europe, and I bought my first art acquisition – a small painting – from that exhibition.

A few years later I was invited to an exhibition of his works in Lower Hutt on a Sunday afternoon at the Lewis Paape gallery, and on arrival was amazed to see a queue around the block waiting for the doors to open. I had never seen that any where before, and when the doors opened about two-thirds of the works sold in half an hour. Here was an artist with a following.

When he arrived in New Zealand from Europe and Africa in 1961, local artists hardly ever painted outdoors directly from nature, but worked from photos and sketches. The choice of materials was limited and he had to import his own Belgian linen canvas to get a quality surface on which to paint.

After he established himself as a professional painter in New Zealand, Gaston began painting in the impressionist style and has interpreted lively scenes of sun-drenched courtyards, fishing ports and geranium-filled cafes, all affording New Zealanders a welcome glimpse of exotic locations. After only seven years here, he was awarded New Zealand's premier art award, the Kelliher Art Prize in 1968.

He enjoyed plein-air painting and tried to travel for a period each year, looking at colourful subjects in many corners of this country and around the world, before returning to his Orewa home.

He was proficient in both oils and watercolour painting mediums, building a large and loyal following of his bright, colourful works, doing nearly 5000 paintings in his career.

When I decided to paint for pleasure rather than as a job in my role as a designer, I turned to Gaston and enrolled in one of his weekend workshops in Orewa. My first attempt at oil painting was an experience – he entertainingly transferred the teaching directly from those impressionists he learned from in his early days to us lucky pupils attending the course.

When recently asked how he would like to be remembered he replied: "I would like to think I have contributed something to this part of the world. I hope so because when I first came it was such an artistically desolate place."

Gaston has done more than that. He only saw colour and beauty in the world, and through his talent and skills, allowed us all to share that view through his paintings.

Denis Robinson is the author of six books on current New Zealand artists. He is an art consultant in Orewa.

- © Fairfax NZ News