Bullings Furniture

Donald Offwood, Clark Esplin and Ron Esplin
at the launch of the book
"ESPLIN - Tom and Edith's Creative Journey"

Artist’s Statement

I relate to the European scene because I spent my formative years in the northern hemisphere.

There is great appeal for me in the way the buildings with their old tiles and crumbling walls blend with the landscape. The compositions are full of visual variety and suit my tonalist style.

I am also interested in figure work and make many studies of people shopping and chatting on the streets, at markets or in cafes. There is a timelessness about these activities that attracts me.

My paintings reflect my love of life and observations made over many thousands of miles of travel in many countries.

The Art of Clark Esplin

Clark Esplin is a New Zealand artist with an international reputation, his paintings hang in prominent private and public collections both in New Zealand and overseas.

An international standing is entirely appropriate as Esplin’s subjects are as universal as is his reputation. While a New Zealander (Clark was born in Scotland but has been in New Zealand from the age of 12), his works reflect extensive travels through Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

Perhaps he is best known for his European studies. The streets, countryside, café and market scenes and people often depicted in his paintings capture a warmth, charm and sense of history that is essentially continental, yet are universal in appeal. Esplin says this is in part the result of changing attitudes and culture within New Zealand. “New Zealanders travel more, have access to information from other countries and have accepted cafes and street dining, so when people see my work they relate to it.

He also wants his paintings to be more than a ‘window on a wall’. While a paintning may be an opening to a glimpse of a scene a world away, it is the emotional reactions the artist considers most important. He wants the works to evoke warmth and a sense of history, for people to look at them and feel optimistic.

Esplin’s use of warm, earthy colours are a bold stimulus to decorating opportunities, allowing you to design a room décor around a painting or emphasise the artwork through the judicious use of furnishing and room colours.

Ivan Bulling Furniture is Invercargill’s only outlet for Clark Esplin’s work, and one of a selected number of galleries/outlets in the country.
We give you, at one venue, a unique opportunity to consider every aspect when planning a room – the art, décor and furnishings and how they all interrelate.

VIEW A SELECTION OF HIS WORK >