Tony Ogle talks about his new print "Matapouri Window"

Tony Ogle

Tony Ogle doesn't produce a lot of prints.  Sure, viewed as a single collection created over several decades he has amassed an impressive body of artwork but it has actually been a six month wait for a new print since his last edition (Time Out Tongaporutu) arrived in stock right at the end of 2011. In Tony's latest print "Matapouri Window" shown here the artist returns to his geographical roots. Many years ago Ogle, together with fellow printmaker Tom Burnett, established a screenprinting workshop at Matapouri Bay, a charming sandy beach 40 minutes from Whangarei and 5 minutes from the fishing mecca of Tutukaka.

Compositionally the print uses the device of a window to create a view within a view. Tony says it's an idea with a venerable tradition in art history, "It works well to create depth and gives the impression of a picture within a picture. (a frame within a frame)" and he says "people love 'views'". Matapouri Window is a deliciously colourful print, an exhuberant celebration of screenprinting technique that lines up multiple colours perfectly. There are actually a total of 17 separate solid colours and 2 grey glazes used to make this print. It transports the viewer to Northland, to a time of year and day and to a state of mind. As we say in our catalogue listing, it is "the quintessential Tony Ogle print".

"Matapouri Window" new 19 colour handmade print by Tony Ogle

Tony Ogle has been working as a printmaker for a long time but when we asked him how long it took to print with the complexity of "Matapouri Window" he told us that he spent "6 days working on separations off the original. 1 day preparing the screens, 2 and a half days mixing colours. I averaged 3 colours printed on the 200 sheets so approx. 7 days of printing." As a comparison Dame Robin White when she was asked about her early printmaking experiences in our May interview, she said "I started in the beginning of March and worked on [the print] full-time and finished it about the first week of April, so it took me well over a month - working every day, eight hours a day or sometimes more". Printmaking by hand is definitely hard work being technically demanding and time-consuming.

"What about the complexity of the image?" NZ Art Print News asked Tony "Did you have a higher number of A/Ps (Artist Proofs) than normal to get the registration right on all those stripes?". Ogle told us he had "Only 3 complete rejects plus a small number that can be successfully hand retouched. Successful registration relies on a number of factors - accurate separations firstly, lining up registration marks on screens and care placing paper into registration tabs on the table."

And lastly we asked Tony about overglaze that he has used for the first time to accent the shadows and add further depth to the print. He told us that "Glaze consists mainly of clear acrylic solution - so it is very watery compared to creamy paint. A small amount of black was mixed in to give the shadow effect whilst allowing the colours to still show through." We had heard that the glaze had been a bit tricky to apply. Tony said ruefully that "Any hair or chip of paint lying on the surface of the print will be highlighted  by a glaze not overprinted like other colours so keeping things clean is important. Also you need to give the prints time to dry properly otherwise the glaze will stick to the paper when stacked up."

This new print is already selling steadily despite being listed for sale for just a few days so far. If you collect the work of Tony Ogle "Matapouri Window" is highly recommended as it is large, technically complex and extremely attractive - you can buy this print online here or call NZ Fine Prints on 0800 800 278.

Latest Tony Ogle Prints

Tony Ogle has released a new print, a large work of art called "Indicators - Raglan".  This is one of Ogle's surfing series of prints - the surf break at Raglan is world famous and is the first point of three, hence for surfers down the line looking up at the first point they can see the 'Indication" of larger waves coming which gave this print its name - 'Indicators". 

We asked Tony if his latest print (pictured above) was a conscious departure from his previous art.  He told us that "yes it is somewhat of a departure in style although I have been painting in a similar way using a very textured surface (hessian/jute) and painting highlights out of a black background to complete the work. So this print borrows from that technique - the subject was worked up larger in white on black painted jute to emphasize the texture and gritty feel which pertains to the wild beauty of the West Coast."  We then asked Ogle about the brooding, darker style of "Indicators - Raglan" and how he acheived this effect. Tony told us "When the black on white image was completed I had filmwork done and then proceeded to underlay the colour resulting in the finished print work. I have consciously  tried to capture the moody brooding aspect of the West Coast."

As an aside - Tony has also reviewed the prices for buyers of his prints back in early October.  Because of this we are going to be updating all the prices for Tony Ogle's prints, at the moment all of Tony's artworks are still for sale at the old price.

Artist Tony Ogle returns to Matapouri Bay with new print

Tony Ogle (1959- ) is almost certainly New Zealand's favourite contemporary printmaker.  This morning I am delighted to announce the release of Tony's latest print - a superb edition that is in my view quite simply the quintessential Tony Ogle print.  It's an original handmade screenprint titled "Midday Matapouri" - a sun drenched image of a bach and caravan overlooking this beautiful sandy Northland beach.  In this print Tony is returning to the roots of his artistic practice - just after completing his Graphic Design Diploma at Auckland Institute of Technology Ogle and fellow print-maker Tom Burnett established one of New Zealand's earliest fine art screenprinting workshops in Matapouri Bay.

With well over two decades of printmaking experience Tony Ogle's prints are extremely confident and fluid in their depiction of what Tony sees as the very essence of the New Zealand landscape. There's a great quote from Tony on his page in our catalogue "Screen-printing allows me to express my love of the New Zealand landscape and ocean environment with strong colours in a direct and graphic manner".

Technical Information: Matapouri Bay is a handmade original screenprint. Edition of 180 printed, signed and numbered by Tony Ogle. Image size 400 x 260 millimetres.

Tony Ogle Print of Matheson's Bay

We have just listed another great new Tony Ogle print this morning. It is of a homestead overlooking Matheson's Bay - a popular holiday spot just north of Auckland.