New work ready for Open Studios

Pauline Allomes (right) and Simone Jacquat in Pauline’s Barrack St garden. Photo / Paul Brooks

Pauline Allomes and Simone Jacquat are preparing for Artists Open Studios. The painter and the sculptor have joined forces again this year to display their work in the house and garden of Pauline’s Barrack St cottage.

Simone is renowned for her beautiful sculptures in various types of stone and occasionally wood. She will be displaying her work in the back garden.

Pauline has made a name for herself with paintings of bush, intricate micrography and paintings that verge on the photographic in detail. This year she’s doing something very new in metals, mundane and precious. The metals are applied to a surface in a manner similar to painting and the effect is stunning. She uses gold, silver, copper, zinc and more, but the background has to be of a special type to receive the metal.

“It’s how the old masters used to work before they invented pencils,” says Pauline. “Either this or charcoal.”

Using this method you can’t make a mistake because you can’t erase.

She says you can probably use any metal.

“The interesting thing is that silver tarnishes. Over the years silver will change to brown. And if I use copper it will change to green. Part of the mystery is that if you buy one you will see it change colour over the years. Gold doesn’t change.”

Her other bush paintings remain a major part of her repertoire. Pauline’s work will be exhibited in the house.

Helping out this year will be members of Coast Care, who will be providing refreshments as a fundraiser. To help fill their coffers, Pauline has a painting that will go up for silent auction, the proceeds of which will go to Coast Care Whanganui.

She also has some work — beach inspired — that originally appeared in a Coast Care exhibition. Thirty per cent of the sale price of those paintings will also go to the organisation.

“We’re expecting to be busy this year,” says Pauline. There are 91 studios in “the guide” and Pauline and Simone are number 38, at 4 Barrack St.

“People aren’t afraid of Covid any more,” says Simone. “I think we’ll have more people than last year.”

Simone says Artists Open Studios has been good for her profile.

“When I moved here in 2016, nobody down here knew me. So then I participated in two Open Studios and that gave me a real boost.”

She displayed her work in her own garden, curious people arrived to have a look and loved her sculptures. Now, this exhibition partnership with Pauline is paying off.

“I think our work is working well together, speaking together, and people sense that.”

She says it becomes a mix of people, clients and tastes as people come to see Pauline’s paintings and discover Simone’s sculpture, and vice versa.

“It widens their view of what art is,” says Simone. “Art is huge; it’s endless.”

With Pauline’s work inside, Simone’s work outside, and Graham Pearson and the Coast Care team providing food and drink, 4 Barrack St is going to be busy this weekend and next.