Style: October 01, 2021

34 Style | Feature
“I’ve always thought you’ve got
to be a bit of a dreamer, visualising
what you want to happen, but I’ve
also learnt to give yourself up to the
possibility of it happening at a different
time, or not at all.”
Several years ago, a Dunedin publisher
approached Clare about producing a
book that showcases her life and work.
Eye of the Calm is autobiographical in
nature and packed full of Clare’s art.
“It was hard to put 45 years into
5000 words!” she exclaims. “It was the
opportunity to tell the story of our
journey. Max and I were married for 41
years – it wasn’t always easy with two
artists living in the same space, but we
shared a passion for life.”
Divided into sections to represent
the different stages of her life, Eye of the
Calm wraps her words and memories
around the images.
“I’ve had good feedback on my use
of words in exhibitions, and how this
helps take people to another place,”
she says.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
CALMNESS
Clare Reilly offers plenty of reassuring
existential observations as she speaks.
“The artist’s eye is always taking
in the visual world,” she says. “The
times I feel most serene, moving into
the sublime, is when I’m calm. It gives
me sustenance and energy when I’m
happy within my world.”
Originally due to be published in
2020, Covid-19 delayed Eye of the
Calm, much to her disappointment. “I
really wanted the book to come out
last year, after all that people had been
through. With the issue of mental
health coming to the fore, we need
to learn to live with the uncertainty of
what’s happening in the world.”
As hinted at in her book title, the
juxtaposition of tranquil meditation
with passionate action is an intriguing
elemental mix in Clare. She teaches
dance classes in the local community,
focusing on the sensations of joy and
pleasure in being present. It’s a useful
foil to the negativity of news stories,
she finds.
“Life is about finding balance. A
sense of wellbeing flows out into the
world from goodness, but it doesn’t
from terrible acts. We need to
remember that when we’re anxious
about the pandemic.”
The Delta variant may have put
the book’s launch back, but none of it
stops Clare from her painting, walking
or dancing. Remaining playful later in
life has been important to Clare.
“It’s exciting to have a huge
storehouse of ideas; it makes me
feel like a big kid. I want to live
my life with a sense of the same
wonderment that a toddler has. I
guess I do that by doing what I’m
passionate about – I get to play in my
studio every day!”
SCENES THAT RESONATE
“I’ve always painted exactly what I
want to, in my own world. So I’ve
never really understood how the
power of what I do uplifts others.
People relate to my work in a
positive way.”
For that reason, Clare is delighted
to partner with Live Wires, which
produces cards and calendars that
take her art into more people’s
homes, all over the world.
“Art’s a very personal thing, but
people tell me that the dreamlike
qualities of the New Zealand
landscapes I paint translate into
something more universal. I get
emails from people abroad – it
blows me away.”
Pre-orders for Eye of the Calm are
steadily coming in – including from
as far away as Idaho. It turns out the
American was learning about Clare’s
work in an art appreciation class there.
“I often get asked where someone
can go to see the view,” she laughs.
“Some of my work is strongly
geographical, whereas others are
more an interpretation. I don’t use
photos in creating my paintings – I
write and sketch and it all goes into
my dreamtime and I never know
when it will come back out!”
Clare tells stories in vignettes, in
keeping with her painting style. “I
hear of people saying they’ve just ‘had
a Clare Reilly moment’,” something
she experiences too.
“I redesigned my house to what I
could envision and now it’s like I’m
living in one of my own paintings,”
she chuckles, “complete with tūīs
swooping past.”
Clare Reilly’s exhibition, Calming the Wild Heart, runs October 30 – November 23 at Little River Gallery in Canterbury.
Clare Reilly: Eye of the Calm will be launched at the exhibition and can be ordered from exislepublishing.com.
ABOVE: After raising their family in Christchurch, Clare and Max fell in love with Doctors Point, just north of Dunedin.