The rural has always been important to Stephen – up to the age of seven he lived in semi-rural Carterton, surrounded by animals, including his family’s own milking cow. A creed of Stephen’s, underlining his practice, is to paint things around him – things he’s familiar with. So, 30 years ago, when he moved from Central Auckland, to a two-acre section in Martinborough, with a couple of cows, chooks and ducks, rural scenes started to populate his canvases.

A lot of Stephen’s earlier work featured people, and he has continued to paint portraits, but a growing interest in the ideas behind vanitas paintings – with symbolism being a way to express aspects of the human condition, led to an increased focus on still life. This is also when animals became a key subject for his work, early examples featuring ‘Lamb of God’ imagery, a relic of a Catholic upbringing.

His own cows have featured in several paintings. Stephen found in them both a strength and a vulnerability – they rely on us, but retain an independence, too. For him, these paintings were portraits, mirroring human traits.

Over the years, however, sheep are the animals which Stephen has returned to the most. Firstly, this is because, as Stephen puts it, they are part of his everyday – he lives with sheep next door, and they are perhaps the key signifier of rural life in New Zealand. But also, crucially, he loves to paint them. He mentions that not only do their distinctive faces and the wool suit his mark-making, but it’s great to see how the sheep owners enjoy seeing their animals in paint – they always recognise them.

A big part of Atmosphere, are the cloudscapes which feature prominently in each work. For Stephen, having these feature so heavily in these works was a no-brainer considering where he lives. He mentions he’s always been interested in weather and clouds, and the dynamic, expansive views he has in the Wairarapa means there’s always something interesting somewhere. The changing sky is also a metaphor for change in our lives – the dying sunset, a day is like a life for clouds.

Alex Thornton