'Glendhu Bay'

Oil painting on canvas by Grant McSherry. 1200 mm x 800 mm.

Lake Wanaka is New Zealand’s fourth largest Lake, covering an area of 181 sq kms. This oil painting of Lake Wanaka from Glendhu Bay, (off Mt Aspiring Rd) features The Buchanan Peaks and Mt Aspiring / Tititea. Mt Aspiring is in the distance (to the left).

Left: The original, 'Glendhu Bay' is a large size oil painting, finished in a hand crafted, gold leaf frame.

I consider Mt Aspiring / Tititea ('Shining White' or 'The Glistening Mountain') to be one of NZ’s more elusive mountains. Mt Aspiring is nestled deep within Mt Aspiring National Park and even a brief sighting from the roadside is rare. The opportunity to depict one of these fleeting glimpses of Mt Aspiring was a major factor in motivating me to paint this special landscape. At 3027m, Mt Aspiring is NZ’s highest peak outside of Mt Cook National Park.

In front of Mt Aspiring and behind Lake Wanaka in this oil painting are the Buchanan Peaks. The Buchanans are the sleek, attractive ranges that I feel contribute so much to the beauty of Wanaka itself. According to Maori legend the Maori chief Te Rakaihautu dug out the beds of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea with a huge Ko (digging stick) and he piled the debris high to form the surrounding ranges which incorporate the Buchanans. (The Buchanans are also depicted in my oil painting 'The Matukituki'.) Mt Alta is the the sharp peak that looks to be in the middle of the Buchanans in this painting.

Glendhu Bay is perhaps the first stop that a traveller along Mt Aspiring Road might make to soak up the view. This road leads into Mt Aspiring National Park from Wanaka and parallels Lake Wanaka before turning from seal to gravel just before the turn-off to the Treble Cone ski field. From this point, it narrows again and winds into the beautiful Matukituki valley. After traversing an increasing number of small fords, Mt Aspiring Road terminates at the Raspberry car park. This is where many tramps into Mt Aspiring National Park and to Mt Aspiring itself begin. (See this landscape in 'The Matukituki'.)

As an oil painting and art print, 'Glendhu Bay' reflects on the crisp and relatively untouched beauty of Lake Wanaka, one of the South Island’s magnificent lakes. The mood of this landscape painting is restful, and contemplative rather than purely tranquil. The oil painting is also significant on a personal basis for me. Lake Wanaka was the subject of my first large scale oil painting when I was 16 years old. I gifted the early untitled painting (a view from Wanaka itself,) to my Grandparents who hung the oil on hardboard painting in their dining room, where it remained over the mantelpiece for the following 20 years. This added to my enjoyment of re-visiting Lake Wanaka as a subject.

Original painting 'Glendhu Bay': oil on canvas
Original painting size:1200mm x 800mm.

Original oil available for purchase NZD $10,500 + packaging & freight

Art prints: Limited edition (offset on paper) 450, hand numbered & signed. Large size: (image area) 728mm x 482mm
Print price (printed offset on paper unframed) NZ $99 + packaging and freight. (Packaging & freight is free within NZ.) See below for exchange rates

Giclee reproductions: Limited to a maximum of 195 renditions of this work.
Giclee fine art prints on canvas (unframed) NZ $499+ packaging & freight outside NZ. (Packaging & freight is free within NZ.) More about Giclee fine art prints