Jana Wood

Pink Squall, Oil paint on Rabbit skin gesso on board, 700x700mm, Selected Finalist in the 2022 National Contemporary Art Award, Te whare o taonga Waikato – Waikato Museum

Pink Squall responds to the distinctive pink tinged light that moves across the dunes as spring approaches. At te Puaha o Waikato, the dunes are layered with grasses—both native and introduced—interwoven with exotic wildflowers. In Spring the mauve and cerise wild sweetpea scrambles across the surrounding native vegetation, and below, a flowing carpet of cadmium orange and yellow Cape Daisy starts to generate a luminous glow that permeates the landscape during summer.

Night Walking – 700x700mm, Oil paint on Rabbit skin gesso on board (NFS) Selected finalist in the 2022 National Contemporary Art Award, Te Whare o taonga Waikato, Waikato Museum

Night Walking reflects the return journey across the dunes after sunset. As daylight recedes, a soft glow settles into the foliage; surfaces glisten, and the landscape appears momentarily animated—making a final movement after a long, sun-soaked day. The wind drops, activity quietens, and the dunes enter a state of hushed transition. It is a moment of gentle aliveness, held between day and night.

Installation shots of “Lurkey Spaces” Artfull’s Arcadia Pop-up, Auckland Art Festival, sponsored by Auckland city Council and curated by Jessica Agoston of Artfull, A two-person show with Michelle Reid, where we shared a wonderful space in Queens Arcade, Tamaki Makaurau, as part of the inaugural Arts Festival.

Photo credit Samuel Hartnett

Some time in Autumn, 700x740mm(w), Oil paint on Rabbit Skin Gesso (NFS)

Some Time in Autumn reflects a deep, gently moving blue swell—characteristic of the season when whales migrate along the coast. At times, if conditions allow, their presence becomes visible from shore.

The painting recalls a day in April during the Covid lockdowns, when the sea was unusually calm and the local community gathered along the length of the beach, walking, running, and riding as they followed a large pod of whales moving north. The experience was quietly extraordinary: a shared moment of attentiveness and wonder, shaped by stillness, collective presence, and the beauty of the moana in motion.

(middle) –“This Gentle Sway” Oil paint on linen, 460x365mm (gifted)

This Gentle Sway reflects the autumn season. Soft breezes move through the pampas grass that covers the dunes, while the light shifts from golden and tangerine tones to cooler blues and greens. There is a sense of transition in the air, as the land begins to quieten, preparing for a period of rest and regeneration through the winter months.

(Right) “Celestial Dream“, Oil paint on Rabbit Skin Gesso on board, 500x510mm (NFS)

Celestial Dream emerged during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, a period spent largely observing the expansive space at te Puaha o Waikato. Without access to a studio or painting materials, I turned to writing, reflection, and sustained looking, developing notes and ideas for a new body of work I anticipated beginning after returning to Tāmaki Makaurau.

By the end of the lockdowns, it became clear that this period of stillness had quietly shifted my trajectory. What began as contemplation evolved into the desire to relocate and live and work permanently in this place. Celestial Dream marks a subtle point of origin—an early articulation of a new way of working, and a new way of living, shaped by attentiveness, time, and place.

Right, View from the top of the Dunes Oil paint on board, 300mm x 330mm

View from the Top of the Dunes is among the earliest works in this series, painted in response to the shifting and varied viewpoints encountered while walking through the dunes. The work draws direct lineage from Colin McCahon’s early 1970s series View from the Top of the Cliff, painted at Muriwai, which acted as a key catalyst for the development of this ongoing body of work.

This painting marks the beginning of an ongoing exploration of horizon, vantage point, and the vivid, mutable colour of the West Coast skies—elements that continue to inform and structure the series as it unfolds.

Futhering Landscape Oil paint on linen, 310mmx380mm (sold)

Futhering Landscape marked the beginning of a new way of working, shaped by direct response to the soft light of the West Coast. The painting attends to the interplay of sea spray, wind, and shifting cloud, punctuated by expanses of blue sky, with grasses moving across blustery dunes. The work reflects a process of close observation and embodied engagement with the elements as they unfold in real time.

Mother Mother Iteration 14 Lockdown Special, Lot 23, Minni Street, Tamaki Makaurau.

View from the top of the Dunes, Group of 12, all 200x200mm, Oil paint and mixed media on board.

All works were swapped with participating artists.

This series of eleven paintings was completed during the Covid lockdowns, a period in which I sought to create small, effervescent works that reflected my deep excitement at engaging with te puaha o Waikato over an extended time. Through close observation, I became attuned to its aliveness—watching its subtle and dramatic changes, and reflecting on the essence of time and nature. As the world’s economies slowed and paused, this became a moment of regeneration for the natural world. Nature came to the fore, and we were afforded time to reconsider the milieu of life on Earth and our relationship to it.

During this time I read Justin Paton’s book, McCahon Country. McCahon’s series of the early 1970’s, “View from the top of the Cliff” was a catalyst for these early paintings. McCahon was enjoying his first year of painting as a full-time artist, and you can feel the palpable excitement in his works. I too felt an excitement as I realised my intention to move to the West Coast, and the very real possibility that I could make it happen.