Paul Brocklebank

I was born in Dunedin in 1937 and attended Waitaki Boys high in the 1950s. After this, I completed an arts course at Ilam School of Fine Arts, Christchurch, where I received my Diploma in Fine Arts.

I was art master at Tauranga Boys High 1960-61, after which I travelled to London and worked for some of the great theatre art studios. I painted scenery for Covent Garden Opera House and Wembley Stadium and other London theatres.

I then joined BBC TV as Scenic Artist working in Glasgow in the new BBC 2 studios. In 1967, I was appointed Senior Artist for the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV in Sydney.

Over the next 31 years, I was involved in every major production made by ABC TV, painting the sets and scenery both huge backcloths and tiny miniatures and everything in between.

The work was vast, varied and interesting and it was a great joy to get so much satisfaction from my artistic skills. I was expected to be a brilliant all-rounder, whether it was painting in any medium, carving, sculpting (usually in polystyrene) or working with large paint rollers sometimes on huge cloths painted on the floor or picking out detail with tiny sable brushes.

All my life I’ve enjoyed painting, especially getting outside and capturing some of the beauty around us. I move from watercolour to pastel and oils, depending on the subject and then on to acrylic when I need a further change.

I always enjoy painting in NZ; it's so different from Australia, so fresh and colourful and of course the subject matter is vast.