Glowing on the walls, Neal Palmer’s studies of pohutukawa leaves, flax and kowhai reveal a tightly focussed gaze and consummate skill. In Luminance, he has once again produced works of lush clarity that give an artist’s view of a botanist’s subject.

Botanically correct in colour and form, Palmer plays with the composition of his chosen flora. The seeming artlessness of his compositions is a carefully thought-out examination of space, light, line and contour. At first glance photo-realist in nature, the paintings take on a hyper-realism with closer examination; in Spot Yah, the balance of yellow, red, spotted and unspotted leaves is more cohesive than we could possibly allow for in nature. Palmer’s use of the central leaf stems form a loose triangulation that is naturally pleasing to the eye, and his placement of subtle yellow highlights about the edge of the painting create a frame and a focal point.

Likewise, his cool, shadowy flax paintings are webs of geometric intricacies. The strong vertical flax blades in Scatterlights are dappled with shadows which create more complex surface patterns on the leaves. As well as shadow, it is Palmer’s judicious use of painted light that helps to create a real sense of depth in the work, as paradoxical as that may seem. His ‘visual signposts’ of light and dark trick the eye into seeing beyond and behind the painted foreground.

The adroit geometries of composition and form aside, Palmer obviously relishes his medium. At first glance his works may strike you with their realism, but with each glance thereafter you can’t help but notice the painterliness of these works. Texture is complemented by the subtle marks of the brush; the brilliant red of a flax flower is emphasised all the more by seeing how the artist uses a wash of soft pink as emphasis along its top. Palmer’s use of the tondo [circular] format for a number of his works is also a subtle reminder that this is a painted work of art rather than a photograph.

In her 2004 essay Suzie Campbell (Art New Zealand) commented about Palmer’s work that “more than anything, these paintings are a reflection of the artist’s love of form and involvement with the act of painting.” (1) Add to this a sound understanding of his subject matter, an unerring eye for detail, a tangible and delicate sense of the maker and you have the essence of Luminance.

1. Suzie Campbell, “Snapshot Reality - The Painted World of Neal Palmer,” Art New Zealand, Autumn 2004.