Ewan and Sarah McDougall celebrated 30 years of marriage (their pearl anniversary) last year with the publication of Pearler, a book of 15 of her poems and 15 of his paintings in response to each other.
The launch of the book and accompanying exhibition were held in Oamaru at the Forrester Gallery a year ago and it was to have toured the country during the year. Things didn't turn out as they expected but the couple are finishing the year as planned, with another launch and exhibition at Gallery De Novo in Dunedin opening tomorrow, Valentine's Day.
Ewan (65) was diagnosed with cancer and had a couple of operations. He says he's cured now, but it takes a long time to recover.
''I couldn't do anything but take it really easy. I started painting about five minutes a day, then 10 and built it up like that. In six weeks, I was painting almost normally. You don't realise how much illnesses like this stops everything,'' he said.
However, he did manage to hold an exhibition in Auckland with Sarah's help as he couldn't lift anything.
''They are so wonderful [in the hospital]. I gave them a painting for the wall because I was so overjoyed at the treatment I got and that I got a cure. I gave them a box of chocolates at Christmas time. Full of gratitude I am.''
Sarah managed to complete her MFA last year and the play she wrote for it, Moon at the Bottom of the Garden, will be staged during the Otago Festival of the Arts in October, but her main focus was looking after Ewan, she said.
''We have adult children who have left home and our focus is on our relationship. We have our own stuff and together stuff and regular dates and honeymoons,'' she said.
Responding to each other's work with their own art forms was an interesting project.
''It's been very good for me to respond to Sarah's poems. They are evocative and send me off in a new direction when I respond to her words so it's been very good for me. It's been very healthy for me,'' Ewan said.
Sarah thinks they might collaborate again, next time on a ''nutty little story book''.
The exhibition
Pearler: Paintings by Ewan McDougall, Poems by Sarah McDougall, Gallery De Novo in Lower Stuart St, from February 14 to 27.
