Believe it or not, Nic Dempster is attempting to be a bit duller.
The Dunedin painter’s exhibition, "UMBRA", which opened at Gallery De Novo yesterday, continues a fascination with the built landscape, the places and spaces we frequent, yet Dempster has cast a few shadows over his own work.
"The word umbra is Latin for shadow," Dempster points out.
"I think the shadows give my work more depth, a bit more of a dimension. It is about dulling down some of them, rather than being vivid and bright."
One example is Passing Cloud, in which shadows in the bottom left and top right corners provide an opportunity for Dempster to bring in a strong diagonal band of light to the centre of the work; another, Streetlight III, serves as an invitation to viewers to imagine what’s going on beyond the warm glow of dozens of windows.
"It’s part of the story-telling, allowing people into the painting," Dempster explains.
"That sounds a bit pretentious, but I am moving towards that aspect, rather than just doing landscapes.
"I think it’s an evolution of an idea and style. I might not notice change as I go but when I look back over the years there is a real difference. I think I have come quite a wee way.
"A lot of people might think I’d go a bit mad doing these little houses over and over again. They probably see a lot of repetition, but no one painting is exactly the same.
"I think there is more thought that goes into it these days. Before, I might have just been doing scenes of Dunedin and around the local area, but I have moved away from that to more of a thought-up landscape. I’m thinking about patterns and how to create order out of chaos."
The eldest of two boys, Dempster grew up in a fourth-generation farming family in Waikouaiti. However, his focus was more academic than agricultural and he headed to the University of Otago and Victoria University, graduating in 2007 with a master’s in history.
He has been painting since the late ’90s and built up a strong profile in the South Island, merging elements of Colin McCahon, Rita Angus, Toss Woollaston and Nigel Brown to create his distinct stylised cityscapes and rural landscapes, which typically feature strong colours and black outlines.
In 2008, he moved to the United Kingdom where he painted fulltime and was involved in an cooperative gallery in Kent on the site of a 19th-century fishmongers before returning to Dunedin in 2010 with his partner, Simon, who is "very supportive" of his artistic abilities.
"I’m so lucky to have someone who believes in me because there’s no way I’d be able to do this full-time otherwise," says Dempster, who turned 38 on Thursday.
"I do get asked to do commissions — ‘could you put my house in one of your scenes?’. I’m working on a few for people. Once upon a time, people might have been able to find their house in one of my paintings of, say, St Clair or Maori Hill, Roslyn or Caversham."
Art certainly occupies a lot of Dempster’s time. He is also president of the Otago Art Society, a role that ranges from curating and hanging exhibitions, to employment issues, fielding artists’ questions, liaising with the Dunedin City Council, to chasing up paintings that should have arrived via courier.
"You’re dealing with things all the time. We have a 15-person council that helps run things, for which I’m very grateful.
"I was vice-president and on the council for several years, but as president I have a bigger view of where I want the society to go."
That includes "repositioning" the society back into the wider arts community, "making people aware of who we are and what we do", Dempster explains.
"It’s also about putting on shows that people would want to see. We have had a great response from the public. We are signing new members all the time. Our exhibitions have gotten bigger and we are getting more visitors."
The exhibition
• "UMBRA", original oil paintings on board by Nic Dempster, runs at Gallery De Novo, Dunedin, until December 1.
