Father and son explore diversity at gallery
Whanganui High School student Abishai and Sharad Dohare are exhibiting their drawing and photography talents at Whanganui Fine Arts Gallery.
PHOTO / Stuart Munro
Abishai Dohare won the Youth Recognition Award at the 2017 Belton Smith & Associates Ltd Whanganui Arts Review this year.
His winning work - a pencil portrait of Kiwi war hero Willie Apiata is part of an exhibition showing at Whanganui Fine Arts Gallery.
The 16-year-old Whanganui High School student is sharing the gallery walls with his father, photographer Sharad Dohare.
Abishai says he has loved drawing people since he was a 3-year-old.
"The thing I like about drawing is the satisfaction of shading and colouring in the positive and negative space of an empty drawing which in the ends becomes a masterpiece of my own," he says.
Alongside Abishai's Apiata portrait are striking likenesses of Chris Hollenback, Kerry Nixon, Gilli Morris, his art teacher Graham Hall and his dad Sharad.
Although he says he has always been interested in art, Sharad's passion for photography has developed recently and coincides with the family's move from Waiuku, southwest of Auckland, to Whanganui in 2013.
"I am a self-taught photographer, inspired by the beauty of nature and impressionist paintings," says Sharad.
"I bought my first DSLR camera in 2013 and it started as a hobby."
Inspired by the beauty of nature and impressionist paintings, Sharad says he adds textures to his photos to give them a soft, dreamy appearance.
Sharad has won honours awards at the Wanganui Camera Club and was the runner up for the Property Broker's 2018 calendar competition.
His images of the Cape Egmont Lighthouse, St Mary's Church at Upokongaro and the Ratana Church at Raetihi do look as if they may have been painted by Monet.
There are also examples of his starker, black and white photography in the exhibition.
Diversity - an exhibition by Sharad and Abishai Dohare, Whanganui Fine Arts Gallery, 17 Taupo Quay. Showing until October 19.
By Liz Wylie
Wanganui Chronicle 30/9/17