Coffee cup stack

Wandering around the Eastbourne Carnival last November, I came across a stall for Studio 86 exhibiting the art work of Whanganui artist Tina Drayton. Tina's paintings are bold, colourful and funky in a style that appeals to my taste. She has painted several series with themes of kiwiana, home and beachside living, animal, café and fashion that also show her sense of humour.

Over the years, I've always had a hang up about not buying art until I had walls to put it onto. I collected a few small pieces that could be stored and transported easily, but nothing big. That would come with the walls, I promised myself.

One piece caught my eye. Coffee cup stack is an original piece (acrylic on canvas?), although there are others in the series with different colour schemes. Each coffee cup has a different pattern, is simple yet funky and abstract (just how I like it) and sums up this coffee drinker perfectly. I kept coming back to the stall to look at the painting. When I was almost certain I wanted it to be mine, I txted a friend who lives nearby and asked her to come and be an enabler for me. "Buy it," she confirmed. Who was I to argue?

The colours are far more vibrant than they appear in the photo. Also, the canvas is BIG - 1.2 m high and 30 cm wide. Now I understand all the comments at the fair along the lines of, "Do you have somewhere to put it?" and, "Are you sure it will fit in your kitchen?" Yes, it does - but thankfully we have high stud ceilings.

My original coffee cup stack painting is absolutely one of #myfavouritethings. It gives me something bright, cheerful and happy to look at every day and has received numerous positive comments from friends and visitors. I love it so much that I returned to the Studio 86 stall at the Petone Fair in February to buy another of Tina's pieces ... but that's another blog post.