Opportunity knocks for Justin Morshuis
1 July 2009 Having an exhibition gives you something to work towards and raises your profile, says Mosgiel artist Justin Morshuis. It also provides a great sense of achievement when people buy your work.
Justin was one of four Dunedin artists whose work was on show at the Community Gallery in Dunedin in late June. He was delighted to sell nine of his works and says it will help pay his fees for the one-year creative studies course he is beginning at Otago Polytechnic later in July.
“People thought my work was displayed very professionally,” he says. “They also liked the colours, the texture made by the oil pastel and the subjects of my paintings.”
Over the past six months, Justin focussed on pastels in preparation for the group show. He works at his studio in Mosgiel most days, and has also been studying maths and English at Otago Polytechnic.
The show’s curator, Louise Burnside, selected nine of Justin’s pastels for the exhibition. They were displayed alongside the work of three other artists: Mike Bowden, Port Chalmers; Jack Monaghan, Blueskin Bay; and Peter Gregory, a Waikouaiti potter.
“Justin’s producing some amazing pastel work,” Louise says. “He’d been painting in oils for many years and the cost was becoming prohibitive. He simply couldn’t afford to paint any more.
“We talked about different ways he could pursue his career without having to use oil as a medium. Using pastels provided the solution. It’s been a really positive learning curve for him and a chance to try something new.”
Louise also curated Justin’s 2008 exhibition, Landscapes of the Heart, at Gallery on Blueskin, her gallery at Waitati just north of Dunedin. She says the exhibition was a great success, attracting a lot of visitors and selling 15 works.
A merit winner in the 2000 and 2001 Cleveland Art Awards, Justin was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder eight years ago. This affected his co-ordination and concentration but he never stopped painting.
“Art settles me and makes me feel good. It provides me with a sense of achievement and if I’m lucky, I can make some money from it,” he says. “I’m feeling happier and more confident than I’ve felt for a long time and that’s reflected in my work. It’s a lot more colourful and full of surprises.”
Justin says that his biggest achievement was when curator Stuart Shepherd selected two of his works for inclusion in the New Zealand stand at the New York Outsider Art Fair in January 2009. He was, he says, “absolutely delighted” and wishes he could have been there.
Another achievement was completing a half-marathon three years ago. “I wanted to prove something to myself and show people that I could do it.”
He also likes cycling and often heads out to Taieri, absorbing the landscape and taking photos. “The Taieri is beautiful: the trees, the animals, the light, the old sheds … Every day is different and it changes with the seasons. It’s amazing to see it when there’s been a flood and the water’s draining away.
“I love travelling and sometimes go on bus trips to different parts of the South Island. Central Otago has always been a wonderful place for me: I like the browns of the hills and the blues of the sky.”