There’s something about donning a colourful raincoat that makes venturing out in the rain feel more bearable. Celebrated Aotearoa painter Karl Maughan captures that same sentiment in his latest collaboration with Blunt, the New Zealand brand behind sturdy, wind-resistant umbrella designs used by people all over the globe.
Known for his lush gardenscapes filled with vivid, blooming flora and foliage, Maughan has translated his 2018 oil painting Rawhiti Terrace onto a Blunt umbrella canopy. The result is a piece of art you can take with you, offering a fantastical new way to experience his work beyond a gallery or wall.
Read on for our Q&A with Karl Maughan, where he shares insights into his creative process and the garden he’s most loved painting to date.
Your vibrant, signature gardenscapes are instantly recognisable in Aotearoa. What continues to draw you back to gardens as your primary subject after nearly four decades?
The endless variation in gardens draws me back, in plants and natives. Every garden is different; the potential is endless.
Your process involves gathering image “cuttings” from gardens across New Zealand and abroad, and you often blend real locations into imagined compositions. Can you tell us more about this process?
It’s a matter of starting something and feeling like it needs something more, a couple of extra elements, perhaps bringing something in from other areas of the garden. Sometimes there might be a tree, for instance, that overshadows a garden and needs to be pulled back, while other features are better in the foreground. It comes back to the feeling of the composition, where the cuttings allow me to move things around.
The BLUNT collaboration uses imagery from your 2018 painting Rawhiti Terrace. What made that particular work feel right for translating onto an umbrella canopy?
The work felt right because of the shapes and structure of the garden, the composition and variation meant it could form a sort of endless loop. I looked at a lot of options but kept coming back to this painting and ultimately decided it worked best.
Were there any creative or technical considerations you had to think about differently when adapting your painting for a functional object like an umbrella?
I was aware of trying to find a painting that would work well in the spherical format. Some paintings were better than others. I wanted it to work from all angles, so I needed a painting that could loop without beginning or end.
You’ve previously collaborated with fashion label Stolen Girlfriends Club and with fellow artist John Reynolds. What appealed to you about collaborating with Blunt?
I was excited by the opportunity; it’s such a great idea, and it came out of the blue. I thought, why not? I enjoy working with New Zealand brands, and BLUNT was a good fit; the product made sense to translate my work onto.
Some of your works, like Forest Hill, have been adapted into prints and homewares, making your art accessible in people’s homes. How do you feel about the BLUNT collaboration taking your work into the public and everyday spaces?
It’s great, I’m really excited by it! The collaboration feels like a new way for people to experience my work.
You’ve painted countless gardens, from neighbours’ backyards to English estates. Is there a particular garden that continues to inspire you today?
Titoki Point, Gordon Collier’s garden, has always echoed through my work, up near the plateau. I love the structure of it. Interestingly, the photographs I took at Titoki Point are now close to 40 years old, and you could see a lot more of the garden at that point. Talking to Gordon about it, the trees have now had 40 years of growth, and the landscape has changed significantly. I come back to elements of that garden again and again.
Discover the Blunt X Karl Maughan Metro umbrella, RRP $149, at bluntumbrellas.co.nz.
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