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Black and white portrait photo of Joseph Churchward.
Black and white portrait photo of Ian Clothier with his Haiku Robot installation at Puke Ariki, New Plymouth New Zealand.
Black and white portrait photo of artist Freeman White.
Black and white portrait photo of painter Jon Hacon.
Black and white portrait photo of multi media artist Phil Jones.

Black and white portrait photos

The images shared in this journal entry are from an ongoing personal project entitled: ‘Artist in Residence.’ The black and white portrait photos feature New Zealand artists working from their home based studios. The imagery has captured over a decade ago. In addition, it is my intention to publish more photographs later in the month profiling each individual artist’s practice. So, stay tuned for updates.

Black and white portraits of artists

In this blog post I’ve chosen a single portrait — my favourite — of the artist.

First up is – Letter man – Joseph Churchward QSM (1932 – 2013)

Joseph is holding a photograph of himself which was taken at his studio in Apia, Samoa in 1994. During his distinguished career he handcrafted more than 570 original typefaces.

Ian Clothier – artist

In this environmental portrait I captured Ian sitting on the museum floor at Puke Ariki. His expression show’s he’s totally absorbed in the work of fine tuning the installation of ‘Haiku Robots.’ A summary of Ian’s Haiku Robots is available on his website, and worth a study to learn more about this fascinating project.

Freeman White – painter

I caught up with Freeman at his studio in Wellington. He’s recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading portrait painters. Therefore, his work features in a number of public collections including the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

Jon Hacon – painter

Jon’s portrait work was featured in the Stratford Percy Thomson Gallery in 2010. Jon’s New Plymouth studio was based in a basement beneath his residence. However, he’s since moved to Australia and is living in the Gold Coast.

And, finally, introducing – Phil Jones – a.k.a SUSPECT

Phil’s portrait was taken at his home basement studio in New Plymouth – New Zealand. You’ll notice Phil’s studio floor is covered in used graffiti stencils with spray painted edges and art works in progress.

If you love black and white portrait photography here’s a link to the ‘Portrait‘ photography gallery. For more of a documentary portrait storytelling style you may enjoy this journal entry featuring family members during a cremation ceremony.

Artist: Tahnia Roberts ©2021
Category: Photography
Style: Portraiture
Subject: Black and white portrait photos from “Artist in Residence“ series
Medium: Digital, photo, black and white
Artist country: Malaysia

Tahnia Roberts

Author Tahnia Roberts

Tahnia is a visual storyteller who uses photography to explore, investigate and document her surroundings. An avid collector of found objects which frequently become still life compositions. Black and white photography is her preferred medium. Born and raised in New Zealand, she currently resides in Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

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