Kieran Rynhart Artist

This is a header for a map of Aoeteroa/New Zealand I've been working on for the last wee while. The header featuring Mitre Peak, Kokako and Huia also stands pretty well by itself as well. My intent of the design is to show our endangered and lost NZ species in a certain light where we take their everyday presence for granted, imagining a NZ with its rich native and endemic biology pristine and intact, without introduced predators and the unfortunate destruction wrought by man. It just so happens I also bumped into today and came away with some trapping gear to help me realize the vision of thriving native NZ species here on Mataruahou /Hospital Hill as well. I may not be hearing Kokako or the lost Huia, but every morning I get to wake to the abundant chimes of Koromako/Bell Bird, the song of Tūi, the inviting call of Grey Warbler and the cheerful chatter of Silver Eyes, I hope that wonderful dawn chorus will remain as vibrant and as bright as ever.

"Standing Kārearea" - 2025 - pen and ink, acrylic inks, gouache

The muse struck a few weeks back and I needed to make an image of the Kārearea/NZ Falcon. It just so happened by some serendipitous quirk the Kārearea won the "Bird of the year" competition for 2025. I guess when the muse strikes she strikes for a reason! The medieval German artist Albrect Dürer was a big inspiration on this one too, the logo on the lower left pays homage to his own "AD" personal logo. I loved working on this piece and see it come to life with paint and brush.

Tomorrow this is happening, looking forward to seeing you there!