I'm Lester Blair
I attended community art classes in the late 1980s, early 1990s. The tutors were Tom Kreisler and David Clegg. I completed an online photography course through the New Zealand Institute of Photography and attended several Harvey Benge photography workshops which were part of Auckland University of Technology. Following on my education has been regular art book purchases from Amazon. I work full time making art. I make photographs and have also painted from my own photographs.
Curriculum Vitae;
1985 - I attended a Community art classes at the Taranaki Polytech (WITT). The tutors were Tom Kreisler and David Clegg. I began painting from these classes.
1991 - 1992 - I submitted two works to two Taranaki Reviews at the Govett Brewster Art Gallery. They were accepted, I sold one, plus I was very favourably reviewed in the Taranaki Daily News.
2001 - 2006 Two solo shows at the Leslie Kreisler Gallery in New Plymouth. Several sales
2002 - I was one of the prize winners at the North Shore City Art Show.
2004 - I left painting for around nine years and embraced digital photography. I attended several Harvey Benge workshops, self published four books. I was featured in photoforum Momento magazine issue 12, November 2012.
2006 - I moved from New Plymouth to Wellington.
2013 - I returned to painting and used photography as part of the process of paintings, these developed into a urban photorealism style. I consistently sold works in the New Zealand Art Show.
2016 - Moved to Masterton, were I continued painting full time and showing work at the ConArt Gallery.
2021 - A period of painting in the still life genre. These paintings proved to be popular with consistent sales at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts.
2022 - I returned to photography once again in a black and white landscape genre and exhibited in ConArt Studio 2 with the title “18 Photographs Wairarapa Rivers & Wetlands”.
2023 - Photographing the rural, town and rural church buildings. which resulted in a Solo exhibition at Aratoi Museum & Art Gallery titled ‘Twenty Four Churches’
2024 - currently - I am now photographing in the ‘Still Life genre’ and this year 2025 within a floral art theme."
