Artwork Information

Te Henga, also know as Bethells Beach, on Auckland's rugged west coast, was a favourite painting ground for New Zealand artist Don Binney. While he painted and drew landscapes from around New Zealand (and internationally), Te Henga was a constant subject and by 1974, at the time this work was created, Binney had been representing the Te Henga landscape for over twelve years. In that time he had become closely associated with the forms and vegetation, wildlife, tidal flows and seasonal changes.

In this work Binney shows a confident handling of paint and crayon, rendering the West Auckland in his signature 'graphic' and 'hard-edged' style. Binney has allowed the white of the paper to show through in specific areas of the drawing, creating strong highlights that contrast with the black and white tones of the wax crayon, which is soft and picks up the grain of the paper.