Brand Design
Watercolour & Drawings by Sue Godwin
This book was made simultaneously alongside the 'Useful Objects' book, and celebrates a selection of work by Susan Godwin (1926 - 2017), with a total of 124 pages featuring 118 watercolours, 14 drawings and 1 painting. Although Sue painted a number of acrylics and oils, her favourite medium was watercolour, often favouring a soft colour palette. Photographer Suzi Holsted was able to sensitively capture these subtleties with natural lighting, producing an important archive for wider family. By recording Sue's work in this way we gained insights into her background influences and thematic choices along with glimpses into her childhood and adult married life.
The flarebow dinghy, Odtaa's tender in a reflective mood. Sue was an expert in capturing subtle gentle colours and the play of light on her subjects.
Trees feature more than any other subject in Sue's work. Maybe not surprising when you consider she spent much of her childhood in the remote virgin bushland on the Rototi farm, where she was brought up in Oparau (near Kawhia).
One of the many visits to Lake Waikaremoana with the Gannet. Exploring waterways where only a small boat could go was a favourite pastime of Sue and Julian's.
Inverleith on Oriental Parade was commissioned by Sue's Grandmother Shushu, the first concrete building built in Wellington. It was designed by Wellington based architects Clere and Williams, with the initial plans being drawn up in 1922. Her room, when she stayed during school holidays, was the ‘sleeping balcony’ on the third level, with the view over Oriental bay.
