Projects
2023 · Bay of Islands, New Zealand
In partnership with the Ocean Mind Project
Some projects arrive as commissions – others as shelter.
I came to the Bay of Islands during a difficult chapter of my life. A trip intended as time with my son took a different course, leaving me with far more time alone than I had expected.
Rob Harrell and his wife offered me a place to stay beside the brewery while I painted.
The mural began modestly. Having somewhere to live and work gave it room to grow.
Developed with the Ocean Mind Project and in consultation with marine biologist Kayla Keyes, the painting drew on life in the waters surrounding us.
We spent time researching local species: barnacles, oysters, kina, brittle stars, wrasse, crabs, kingfish, sharks and seaweed.
I was interested in bringing that variety into the same composition. Small organisms could hold attention alongside larger, more familiar animals, giving visitors reasons to look beyond the first creature they recognized.
The research helped shape what appeared on the walls and how I thought about the ecosystem I was painting.
As the work developed, it spread across more of the brewery’s interior.
Walls and architectural features became parts of a continuous environment. Marine forms extended through the gathering spaces, bringing something of the surrounding coast into a place where people came to spend time together.
The project also supported community fundraising for ocean education and coastal clean-up initiatives. The painting belonged to that wider effort, alongside the people organizing and contributing to it.
Most days followed a simple rhythm: paint, walk, think, repeat.
The Bay of Islands is one of the most intensely green landscapes I have encountered. Coastline, quiet roads, dense vegetation and changing tides gave me places to walk and time away from the wall.
I was learning about the marine environment while finding my own way through an unsettled period. The days of painting and walking gave that time a structure.
I dedicated the finished mural to my son.
Looking back, I remember the hospitality as clearly as the painting: somewhere to stay, shared meals and conversations at the end of the day.
Rob and his wife had made room for me during a difficult time. I could put sustained attention into the work because of that welcome.
What began as a small mural grew through the time and space they offered.
© Jason Botkin