Luna Estate Winery Featured Artist
Luna Estate’s Rose featuring artwork by Veronica Young
This was in the making for quite some time before it finally became a finished product. It was an amazing surprise when i was invited to participate in this collaboration, and obviously a huge compliment.
Although it’s small in size, a wine label has quite a responsibility. Its task is to encapsulate the wine within. It has to communicate the basic facts - the brand name, the variety of wine, etc. To awaken the curiosity of the potential wine drinker though, it hopefully suggests more of a story. That story can tell of the vineyard, the winery, the estate and the people involved. It can encompass the ethos that guides the creation of the wine. Then there’s the story of the intangible things the wine evokes - like memories of experiences, flavours, friends, emotions.
So, no pressure!
Fortunately a company like Luna has multiple avenues through which to tell the story of its wines, so one label doesn't have to do it all. Instead, through a series of chapters a story can be shared over time.
With the selection of my painting, a landscape for this season's rose our attention is directed outwards, towards the story of the wine's origin. The land. The particular attributes of the land are what bestows the wine with its unique character. The land is a crucial starting point for the wine so a landscape painting is a perfect reference to that.
My creative process, like the winemaker's, always begins with nature. I draw inspiration from the landscape. I'm interested in the feeling of being out in wide open natural places, and the different meanings we attribute to that experience.
This painting, Guided by Desire draws on the concept of desire ways. I first learnt about desire ways through the work of the British nature writer Robert Mcfarlane. His book, The Old Ways, explores ancient pathways, some of which still exist. Ancient tracks weren't made by design, they were naturally formed as a person navigated the quickest and easiest way across the land. The first intrepid walker with a desire to get from A to B would encounter the most challenges along the way. They might have to break a few branches in order to pass by, there might be obstacles they have to navigate around. They might have to retrace their steps and they might take longer than they anticipated.
Their journey leaves its mark on the land. The path might not be clear for the second person to travel that way either. But there will be guide points; a broken branch, flattened grass… Each successive person will find the way a little easier because of those who have gone before. Over time, through the repetitive footsteps of people, a path emerges. A way forward.
That really captured my imagination because you can see it's a perfect metaphor for how we can approach life. And how does this relate to Luna Estate? If we consider wine making, we could say that those pioneering souls who first planted grapes in Martinborough were taking the initial steps on a path which leads us right to today. And Luna Estate themselves are travelling a road not yet the mainstream with their methods driven by sustainable and organic principles. As they forge ahead, it offers an easier route for others to join the path.
This story may not be obvious when looking at the painting. You may see a path leading across the land, or you may see a stream. Or perhaps the whole scene is of a coastline to you. The intention is to suggest a story to awaken curiosity.
I think sometimes the power of an artwork comes from beyond just the representation of a thing. It's about drawing out the inward significance. Yes, it's a landscape but what does that mean to you, the beholder? My challenge (to myself) is to conjure the essence of the land and evoke a response without explicitly depicting it. I want my paintings to hover in that in between area, distinguishable as landscape yet somewhat ambiguous.
In that undefined space there is an opportunity for you, the viewer, to step in and find your own nuanced interpretation. Your own inward significance.
It's a delight to have my work associated with a premium brand like Luna Estate. Luna Estate’s ethos includes reverence of the handmade, handcrafted the human touch which is very much aligned with that of an artist’s values. And of course their wine is delectable.