John Mitchell
Biography
Oamaru artist John Mitchell was awarded the Cranleigh Barton Drawing Award in 2003, New Zealand’s largest and richest drawing prize, for his work “Waitaki.”
Until recently, John Mitchell was a book artist working in Oamaru. He has now turned to drawings in graphite, which tend to concentrate mainly on the Waitaki Valley. The image which won him the 2003 Cranleigh Barton Drawing Award was of the Waitaki Valley.
Mitchell writes: “There are some who would argue that the Waitaki is a songline of the Waitaha; nevertheless, to see it purely in terms of economic benefit is to denigrate its mana, to reveal something of our spiritual poverty. One thing is certain though, there is more to the Waitaki River than meets the eye.”