NZ's first Marine Art and Photographic Gallery

by Jane Pares on 7 Dec 2006

When Will and Kate Calver left England in 2003 in their yacht Finale they certainly hadn’t planned on opening an art gallery on the other side of the world.

In fact when they left England they hadn’t even planned to sail to New Zealand, 'but every time we arrived somewhere we’d just decide to go to the next port and we kept going.'

When the excitement of arriving in 2004 had subsided, the inevitable question of what to do popped up. Will was reluctant to go back into the corporate world, which he’d purposely left behind in London, where he’d been 'a suit and tie boy earning a good salary and driving a BMW.' It was a lifestyle that had left him no time with his two small children, Tom and Patrick. So he set up his own company, Ocean Photography and now it’s hard to find him in anything other than his yellow wet weather gear and a windsurfing harness.

Strapped into his RIB, balancing tiller extension in one hand and a Canon camera in the other, he has become a very familiar sight on the harbour. No race start is complete without him. With over 30,000 images in his photo library he and Kate decided to take the photography business one step further and in November opened ‘Ocean Gallery’ in one of Auckland's historic waterfront buildings – on the corner of the Viaduct beside the NZ National Maritime Museum

It’s a fabulous little gallery – an absolute must to visit if you enjoy anything about boats and the sea and even if you don’t you’ll love the artistry of his large scale black and white framed prints. All his work is limited edition.

In contrast you’ll love the colourful paintings by L Douglas Horman, a self taught watercolour artist who exhibits alongside Will. He sailed here from the UK in a converted fishing boat and now lives in the Bay of Islands. His paintings, also limited edition prints, are wonderful images of the Bay as well as quaint Cornish fishing villages.

Both Will and Douglas Horman’s pictures are stunning images, tastefully mounted and framed. They truly are works of art.

Enjoy browsing the pictures and I defy you to come away empty handed! You can choose between dramatic large scale framed prints, smaller mounted prints or unmounted prints. His most popular black and white is, 'Rain Clearing', depicting Glen Mohr, a Bavaria 44 sailing through typical Auckland weather!

Hang a piece of beauty and value on your wall today - you certainly won’t feel out of pocket!

Ocean Gallery
147 Quay St (cnr Quay and Hobson St)
Auckland

09 357 0881

www.oceanphotography.co.nz

Open 7 days a week Mon – Fri 10am - 6.00pm
Sat & Sun 10am - 4.00pm