Angus Fog changed his name to Dante Fog when he moved to London to become an artist. He wanted to fit the cliche of a bohemian artist. His guise eventually brings his success and 'fame'.

'Angus creates my art, but Dante is the subject. He's the child, the paint, texture, composition, light, colour, shade. There is no greater commitment to painting that to become the painting, and I am my painting... I am Dante.'

However, this facade hides a deeper darker truth, one he had suppressed since witnessing an event as a child. That mystery impacts on his ability to paint anything with meaning. It also affects his relationships. Fog's journey is towards self-awareness. To achieve this he must return to New Zealand to uncover his past.

Dante Fog is a challenging read, filled with poetic prose, insightful quotes, wonderful characters and thought provoking ideas.

'Wild cats, domestic cats, they all retain the instinct they were born with... If we could snort the human equivalent of cat, it would be powdered childhood.'

And yes, there is sex, drug taking and plenty of references to art.

Visit fentonstreetartcollective.co.nz to order your copy or Austin & Macauley Publishers, or any online book shop.

One in four boys do not live with a father in the United States, and two million children have no meaningful contact with their fathers in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, one in six births have no registered father. 'Echoes From The Land' focuses on twenty provincial New Zealand men and the influence of their fathers. It is a fascinating collection of photographs, poetry, paintings, stories and transcripts supporting a social commentary about family values held by our parents, grandparents and great grandparents.There are tales of wartimes experiences when the father had so many crickets in his beard he could not sleep at night, and a man's admiration for lice because scratching at one saved him from a German sniper.

To order your copy online go to fentonstreetartscollective.co.nz                                            

or visit Austin & Macauley publishers website. London

Check out the following address for an interview with one of the men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCauuHqth8M

books

You will recognise Jo Stallard's portrait of Murray McCarty, below right from the cover of the book. The other portrait is of Collie Hancock where Jo has used chalk and charcoal.

Jo is a very talented local portrait artist. Another commisioned for 'Echoes' was Don Hopkirk. Like Collie and Murray the monochrome creates a softness without losing detail and adds a wonderful depth of character .

            Don Hopkirk. Chalk and Charcoal

Colin Hancock: Chalk and Charcoal          Murray MaCarty: Pencil

The cover also has Stuart's response to the hill country  landscape. The oil painting captures the rugged intensity of the land using mixed media, palette knife and brush. The portrait on Stuart's left in the photo below is his oil painting of Kevin Downs, one of the men in the book.