https://www.melissa-broadbent.com/contact daily 0.75 2025-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/4dc21bfa-4fc0-4b67-8b8f-2e474aa13f8d/Light%2BObjects%2B1.png https://www.melissa-broadbent.com/about-1 daily 0.75 2025-07-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/ab428419-6b6c-40a7-bdc6-2b52c2be4c25/IMG_0743.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/ba3dc9eb-1241-4404-949e-4a9ee0d1062d/2E40C7DF-56A6-4865-9AD1-90074D6F8028.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/b13fc59a-eae5-48f2-a76c-118082c606fd/IMG_3732.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/15e01b93-f5d9-4978-95c3-21a7e6170755/35B77EF4-0ABE-42ED-A920-494B2A25C165.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/c45e005d-3ad1-4291-9446-7de25df058aa/IMG_3487.jpeg https://www.melissa-broadbent.com/home-1 daily 1.0 2026-07-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/62b7bc9b-619a-41f8-98bf-262f51c3a7c1/IMG_4195.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/6ed59a8e-07ae-4cfd-bcb3-afe81ea8b54b/IMG_5757.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/44cdd184-912d-492c-b2bc-a966c424ce4a/IMG_5722.jpeg https://www.melissa-broadbent.com/florals daily 0.75 2026-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/62b7bc9b-619a-41f8-98bf-262f51c3a7c1/IMG_4195.jpeg Florals Crazy Vase of Tulips in Winter - oil on board, 420mm x 300mm. I'm a little obsessed with this color combo. The oranges and apricots and powder blues feel so soft and warm, especially bumping up against those deeper, moodier tones. It was the middle of winter when I painted this, but somehow the tulips didn't get the memo and were already pushing their way up. And of course there's a vase in there, a bit wonky and off-kilter, like most of the vases that end up in my paintings. I can't seem to paint a "normal" one even if I wanted to. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/57233285-2cd7-4042-afc8-5bc5e0dd2504/IMG_1828.jpeg Florals Overflowing - acrylic on canvas, 1010mm x 1010mm. This one had a mind of its own from the start. I set out for soft, muted blooms, but the flowers had other plans - some turned bold and saturated in deep reds and blacks, others got playful and turned into loose, sketchy outlines that barely touch the surface. There's a real range across the canvas, from a rich, moody cluster on one side to soft pinks and near-blank space on the other, with “ghost flowers” throughout that feel like they snuck in when I wasn't looking. Eventually we found our rhythm, and I love where it landed. It's got depth without taking itself too seriously, the kind of piece that changes a bit depending on where your eye lands. A painting with a bit of everything, and more fun than what I first pictured. It'll add a playful, layered energy to any space. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/83ee5096-5adf-43d3-bd1d-77a2ecab5e03/IMG_6081.jpeg Florals Juicy - acrylic and oil pigment stick on canvas, 910mm x 610mm. The name for this one came from a friend, who took one look at those warm rust and gold marks bleeding into the white petals and said they looked juicy. It stuck immediately, because that's exactly it. There's something ripe and almost overripe about these flowers, big and bold and piled on top of each other, with those deep near-black centers holding it all down. Underneath, a quiet blue-grey haze keeps things from getting too heavy. The oil sticks did double duty here: I used them for the loose, messy outlines, but also to push in a lot of that rich rust and gold color itself. Half the lines don't quite close, and I left them that way on purpose. Felt more alive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/5fafe42a-e336-4a7d-bee2-e18d86a2c1b2/IMG_4788.jpeg Florals The Wedding Party - acrylic on canvas 1200mm x 1000mm. When a close young family member got married I was inspired to paint about marriage and weddings. This work represents the joy and beauty of the wedding day, and the key players themselves. As always colour plays a starring role: black for the groom’s party dressed in fine suits and bright colours for the bride’s. In the top right hand corner a beautiful large white flower is the bride. The three soft bouquets around the sides of the painting are the bridesmaids. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/196abd2e-0cb4-4749-936d-7ccdfa1b0e62/IMG_4295.jpeg Florals A War of Two Vases - acrylic on canvas, 1210mm x 1010mm. This girl is big. It started with a beautiful bowl-like vase of flowers, and from there I just let my imagination take over, piling on this whole riot of blooms. Somewhere in the middle of that, a second vase snuck in, a little surprise of its own. Look closely and you'll find it. The dark sections are all deep burgundy tones, and they give the whole thing a really moody depth, playing off the greens in a way I love. I've always pictured this one in a traditional dining room, catching the mood of the evening and making the whole space feel a bit more beautiful. But she recently turned up in the media room of a traditional home with a modern renovation, and honestly, she looked like a million dollars there too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/57cbcebe-4e71-4965-b1df-8ad92bb5519a/IMG_4199.jpeg Florals Magnolia Marriage #3 and #4 - acrylic on board, both are 300mm x 300mm A long time ago I planted a bunch of magnolia trees around my Auckland home, and some of my nephews helped me plant a few of them, which made it even more special. The colors of those leaves and flowers have stuck with me ever since, and they keep finding their way into my floral paintings. In this pair, big white blooms with soft yellow centers spill loosely across both panels, their petals brushy and a little unruly. Deep green leaves anchor the middle, almost moody against all that white, and pops of red and rust peek through here and there to keep things grounded. These two small works form a lovely diptych, and they'd look great in any room, whether you hang them side by side or split them up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/e15894fb-5d81-4beb-a9b5-a84cecb9b94b/IMG_2976.jpeg Florals Flower Vase #2 - acrylic on canvas This happy little vase (which is much more grown up than most of my vases!) of cosmos daisies and dahlias is one of my earlier pieces. It felt special because my mother was an enthusiastic grower of dahlias, and I have always loved having cosmos daisies in my own garden. A round, dark teal vase sits solidly on the table, holding up this cheerful spray of soft yellow and cream blooms, each one with a little golden center. The greens tucked in behind hold everything together, and the muted, warm background lets all that pale yellow really glow. It's simple and quiet, but there's a real warmth to it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/d17afeef-feca-4221-ae83-b27f46887577/IMG_4709.jpeg Florals Two Vases and Pretty Little Things - oil on board, 420mm x 300mm. Soft pastels, roses and tulips in a glass vase, with no other job than to look pretty. Coral, pink, deep red and a little burst of yellow all sitting together, loose and easy. Over on the right, tucked into the background, there's a small oval vase with soft white ruffled roses. That one's just my little gift to the viewer, easy to miss if you don’t look closely. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/fd89ff2f-d67f-4a61-b425-9ee25bd9752d/IMG_2850.jpg Florals Golden Daisies - acrylic study on 300gsm art paper. A quick study, loose and warm, all soft creamy petals fading into muted golds and dusty neutrals. Each bloom has that little burst of deep red-gold at the center, glowing against all the paleness around it. It's a simple one, more about capturing the feeling of the flowers than nailing every detail, but I love how they seem to almost float on the paper. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/9e25994f-664f-43d6-85c6-eeed1857cfc7/IMG_4401.jpeg Florals Scruffy Little Bunch — oil on canvas. Just one vase in this one, but it's absolutely crammed full of scruffy, tangled, abstracted roses that clearly didn't get the memo about sitting still and looking pretty. Deep plums and pinks jostle against creamy whites and the odd surprise of purple, all scribbled over with loose looping lines like the flowers were doodling on themselves. It's a simple, colorful study, lively and a bit cheeky, with another wonky vase making its usual appearance. Fun on the surface, though there's a slightly serious mood lurking underneath it all too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/1781058169275-YG3C30NDJAR5S2O0T2AU/IMG_5482.jpg Florals Ready for the Vase — oil on board, 420mm x 300mm. A big, generous bunch of soft blooms lies scattered on the table in front of a glass vase, waiting patiently (or not so patiently) to be arranged into some kind of order. All those golds and yellows and warm oranges pile up next to a pink rose or two, with a little blue and a splash of white daisies thrown in for good measure. The roses look like they'll behave, ready to fall into line the moment the arranger picks them up. The daisies, though, I'm not so sure about. Something about the way they're sprawled out over there tells me they've got their own plans. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/1783206542016-Q1FVO2LDXVPDSOPZB27L/IMG_3967.jpg Florals This is part one of a diptych, another in my mini-obsession with white magnolias, and is also part of my series on weddings and marriage. The white pair represents the two partners of a marriage on their wedding day. I prepared the surface by covering board with white linen and gesso. The paint sat beautifully on the linen which lent itself perfectly to these beautiful magnolia flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/1783206584533-7YYTB6RY2QUKGIIMR95R/IMG_3306.jpg Florals Magnolia Marriage #2 - acrylic on hand-prepared linen on board. This is part two of a diptych, another in my mini-obsession with white magnolias, and is also part of my series on weddings and marriage. The white pair represents the two partners of a marriage on their wedding day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/b4753c85-5603-47ec-9544-43605ac0dd71/IMG_4749.jpeg Florals Roses in Autumn - oil on board, 300mm x 300mm. This small, velvety study is a nod to my mother's love of growing roses. Their colors always held my gaze, some delicate, others intense, and it amazed me how far into autumn they'd keep blooming. A big soft pink and white rose sits front and center, glowing against all that deep burgundy and near-black shadow around it. Warm golds and yellows crowd in behind, with hits of deep red and rust threaded through, and just a touch of green stem peeking through at the base. It's moody and rich, autumn in full colour, but there's still something tender in that one pale rose holding the light. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/1764108714741-3QUXONVUP2HMRB1V6FID/IMG_4721.jpg Florals Flowers on the Altar — acrylic on linen, 400mm x 840mm. This work represents a bride and groom committing themselves to each other in marriage. It was commissioned as a wedding present. Quite by accident, and maybe I'm a wee bit psychic, the colours turned out to echo their actual wedding flowers, which sat on a plinth at the front of the venue. Rich pinks and magentas tumble down the canvas, loose and full, with darker plum tones grounding the deeper blooms and one soft white rose glowing near the base like a quiet centrepiece. It has that romantic, slightly wild feel of a bouquet caught mid-arrangement, fitting for the moment it was meant to celebrate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/98c36474-a05b-4c55-a9b3-2f5da4930b0e/IMG_2734.jpg Florals Ruffled Roses - Aquarelle Pencil study on 200gsm art paper. A loose, dreamy little study, with a soft red-pink rose sitting right at the centre, its petals traced through with delicate crimson lines that bleed and blur into the paper. Around it, hazy purples, blues, and warm yellows drift in and out of focus, kept light by all that untouched white paper peeking through. Aquarelle pencil gave me the best of both worlds here, the control of drawing with lines I could then soften and pull into washes with a wet brush, so the crimson veins in the petals stay crisp in places and dissolve into colour in others. There's something quite delicate about the result, more suggestion than detail, but the ruffled softness of the petals still comes through loud and clear. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/60d74abd-642c-4138-90ee-455998642663/1FA5808C-5350-451F-B04F-E3FFEC3B7C2A.jpeg Florals Tall Serious Vase - oil on board. A tall, dark vase anchors this one, its deep browns and olive greens standing solid and a little moody against a soft, warm background. Big blousy pink roses spill out above, loose and full, their petals catching bits of orange and violet in the shadows. Oil really lets the colours melt into each other here, browns bleeding into olive, pink shifting into violet and back again, with none of the harder edges you'd get in a quicker medium. We only ever see part of the bouquet and part of the vase, cropped in close like a glimpse rather than the whole picture. It gives the piece a quiet, almost stately feel, like there's more going on just outside the frame. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/c20048f4-4951-4815-b54b-3af3f6ae0559/IMG_5631.jpeg Florals Big People - oil on board. The flowers in this one are properly grand, big blousy blooms in soft peach, dusty pink and creamy white, each one crowding in on its next-door neighbour. A few bursts of deep orange and marigold push through near the top, and pockets of blue and violet slip in between the petals, keeping things a bit unexpected. Down below, the vase fades into a pale, hazy white, letting all the colour and size up top really take centre stage. I like to think of them as the big people at the party, taking up more than their fair share of space, a bit loud, a bit larger than life, but somehow still working together in the one vase. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/0a2e2975-ed4f-41ef-ad61-ec30d109b0c9/IMG_2791.jpg Florals Simple Peonies #2 - Aquarelle Pencil study on 200gsm art paper. A quick, quiet study, loose washes of pink and magenta forming soft peony blooms across the page. One flower opens right up, showing off its golden centre, while the others stay a little more closed, just hints of petal and stem sketched through in green. The aquarelle pencil lets me sketch in those stems and fine petal lines first, then blend them straight into the washes with a wet brush, so the drawing and the colour become one and the same. It is simple and unfussy, with the colour carrying the whole piece. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/ff8c0ee5-dd36-46b0-ba7f-781e6ae341dc/IMG_4165.jpeg Florals Sometimes They Go Crazy - oil on board. My reference to crazy here is really about the forms of the blooms and the colours. This one was an experiment, seeing how far I could push deep, saturated oil colours in a floral work. I hadn't been painting florals in oils for long at that stage, so it felt like a bit of a leap. Everything's turned up, hot pink jostling against deep burgundy, and yellows, blues and oranges crashing into each other with barely a breath between them. The flowers themselves stop being tidy and recognisable, more loose swirls and loops of paint than any particular bloom, spilling out of a simple white vase at the base. It's a bit chaotic, a bit joyful, and definitely not holding back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/9caaadb6-5143-44e3-91f7-158cfb2f4b63/IMG_5607.jpeg Florals Flowers in My Auckland Window - oil on board. This one came about after a creative friend got talking about her dad and his love of painting with oils. I'd dabbled in oils back in the 90s but my impatience won out, and I'd switched to acrylics for a faster drying process ever since. On a trip back to the Auckland studio, I dug out those old oils, still in good order, found some gorgeous flowers for inspo, and painted a study warm with the glow of the Auckland light. The blooms up top catch that light and glow, while the stems and leaves below turn dark and dense. Those stems lean on deliberate diagonals too, pulling your eye up from the shadowy tangle at the bottom, out toward the light where the flowers sit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/2319adea-1ea8-47e2-bc64-cd24bbd21bab/IMG_4651.jpeg Florals Crazy Colour Cousins - oil on board. **Crazy Colour Cousins — oil on board, 300mm x 300mm** A small, punchy study that pushes deep, saturated oil colour as far as it'll go. Hot orange and magenta blooms crowd against a near-black background, with flashes of blue, olive and gold cutting through the shadows. The flowers themselves lose their tidiness, becoming loose swirls and blocks of colour rather than any particular bloom. I like to think of these blooms as the crazy cousins at the family gathering, the ones who show up in loud colours, refuse to stand still for the photo, and somehow end up in the middle of every conversation. Compact but bold, and clearly not there to blend in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/2f01ad21-9468-4978-bb30-a005a2af1328/IMG_4748.jpeg Florals Flowers in My Arrowtown Window — oil on board. This cute little chap emerged after my irises had flowered and I had them sitting on my table in Arrowtown, with the beautiful backdrop of the mountains competing for the beauty award. Cool blues and icy whites dominate here, with dark, almost black petals cutting sharply through the pale background, and just a touch of warm orange and olive to keep things grounded. It's loose and wintery, more mood than detail, capturing that crisp Arrowtown light rather than the irises themselves. https://www.melissa-broadbent.com/landscapes daily 0.75 2026-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/516de5f2-f14c-4047-8abd-82105040ffaf/IMG_5755.jpeg Landscapes Queenstown Mountain Lake. I flew over Queenstown recently and saw a number of mountain lakes. To me they felt moody and lonely, and utterly beautiful. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/44cdd184-912d-492c-b2bc-a966c424ce4a/IMG_5722.jpeg Landscapes Otago Mountain Layers. Every day I discover more different shapes in the views of the mountains around Otago. The layers and shapes fascinate me. As do the colours - golds from the tussock, reds and pinks from the jaw-dropping sunset light, darks from the black lichen, whites from the winter snow. The schist holds shades of grey, yellow oxide and burnt sienna. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/ab3243c8-a363-4732-a57e-bcaa49db3175/IMG_1630.jpeg Landscapes Crown Terrace in Winter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/1ab0fb4c-8fdc-432c-a3de-62c9b8534102/IMG_1631.jpeg Landscapes Tasman Glacier. This painting was inspired by the way I felt flying into Tasman Glacier. It emerges in front of you, powerful and gorgeous all at the same time. I was mesmerised by the beautiful blues, greens and greys of the surrounding landscape and the glacier itself. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/7258d764-4ed1-46fe-bc61-a5bb66a73de2/IMG_5509.jpeg Landscapes Queenstown at Night from Cadrona Ski Field. My favourite view when I ski Cardrona is from the top looking over Soho Basin, westwards towards Queenstown. Just on dusk the sky can be so moody, especially when bad weather is brewing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/0e7b95ed-681e-474b-8793-2e1aa915a981/IMG_5618.jpeg Landscapes Glacier at Earnslaw Burn. I spent a day at Earnslaw Burn and the place had a huge impact on me. As we flew we saw sections of the glacier which mesmerised me and took my breath away all at the same time. Although the literal colour palette of the landscape is more limited than my painting, this work conveys some of the things that this special place made me feel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/494daaee-3f00-4ba8-82a0-4164f63bf9ed/IMG_5481.jpeg Landscapes Spring in Glenorchy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/66f0ad02da560d20aa2bc343/9909df66-69bc-448d-81bb-4f7203f0ec74/IMG_5721.jpeg Landscapes Arrowtown’s Sleeping Child. Our home looks northwest towards the profile of the mountains that wrap around Arrowtown. Locals call it the sleeping child as it looks like the profile of the face of a child lying on its back asleep.