Melanie McKenzie challenges traditional visual perception, inviting viewers to see the world through a softer, more ethereal lens. While her hard wire stool might be a juxtaposition to that, even her best seat is an example of the different ways in which softness can be experienced. 

 

Bokeh, derived from photographic terminology describing out-of-focus areas, is more than just a painting technique for Southland artist Melanie McKenzie – it has become a metaphorical exploration of softness and perception. 

Her artistic journey begins with her camera, manually unfocusing to capture blurry photographs. As she pulls the lens out of focus, pinpricks of light – from street lamps, windows, or sunlight filtering through trees – begin to shift in shape. ‘As we soften our gaze,’ Mel explains, ‘the light expands and grows, changing our perspective.’ From there she translates her scene as a sketch on canvas, before ‘lashing it with rich, buttery oil paint’.

Central to her creative process is a low-back Ico Traders bar stool from Wilson & Dorset. 

‘It is a bit of a dichotomy that my work is all about softness and then I sit down to paint in a hard metal chair,’ she laughs. ‘But actually the lightness of the structure, the lines of it … it isn’t a big hard solid nest, it has a sense of openness. There is a textural softness to it that appeals to me, and a reminder that there are all sorts of different ways softness can be experienced.’

When Mel sits down, she knows ‘it is time for action’.
Like many artists, she spends considerable time standing back, assessing balance, contrast, colour and proportion. The chair’s height provides a practical vantage point, allowing her to move between sitting and standing with ease. 

The first time she entered a Bokeh-style painting into an award show, it won. A month later she won another award. ‘I felt like the universe was trying to tell me something,’
she recalls. 

Immersed in the vibrant Southland art scene, Mel appreciates the grassroots nature of local art communities, where country halls host exhibitions and local artists support each other, and the confidence it gave her to push her art out into the world. Her work is now exhibited nationwide and she is a firm fixture in the Southland Arts Trail in November, and regularly opens her studio up to visitors. Her recently purpose-built space, The Penny Drops, allows visitors an insight into her creative world and distinctive Bokeh paintings. 

‘The Penny Drops has been my studio name since my first forays into “making things” over a decade ago, representing the literal “dropping” of my maiden name – Penny – upon marriage. But it is also about that moment when it clicks – an approach suited to paintings; I am creating and customers are falling in love with them. It is about trusting our gut when it says this is it.’

Mel’s advice when it comes to finding that perfect seated tool of the trade is to ‘choose something you love, something that speaks to your heart’. Her chair isn’t just a functional piece of furniture, but a symbol of her journey – local roots, carrying stories of creative communities, and a chance to view softness as an opportunity to gain perspective, rather than lose focus.