NZ Artist Study

Rei Hamon: New Zealand Pointillism Artist

(The one of the most successful artists in history, but also one of the least known.)

I Chose Rei Hamon because his life story is amazing, and how he came about to paint is really interesting!

If you read on, you will find about the life story of a hard working artist ,

who went through many challenges to get where where he was in the 1970's.

Francis Rei Paul Hamon, was born in Auckland December, 17, 1919.

As a boy, he grew up in Gisborne in the North Island.

He was used to working hard, helping his parents to enlarge their their small dairy farm.

From a young age, he went into the Urewera area to split posts in the bush for sheep stations.

For over forty years, Rei and his family, lived, worked in the bush.

In 1965, Rei was hurt in a farm accident, with serious back injury that almost left him paralysed.

Unable to do any more hard labour, he and his family were broke. They did not know what to do.

One day his daughter left her ballpoint pen and he pad at home. 

Rei found it, and started to draw, something that he had never done since early primary school!

He was embarrassed by his first drawings, and hid them, but his wife found them and took them to a local photographer. The photographer was impressed with their quality, and took them to

the director of a leading art gallery in Auckland, who immediately 

wanted to stage a show of Rei’s work.

That is how eventually with much practice, he developed a unique art style called pointillism.

He was a popular artist in the 1970s and 1980s, his drawings captured the

native New Zealand bush. He drew from the giant Kauri tree, to the tiny Manuka flower.

Sadly Rei died in 2008, but his artwork, and his life story still; and will continue to inspires other.