Gregory O’Brien, Pat Hanly, Ron Sang Publications, Auckland, p. 231

Pat Hanly first visited the Coromandel in the 1960s, drawn to the creative energy of potter and conservationist Barry Brickell at Driving Creek. The coastline, with its sweeping bush and radiant light, became a place of both inspiration and renewal, revisited often in his sailing adventures along the western shore.

By 1990, when Coromandel Cameos was commissioned in support of opposition to mining in the region, Hanly’s connection to the landscape had deepened into advocacy. The work reflects his impassioned response to the resurgence of commercial mining in the late 1980s, particularly the reopening of the Martha Mine.

Visually, Coromandel Cameos is as constructed as it is painted. Hanly layers oil with collage, embedding fragments from earlier works directly into the board. These are not incidental additions but deliberate compositional interventions, creating a richly tactile surface that embodies both memory and reinvention. True to its title, the painting was intended to be viewed through the circle of one’s thumb and forefinger, isolating small sections of the composition, cameos of light, land, and sea.

The glowing sunset at the heart of the work was, in Hanly’s own words, a number 5 - as good as it gets. It is a touch of nostalgia and personal joy, drawn from his ritual of ranking the Coromandel sunsets after long days sailing with friends. Coromandel Cameos stands as a significant late painting from a career defined by innovation, integrity and visual generosity

Private Collection
Commissioned by the present owners to be published in a calendar to support the anti–mining campaign in Coromandel, 1991