Patsy Dunn's Pages: Art & Writing
Schoolgirl Diary
The diary was written between 1957 and 1959 while Patty Johnson was a schoolgirl at Star of the Sea College, Gardenvale, Melbourne. It was begun on loose leafs of paper but in 1959 was written in a proper bound diary format. It is not complete and has gaps in the entries in both the early and later sections. It provides an account of schoolgirl life and social activity of the time in 1950s Melbourne.
Botanical Art
The botanical art was produced in Auckland between 1972 and 2010 and was signed under her married name Patricia Dunn. Patsy Dunn, as she was known then, had made a study of European botanical art, especially French, and had taken classes from contemporary practitioners such as Ann Swan in London. She based her artworks on flowers from her garden in Epsom, Auckland which she drew and photographed. She especially liked camellia and magnolia flowers which feature prominently in her work.
Garden and Flower Photographs
In addition to her writing and painting Patsy also took a large number of photographs. Her own work developed after she had planted her garden at Bracken Avenue in Epsom, Auckland. The garden and its trees and shrubs became the focus of her work and she made extensive numbers of photographs of her magnolias in flower and also of the many camellias she planted. Once she was retired from teaching she would take photographs almost every day of the garden, concentrating on seasonal changes and varied light effects. Ultimately the photographs covered a much more extensive range than the botanical works which were not derived directly from them.