land and independently evolved a clear-edged style. During this period he produced a particularly distinctive group of paintings and drawings. Bootham's ability to capture the unique light and landscape characteristics of a particular country is a skill also revealed in his paintings done in England, Scotland, Australia, and North Africa and Palestine (when posted there 1945–47 with the Royal Signals). After a heart attack in 1969, his health did not allow him to engage as directly with the natural world as he had hitherto. Now more studio-bound he became experimental in his treatment of subject matter. In 1973 he developed his concept of merging subject matter with light, which culminated in a number of visionary watercolours, such as: Daybreak Over the Falls, the series That Indwelt With Light, and Woodland. In 1973 he moved to Castlecliff on the outskirts of Wanganui, which resulted in increased physical and mental isolation. His art work became more reliant on past experiences and the inner life. His art of this period was influenced by his interest in myth, religion, history, memory, time and space, psychology (general and autobiographical), and philosophy. In 1979 he finished the last of five oils known as the Quest Series. He ceased painting in 1982 due to deteriorating health. His last works are drawings of a Coromandel river, done while on holiday. He spent the last years of his life pursuing his long-held interest in other languages (Anglo Saxon, Middle English, Spanish, French), listening to recorded music (during his last months a record of Schubert trios was an almost permanent resident on the turntable), and reading widely – something he had always done. On his death he left behind a substantial body of work: drawings, watercolours, pastels, and oils. As an indicator of what that number might be, consider that in the spare time available to him when in the Royal Signals (mid-1944 to January 1947) he completed 722 art works – predominantly drawings, but also many watercolours and some pastels – and the vast bulk of that number were done in the period November 1945 (when posted to Benghazi) to October 1946 (when posted to Haifa) through to January 1947. Joe Bootham is the father of New Zealand writer and composer Ivan Bootham. Exhibitions 1990 One-man show Christopher Moore Gallery, Wellington. 1988 Group exhibition Images of the Wanganui River, Sarjeant Gallery. 1988 Group show Self Portraits, Christopher Moore Gallery.