There is a compelling sort of joyousness to this stunning Douglas MacDiarmid oil painting that draws people in. Rocroy is a popular beach on the island of Guadeloupe near the village of Baillif, where Douglas’ partner, Patrick was born and grew up. Guadeloupe has been French territory for centuries, a world away from the mannered existence of European cities. The pair built a little holiday cottage at Baillif and visited regularly in the 1970s through to the 1990s to see family and friends, and escape the bleakness of Paris winters. Douglas loved the Creole vibrancy, tropical colour and chaos of village life – all of which has now been overtaken by progress.

At the time, Douglas wrote to his elderly father Gordon in Auckland: ‘”It’s much too fine for work today…’ goes the song. And with the water of the Caribbean at an eternally ideal temperature for pleasure, if another song were to cast a spell of the beach, it would indeed be down tools and away. There is little here that a good song cannot bring about.”

Thankfully, the beautiful black sand and pebble beach of Rocroy has changed little over the decades, still loved by surfers and families alike. These days though there are amenities for an even more memorable visit – shade structures for picnics, public toilets, even an open-air restaurant beside the beach to sample classic French creole cooking.

With its glorious, uninhibited celebration of colour, this painting clearly distinguishes Douglas MacDiarmid from the restraint of many other New Zealand painters. It has great energy and sensuality. Repatriated for sale from a private French collection, it sold at auction for $10,000 in a startlingly ornate, white Provençal frame, that somehow added to the magic of the painting.