Annie Lambourne says she does not always love being an artist but has an inherent and absolute need to create often to the exclusion of all else. “Everything around me takes a back seat,” she says, “housework, gardening and even cooking food.” Fortunately, Annie’s family are incredibly supportive and are quite used to having to work around the creative process, and often having to dodge around the latest creation that obstructs the TV or sit next to a six foot metal man sitting next to them in the car on the journey home from school.
A passionate environmental artist, Darina Cincurova, hopes her art will inspire a respect and appreciation of New Zealand's diverse wildlife heritage.
Born in the Czech Republic, Darina says art has been her ‘thing’ from early childhood when she started drawing the world around her and dreamed of becoming a full time artist. Little wonder then that as a student Darina abandoned fashion design opting instead to undertake a four-year art course at a private art school in Prague as this allowed her more freedom to express herself. It is this artistic freedom that has driven and inspired Darina all her life and what she loves most about being an artist. “I cannot imagine life without it,” she says simply.
Born in Levin, DeAnne Lawford Smith has been artistically inclined from birth. Growing up in a large family which included many foster children, the easiest and most economical means of entertainment was with paper and pencils. With enthusiastic encouragement from her family, DeAnne has blossomed into a full time professional artist.
Married with three children, DeAnne travelled between Rotorua and Taupo over a four year period to complete her Diploma of Visual Art (Fine Art) in 2000 at the Waiariki Institute of Technology. Armed with this accomplishment, she managed to overcome her shyness and was able to present her work to galleries and buyers, resulting in her first solo exhibition in Tauranga and achieved first place in the prestigious Portage Ceramic Award in 2007.
Growing up and being schooled in the United Kingdom, Julia Henderson attended a very conservative grammar school, where art was not considered an appropriate career choice. She studied Biological Sciences and went on to do a BSc and PhD in Ecology. She still felt the urge to get involved with the arts though and after immigrating to New Zealand 25 years ago, she obsessively studied art, taking numerous classes and workshops covering all aspects of art – drawing, painting in all media, print-making, colour theory and art history including Maori and Pacific art.
After deciding to take the next step and try to make a career out of art, she began entering competitions, experiencing some success. Finally a friend convinced her to approach a gallery with her work, and to her delight and beyond her wildest dreams, Julia was offered a solo exhibition. The sell-out show, held nearly 20 years ago, cemented Julia’s ambition and she has prospered ever since.
"The freedom of bringing something to life, whether it be a spark in the eye of a little bird or bringing something out of my head and trying to replicate nature – this is what I love about being an artist."
While Beth’s children were small and she worked part-time, she completed a Diploma with Honours at the Learning Connexion in Wellington. “This involved a lot of discipline and time juggling and although I hadn’t really done any artwork since school, I could feel the creative passion waiting in the background. Completing that diploma with honours really unlocked the doors for me.”
After trying various work prospects, such as clerical, retail, bank and so on, Bari Duncan finally decided to follow her lifelong passion. “Right from pre-school,” she reflects, “my mother couldn’t keep up with my lust for colouring-in books. I have always longed to follow my heart and get focused on my painting. I just kept pushing, struggling, learning and trying until the time was right.”
Having been dealt a number of blows on her journey, Bari reflects, “My art is everything to me, it’s who I am, a driving force. I love that it has helped me through the hardest, roughest times in my life and when it seemed everything around was crumbling, it kept me focused and positive.” On the subject of education, she has not attended art school or university.
Inspired and encouraged by the likes of leading New Zealand watercolourist Brian Millard and internationally acclaimed Alvaro Castagnet, award winning watercolour artist Claudia Slaney has painted all her life. In this illuminating article she reveals that art has always been and remains her main interest in life.
“I have gradually become absorbed by the need to paint and draw all the time. It is really what I have always done from a very young age.”
You might have come across this talented lady’s work in a book or magazine or even a calendar. Although no one in Jacky Pearson’s family painted, she was encouraged to do so because she was so passionate about drawing and painting which she took to A level standard in high school.
Kellie Edwards spends a lot of time outside her studio thinking and planning, and as a long distance runner she has plenty of time for thinking.
When she is not running, Kellie works part time-caring for children of local families. This time spent with children has been a good counter balance to her work in fine art, being the opposite of contemplative studio time. The transition back into almost full time art has helped her work past being the perfectionist, and having less studio time in the week has been great leverage to keep her fearlessly moving forward.
Trained as a graphic designer, Kim Crosland is a largely self-taught artist who says she picked up a great deal of her artistic knowledge by joining online art groups and watching various You-tube tutorials.
“This approach helped me to ascertain what is going on in the wider art world, what techniques other artists are using and learning how to develop and apply a distinctive style of my own,” Kim reveals. Kim has carried an inherent ability to draw and paint with her from an early age; her father and grandfather were both portrait artists. She took up painting again about seven years ago, after her father had passed away and also because a friend asked her to paint a few musicians portraits, which were hung in a bar. After that she couldn’t stop. She says she feels indebted to both her late father and her friend for encouraging her to get back into art after 15 years of not touching a brush.
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