Featured Artists

Jenny Konz

jenny-konz-aotearoa-artistTHERAPEUTIC TALENT

The first time Jenny Konz picked up a pencil to draw with, was in 2009. She maintains there was never a 'plan’ to become an artist. She resorted to drawing to ease the ache in her heart from her daughter and granddaughter living so far away in America.

"I went over to America for the birth of my first grandchild as my son-in-law (GI Joe) was doing a tour in Iraq. It tore my heart in two when I had to leave this beautiful little bundle and come back home. His second tour was when she was two years old, and my daughter and granddaughter came to New Zealand for a holiday. I fell in love with this bundle of joy all over again and my heart seriously broke when they had to leave. I struggled to cope with the loss and decided to pick up a pencil and try to draw her from my favourite photo, thinking that it would be good therapy for me. I had my Aunt Margaret who lived in Christchurch who was an artist (Margaret Hudson-Ware) so I sent her my drawing for some feedback and this is what she said… "What a lovely drawing! You have caught the most important part of any drawing, which is the spirit of the work. Alex looks unsure, uncertain what is happening. Well done Jenny!!! The hair is very soft and babyish and wispy . . . good work here. Hands are a nightmare. These hands are very sweet and very young . . . good work again. (I think of them as a bunch of sausages). Lop-sided is real, too symmetrical often looks artificial - a bit of good work. Just keep going."

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Fiona Newton - Aotearoa Artist - The New Zealand Artists Magazine

Fiona Newton

fiona-newton-aotearoa-artistFINDING WHENUA

By Matt Mortimer

Here in Aotearoa we are blessed to have an abundance of stunning natural beauty around us to inspire creative works and fire the coals of our imagination. This connection to our whenua is more than simply sightseeing or exploring to artist Fiona Newton, this began and still forms the base for much of her work today, including an approach of kaitiaki – guardianship of the land. This includes utilising discarded items she finds along the way.

"I began gathering off the coastline, finding marine waste, sea glass, sea stones and sandblasted crockery on old tile and brick, my concern was respecting the beautiful coastline (keeping it) free of rubbish. A lot of it comes from boats and people throwing waste off the cliffs," she says. "I’m very visual and notice the beauty in most simple things especially nature and our incredible Aotearoa. We have fantastic coastlines, rivers, mountains, and native bush. We are the lucky country! I see myself as an environmental artist. I work with found objects in nature in my garden art and found objects in my sculptural work, recycling and sustainable art. I began mosaicking on concrete, making garden art."

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Alex Hoare

 

As with all artists across the board, the issue of confidence in ability is always a tenuous thing, especially when young and starting out. Alex Hoare is just such a young talented artist, who is finding out exactly how much talent he really has, both with visual and performance art. Colin Hoare, Alex’s father was featured in our September October 2014 issue, and visited us here in Whangarei around the same time, bringing his twin sons, Alex and James to introduce them. It is with great pride and pleasure that we introduce our readers to Alex, his talents and his reflections.

The only formal training for art I’ve had was in classes at school. My art class in high school was the foundation for my understanding of art and made me excited to create; it gave me a really good baseline understanding of how to apply different materials and techniques to my work to create art that looked the way I wanted it to. I remember we would experiment with so many different mediums and just have fun with creating art and I think that’s still so important to my creative process now.

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Mark Daniells

Mark Daniells - Aotearoa Artist

EXOTIC ROOTS

Born in California, Mark Daniells grew up in the Federated States of Micronesia. While living there, his mother was a teacher and his father was a civil engineer and both were artists as well. He loved drawing during his youth and had ample time to explore the wildlife with his three brothers. Years later, after moving back to California and focusing on art, he graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Print Making. He had acquired the additional skill of being a builder which helped sustain him for many years.

During his childhood, growing up in the islands of Micronesia, Mark was instilled with a sense of awe for natural beauty. Nature is the true master of design, shapes and colour. With his island roots he eventually moved to Hawaii where he lived for close to 40 years with his wife Diane. Being an accomplished builder he finally realized his dream of being a full time artist and opened Mark Daniells Gallery in the town of Hanalei on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. 

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Larry Abreño

Larry Abreño - Aotearoa Artist

AHHHH, COFFEE!

I believe being an artist runs in my blood as I have an Uncle who is an artist. I took art seriously when I moved to New Zealand from the Philippines in 2014, as I had more time to focus on exploring art during my spare time. But honestly, doing art served as my solace and escape when I was home sick and feeling alone.

I don’t have any formal art training except for an Art Appreciation Course during my University years in the Philippines. I also joined various informal art classes while working as a teacher – this was when I discovered the art of Coffee Painting. I love using coffee because of its classical and monochromatic effect. I love the challenge of using only one colour to create meaning and evoke feelings. The biggest motivating factor for me is to be able to share my talent and skills in art and inspire others to follow their passion, especially young people. I find my inspiration through life experiences, through people I’ve met in my travels, the places I have been to, and in the beauty of nature. 

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Yasmin Yussof

Yasmin Yussof - Aotearoa Artist

GLOBAL GIRL

My name is Yasmin Yussof. I was born in Germany of Swiss-Malaysian parentage. I have been an Australian citizen, lived around the world and now, I am a permanent resident of New Zealand. Someone once called me ‘Global Girl’ as I never lived anywhere for more than two years, and was born to parents from different ends of the world.

My father was an Ambassador so I have lived in Singapore, Germany, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Iran and Rome. Travelling all over the world as a child I attended mainly international schools. From when I was young, I have always been a tactile person, never knowing I wanted to be an artist, it just happened. I always creating something, just a doodler and needing to keep my hands busy. Never thinking anything of it, just did it. If one has a calling, whatever the profession, you can’t help but go in that direction.

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Tessa Ralston

tessa-ralston-aotearoa-artistINSPIRED ILLUSTRATION

I’ve come to find that art seems to always niggle it’s way back into my life, even, perhaps, when I’m trying to distance myself from it. I have no true recollection of ‘getting into art’, but like most children inherently are, I was drawn to painting and visual expression.

With my mother being a graphic designer, I was fortunate enough that she fostered my artistic energy and patiently encouraged my creativity – and amusingly, she simultaneously firmly discouraged my entering the graphic design world. I believe there is a subtle divergence that happens when artists are ‘made’, and that is when they keep drawing, painting and playing after they are no longer children.

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Sally-Ann Davies

Sally-Ann Davies was born in Shropshire, England and resides in Taupo. She started her journey of becoming an artist as a toddler, drawing on the newly wallpapered walls of the farmhouse she grew up in. Her favourite subject at school without doubt was art. She vividly remembers that the primary school she attended would reward you if you finished your work early, with going and playing in the craft corner. She remembers how amazing creations developed with the simple materials such as egg cartons and toilet rolls. 

Her journey to becoming the esteemed artist she is today did not come with ease. A the age of 12 she had a detached retina so ended up having quite a few months off school. This meant no active play, which she says was very frustrating when you grow up on a farm with her brothers. Sally-Ann is a triplet, so you can understand the frustration she must have had, because she and her brothers normally spent their time building dens, rafts and camping by the river. 

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Rochelle Boult - Aotearoa Artist

Rochelle Boult

FREE SPIRIT

Watching unlimited possibilities unfold onto paper, Rochelle Boult’s free spirit finds itself at the tip of a sharpened pencil. Finding peace and relaxation within her mark making, she builds her line and tone gently, observing her drawing as it gradually grows in depth and detail using shading and clever use of the different softnesses of her medium.

Rochelle creates works with Faber-Castell thick Graphite on Bockingford Drawing paper. Starting with an HB which she uses to sketch the outline, she then moves through from a 2B for shading to a 6B and an 8B for final depth. Rochelle also does some printmaking including etching and woodcuts, which she has successfully sold in a Marlborough exhibition.

Boat Sheds Otago Harbour-john-white-aotearoa-artist

John White

John White - Aotearoa Artist

WILD PASSION

“Don’t be afraid, all the great painters had to start somewhere. You will make many mistakes so go ahead and start making them”. Adeptly using the time honoured mediums of oil and watercolour, John White portrays his love of wildlife through richly built paintings, softly painted, revealing the passion he has for his subject. Having built his skills over a lifetime he continues to create, advise and exhibit in New Zealand and overseas.

You know the first thing people ask me when they see my art is “how long have you been painting”? My answer is that I have always painted. I was brought up in a small place called Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula with my three brothers and one sister. One of my brothers is my identical twin who is also an artist. We are the only ones in our family who do art, so my parents really did not understand what it was all about but they did encourage us. In my late teens I used to come home after playing rugby on a Saturday and paint watercolours on our kitchen table. If we had any visitors my mother would bring out my paintings and show them.

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