Artists

As a young child I would be mesmerised by my Grand Father (Val Blomfield) oil painting on the veranda in Pt Chev. I remember sitting with him at Western Springs for hours on end watching him sketch the ducks, trees and water. I always had a fascination with his skill.
Pop would always draw a cartoon on Birthday cards, Christmas cards, envelopes which he would send out to family and friends and this is where my interest in cartooning started. I remember growing up at my fathers signwriting shop (Colin Blomfield - Blomfield Signs) and I would spend as much time as I could watching my Father and Grand Father signwriting and in essence creating unique pieces of art with every skillful brushstroke. True artisan craftsmen experts in their own right. Some people laugh, some people at events ask me to add their dear old deceased dog – it is so much fun that I forget that this is now a job for me. The best job in the world really. To date the highlights have been illustrating new Sunglass range at a Dulce & Gabanna event, cartooning for a Sky City Breakers event, cartooning for Hospice West Auckland and helping such a great organisation and now, cartooning the awesome publishing crew for the cover of The New Zealand Artist Magazine. Commissioned pieces for Australia and South Africa were also great highlights as well as private functions and weddings around New Zealand and the many commissioned pieces I have done for people from all walks of life. I am humbled to be blessed with this skill and have no idea where this will go but it always comes back to creating in an artisan way. Something that can be so easily lost in this technological age.

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If you’re ever exploring the beauty of Northland and you hear opera music blaring across the countryside, you will have stumbled on artist Michelle Wright at work. Acrylics at the ready, the strains of each melody wind their way around her easel and aid in creating her next piece.

“There is nothing more I love than blasting my favourite opera songs from ‘Il Volo’ to my absolute favourite ‘Andrea Bocelli’, much to the enjoyment of my neighbours!” In short, it works. Michelle spends a lot of time outdoors and a lot of this inspires her work. Although it wasn’t always the case. As with many, painting proved to be a healer in many ways. “I have always been inspired by New Zealand scenery, the native bush, native birds and coastline. Growing up in Otaki and Kapiti Coast was always inspirational, even on a wet day! “Let’s just say like many others, my path in life has not always been smooth sailing. From health scares to, let’s be honest, some rock bottom moments. It’s been a struggle. With support from family around me I’ve managed to pull myself through with my art as a great distraction. “Now each day I enjoy multiple walks along the beach where I live, talking to and photographing the local bird life. My preferred subject would be the New Zealand coast and landscapes. I am drawn to the different times of day, the different light, the clouds, the reflections, dawn and dusk.” She also enjoys painting from photographs and has a myriad of them for this very purpose. “I usually always have my idea of what I would like to paint; I always refer to my huge library of photos that I have taken myself over the years, as well as ones sent from family and friends.”

If you would like to get in touch with Michelle, please email her here: Michelle Wright

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It is often said it’s not about the destination, but the journey itself. For many, this describes art; whether it is a finding of oneself, growing as an individual or simply starting a piece, shaping and moulding it as you go until that final moment of being happy with the end result. Ingrid Mann shares this philosophy of the journey.

“I define my art as a fabulous journey. My art practice is not just the practical side, making art, but it also encompasses all my visual interpretation of landscape and my cultural experiences. These elements are abundant in New Zealand and returning here after 40 years has greatly stimulated me. My art is intuitive, and as such I am driven to use my imagination and feel a free creative mind. I love to be loose with paint, however I also require myself to have some discipline – especially with black and white or small paintings.” Regardless of the approach, the fabulous result of each and every stage culminates in some special pieces of art. Colour abounds and Ingrid seems to demand a presence with the splashes of each hue across the canvas. “Art takes you to another plane. I am constantly inspired by colours, visualising and working on the process. My work is deliberately non-representational and abstract, because I want to engage the viewer’s imagination so that every time they look at my work, they see something different. Art is very subjective. Having said that, my proudest moments are when I have completed my painting and I have time to sit and look at it. I never fail to be proud of my own work and I do not need or seek other opinions.”

See Ingrid's work here: Ingrid Mann.

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There’s something about painting. The caress of the brush against the canvas, turning a blank space into a vibrant masterpiece.

There’s something about looking at paintings too. Imagining the artists thought process along the way, how they used colour, blending and shapes. How did they get inspired to do this piece of work in particular? Wellington-based artist Escha van den Bogerd travelled the long way from the Netherlands to our fair shores in Aotearoa, to paint portraits, in some cases of people looking at paintings: the inspiration for each piece of work being a simple enough philosophy. “My main inspiration is from the Old Masters and the classical European feel. I started off as a portrait artist and then did figurative painting for many years. I have been working for some years on my museum paintings, a series of paintings of people studying famous paintings,”she says. The inspiration of the classics is a key driver for Escha as you can imagine, along with the ability to share this with all around her, and the freedom she has to do just that. “To be able to do what I love and share this with the world, to express my feelings and moods and to be able to work for myself and have the time to work when I want is a great combination.” Mood definitely helps too – it’s not always easy to paint a nice happy picture if your mood doesn’t match. Getting into the right headspace is important, but changing moods can bring out new and interesting works and ideas, in addition to other elements that Escha draws on for inspiration.
See more of Escha's work here: Escha van den Bogerd

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Searching for treasure or a lofty goal has been a human motivation since day one. Whether it be the elusive Holy Grail, pirates looking for the sunken chest of bullion or getting the detail in that brushstroke to look just right, it seems we’re all searching for betterment. Somewhere along the line we have to make a decision on a definitive direction. Do I focus on art full-time? Or is it a part-time gig or hobby? Enter Alina Gane-Hurcomb. It seemed to dawn on her that once she got started, she fell into a love of painting and all things art! “I had always loved art, but hadn’t considered it as a career until I attended a free workshop at The Learning Connexion three years ago. They called a week later offering me a scholarship to come and study with them.

“The scholarship motivated me to try my hand at art and after two weeks, art had crept into my soul and made its bed. I knew I was there for the long haul and that art was what had been the missing ingredient in my life.” The decision made, direction was the key. Alina had to find the treasure now that the missing ingredient - painting - was evident. “I didn’t know what I was inspired by creatively. I would see fellow artists who were completely passionate about various things and I would work with them on projects and exhibitions in the hope that their passion for the subject matter would rub off, but I found that my work always lacked something. I knew that I needed to find my own muse, but had no idea where to look. In 2018 I found her! It turns out that my passion, inspiration and soul reside in historical European architecture and travel.” She came full circle in considering herself an artist following one of these offshore adventures.
Alina Gane-Hurcomb

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Art, creative thinking and graphics have been my life since age fifteen when I was given a bursary to Art School in 1952 – it changed my life, my thinking, my skills and especially my eye-hand coordination. Art has since never been an amusement pastime or hobby for me. It has been my living – my life. A social realist painter and thinker – Douglas remains true to his heritage.

‘Our Village’ Attenborough’s fields, Haydon Dell, the Churchyard graves of Dr Munro, Thomas Hearne and Henry Edridge ARA and the remains of Herkomer’s castle ‘Lululaund’ were the wartime playgrounds of Douglas Chowns. Studios still existed in friends’ gardens or were abandoned, dilapidated shells open to the sky. Lucie Kemp-Welch was painting in a black straw hat and smelt of turpentine and lavender water. The late Mary Bromet and her work were still much in conversation. The Bohemians – the Artists – had created the aura and myth into which Douglas was born in Bushey in 1937. A. E. Matthews was a familiar figure about the village as were Canadians Frank and Cyril Church who later talked film and Bushey Studios when Douglas was in his teens at Art School in Watford. From an early age, Douglas was fascinated by illustrations in his mother’s Orange Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by Henry Justice Ford, from whom he learned to understand drawing in line. Douglas is also an accomplished watercolourist, painting land and seascapes that often facilitate his lifestyfe. He was the University of Otago commissioned painter and was Patron to the Northland Polytechnic Art Gallery at Geoff Wilsons request before Geoff tragically died. Douglas was Senior Art Tutor and initiator of the Art School which now lists over 150 full time students. As co-founder of the New Zealand Gaidhealtachd annual Celtic Summer School, his childhood legacy in the shadow of the Royal Caledonian Schools, piping, dancing and drumming with Pipe Major Charles Turnbull around and about Bushey and Watford, the West Herts Scottish Society and the London Scottish Regiment, the Thistle Club dances in Oxhey church halls, have all surfaced in McKenzie Bay, a New Zealand centre where Scots, Irish, Welsh and Cornish meet on a regular annual festival. Touring New Zealand Universities and Polytechnics with London Art Historian and author Edward Lucie-Smith, an old friend and colleague, resulted in a new body of work comprising this ‘Enduring of Suffering’ series.
Dougie Chowns

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