Artists

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Jamie Larnach

Jamie Larnach - aotearoa artist

MOVING FORWARD

At the age of 13, Jamie Larnach overheard his father talking about a guy he knew as a teenager, who had a gift for drawing but never did anything with his talent. He thought that was a travesty. “That’s stuck with me all my life. I try to make the most of my talents. I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by insanely creative and passionate people and they’ve always inspired me to keep moving forward and creating.

Inspired by New Zealand’s environment and the patterns that occur in nature, by geometry, coral, Arabic mosaics, and ancient architecture, I have been making artworks for 22 years, including music, jewellery, sculpture and festival dressing. In 1991, immediately after finishing high school I was pre-enrolled at Law school at Waikato University.

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Mike Greenwood

Mike Greenwood - aotearoa artist

CRIKEY! IT'S MIKE GREENWOOD

A larger than life, grumpy sweetheart with a brilliant sense of humour, Mike Greenwood started drawing and painting at the tender age of 12. In school, he was only ever interested in art and sport and has been actively pursuing these passions for 64 years.

Mike left school at 15 and played football until he retired aged 33, intending to be a full time artist. As all artists do, Mike found it hard to exist on the income from his art and decided to start his own domestic fencing business. In this business, he not only did fencing, but retaining walls, decking and landscaping, designing all jobs himself.

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Jacob Barry

Jacob Barry - aotearoa artist

BEHIND THE FACE

Jacob Barry studied art in high school, but his talents were not appreciated, he failed. How many other great icons have failed at school, yet gone onto become well known success stories? There are many. One has to wonder what it is about these situations. Jacob shares with us here.

Jacob passed all other subjects, except art. Looking at what he is doing now, it seems crazy. He received much support from his teachers and parents, thankfully, and has gone on with his art regardless. “The response I got from each painting was the motivating factor.

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Alan Collins

PLEIN-AIR PICQUE

What a smug and satisfied feeling one has (well I do) when you pull off a painting that you are really proud of, especially if it was painted outdoors on the spot without copying from photographs. Oh yeah?

As any ‘plein-air’ artist will know, there is not always a car to sit in and paint, the luxury of looking out of your studio window, or even a policeman in a city street when you desperately need one. You can make your own judgement of the weather, or if you can afford it, book a room with an incredible view in some of the worlds’ most beautiful places. That’s all very well, but gosh it’s dangerous out there.

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Simon Lundqvist

Simon Lundqvist-aotearoa-artistPATIENCE, PERSERVERANCE AND TALENT

One of Simon Lundqvist’s obstacles was to overcome spending some time in a wheelchair after an accident and having to relearn how to walk. “It was a really horrible experience, but I got through it, and in retrospect the whole thing taught me a lot of patience and perseverance. Now the only thing I have left from that ordeal is a very characteristic gait, and a different outlook on life really.”

This left Simon Lundqvist experiencing difficulty with concentration and a lot of free time on his hands. He became obsessed with drawing and sketching, finding he could focus on this and it made him feel better. “I think that single-mindedness really helped me to learn and develop. Ever since childhood I have been infatuated the idea of being an artist and this has grown stronger over time. I’m just really in love with the process of painting and I can think of nothing better than spending my days making art.”

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Jonathan Campbell’s Foundry

LOST AND FOUND

Jonathan Campbell has had sketch books since he was a youngster, constantly sketching compositions and ideas, generally ending up in one theme that leads to another. When he starts to make sculptures, he experiences further changes. “I don’t over-think, once I start doing a piece of work, it seems to take off.”

Having studied at the Foundation of Fine Arts in Whitirea, Jonathan had just picked up his skills when a French wool buying company approached him to produce about 200 castings, to celebrate their centenary. “They had seen my work in a group show and had tracked me down. It was complete luck and it enabled me to set up with decent equipment right away.”

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Simon Kerr

Simon-Kerr-aotearoa-artistSIMON KERR

One-time member of the infamous Hole-in-the-Wall gang, prison escapee and activist, Simon Kerr has turned his remarkable talents to painting, creating a body of work which is both narrative and allegorical, the story of his life and redemption and a commentary on the place of human beings in the world. These works are often autobiographical in nature, exploring Kerr’s controversial history and his Devonport upbringing.

Simon Kerr gained notoriety in the 1980s when he set up the Hole in the Wall Gang (complete with t-shirts!). He also made headlines throughout the 1980s for numerous escapes from custody, including from Mt Eden and Paremoremo prisons. He stowed away on a cargo ship to Australia after escaping from Mt Eden in 1987. In 1994 he mounted a 13-day rooftop turret protest against remand conditions in Mt Eden that ended with the Armed Offenders’ Squad forcibly bringing him down.

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Adult Colouring In – Mitchell Manuel

COLOURING IN - ALSO AN ADULT PAST-TIME

Colouring in books have moved from the children’s toy-box into the hands of adults all over New Zealand and the world. A number of local artists have already published or are in the process of producing adult colouring books and according to recent report in the NZ Herald sales are rocketing, there are even colouring in clubs and a number of Facebook pages like Kiwis who Colour and Kiwi Colourers.

It’s not so much that people are suddenly finding their artistic roots they are using the practice of colouring in and blending of colours as a way to relax, de-stress and self-express.

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Ron Jackson

Ron Jackson - aotearoa artist

RAISING STEAM

With no formal training at an Art College, Yorkshire-born, New Zealand railway artist Ron Jackson honed his skills at night classes at Waiuku College and painting workshops for about ten years.

I started sketching during my holidays then progressed to painting. I had some very good tutors at the art classes workshops that I attended. Further to this I was impressed by the abilities and techniques of amateur artists on a UK Television program ‘Watercolour Challenge’.

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Wallace Trickett

Wallace Trickett - aotearoa artist

CREATIVE SPIN

Believing in what he does and creating a historical link that families will treasure for generations is what makes Wallace Trickett’s creative brain spin. “Life is a learning curve, from the cradle to the grave.”

Wallace studied with a professional painter for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award at age 17 and has always been interested in art. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1979 and started painting seriously in 1997 after taking some stress leave from a full time job in the transport industry. Commissions started almost immediately.

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