Mixed Media Archives - Page 2 of 3

Drew Hill

1 July 2016
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Figures, Mixed Media, Photography, Printing

CONTEMPORARY VIEWPOINT

'Meat on Meat'

Using his camera to tell the stories of those who fall through the cracks, Drew Hill ventures to highlight political, social and cultural injustices and issues. He has been passionate about art from an early age and began by using painting as a medium to express his world view.

Drew loves art history and the biographies on artists - how they lived and worked. In 1999 he graduated from Ilam School of Fine Arts, Canterbury and now draws inspiration from current issues, producing thought provoking images through his recently favoured medium, photography, “...because a picture tells a thousand words and it enables you to capture the perfect moment in time that will never be seen again.”

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John Dumergue

1 July 2016
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Collage, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Floral, Impressionism, Landscape, Mixed Media, Painting, Portraits, Stylized

BELIEVING IN BALANCE

An active family man, at age 71, John Dumergue has the balance right in his life. As a member of the oldest team in the Half Ironman in Wanaka, the swimmer being 72 and the cyclist, 82, his most important advice is believe in yourself. “This is what my running coach would say to me as I lined up for, say, an 800m race. I believe this applies to anything you do in life.”

When John was in his fifties, he spent five years training in the martial art of Kung Fu, with elements of Tai Chi. He became an instructor, enjoying the tutoring of beginners classes. He still runs regularly and counts the benefits as endless. He says art was never a career choice, it was just something he did during his spare time. Although, clearly John’s artistic abilities were part of his career choice after all, as he is also a carpenter by trade, having built his own house at the tender age of 21. Art comes in many forms and what will out, will out. Incidentally, he also has a diploma in writing. A multi-talented man. Now that he’s retired from his job as a Certified Kitchen and Bathroom Designer, he paints about four times a week.

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Margaret Scott

1 May 2016
Acrylic, Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Featured Artists, Floral, Hyper Realism, Landscape, Mixed Media, Painting, Surrealism

PRIDE AND PASSION

When Margaret Scott got married, she started painting as a way to supplement their income. Early farming years were tough and she found she could sell paintings of Mount Taranaki to tourists and gift shops. “If I had a hundred calves to feed or four children to look after, I still found time in the evenings to paint. I am constantly thinking of the next painting and what I will paint. I live by the sea and spend lots of time walking, looking at the environment, taking photos and making workbook drawings. Gathering resources is a very important part of being an artist and a teacher.”

It has been a complete need, a passion and drive that has brought Margaret to this point. Having just published her first book, ‘Self-portrait of a Paua’ she laments about the lack of support from the government for artists. “We used to have a thriving arts environment, supported by local arts councils. I was chairperson of the Egmont Community Arts Council for over ten years and we had exciting projects, exhibitions and workshops, all government funded. There were four arts councils in Taranaki and it’s much harder to get funding from the local councils. There is virtually no funding available for solo artist’s ventures, for example, my book, which I had to fund myself. “I am very proud of this book, as it is part autobiographical, historical and resource. The students I teach encouraged me to do this as they felt I should reproduce pages from my workbooks. This makes the book a valuable resource for both teachers and students alike.”

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Chris Emeleus

1 March 2016
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Collage, Featured Artists, Mixed Media, Nature, Painting

PAINTING WITH PAPER

After successfully completing two years of study at Ilam School of Fine Arts - 1989-90, Chris became ill from exposure to pesticides during a summer holiday work experience. As a result he experienced acute Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which lasted twelve years making him unable to complete his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. “My artistic development was very much put on hold during this period however, since making a full recovery, the tangent of my artistic development has been plentiful with many unexpected discoveries.” Chris has gone on to achieve a BA from the University of Canterbury, majoring in Sociology, which he finished in 2005.

A bit of a ‘magpie’ character, Chris collects discarded materials, old magazines and children’s books. His inspiration comes from the potential aesthetic beauty of our transcient/throw-away culture as well as ecological awareness. The likes of Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol have much of Chris’ admiration due to their ability to use mundane objects and squeeze artistic beauty from them. “I am very indebted to Picasso and Braque as they were both pioneers in integrating collage into their works and helped raise awareness of collage as a serious art form within western art.”

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Simon Lundqvist

1 November 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Emerging Artists, Figures, Mixed Media, Painting, Portraits, Youth Art

PATIENCE, 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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Sue Lund

1 September 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Enamel, Featured Artists, Impressionism, Installation, Mixed Media, Nature, Painting, Resin

FINDING THE RYTHM

Sue Lund, an elected artist of the Academy of Art in Wellington, is well-known for her striking work on the walls of the buildings at the Learning Connexion where she studied for an Advanced Diploma in Formless Art between 2003 and 2004, she already had a degree in Fine Arts from NAS in Sydney.

Sue is inspired by life: “Living and the crazy things that send you to places you either never want to go again or where the intrigue is too enormous to resist,” she says adding: “I did quite a bit of travel in my twenties and those times showed me a fairly full spectrum of what life is all about.”

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Indigo Wise

1 September 2015
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Drawing, Featured Artists, Ink, Mixed Media, Pencil, Realism

PROCEED BEYOND

Well known for her paintings and drawings of New Zealand native birds; including the Native New Zealand Falcon, Fantail, Kea and Tui, Indigo Wise found her passion for art after overcoming long-term health issues and enrolling in an 18 month Visual Arts course at the Golden Bay Work centre.

That was in 2010-2011 and it was not her first study of the arts. Prior to this, in 1988, Indigo completed a diploma of Interior Design, which included life drawing, graphic design, art history and technical drawing at Whitecliffe Art School. As a distance delivery student in Golden Bay, Indigo studied through The Learning Connexion from 2012 – 2014 coming out with a diploma of Art & Creativity and Diploma of Art & Creativity (honours).

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Claudia Recorean

1 May 2015
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Europe, Featured Artists, Mixed Media, Nature, Painting

CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONIST

Claudia Recorean has been exhibiting her contemporary artwork in far-flung locations such as Germany and Mongolia and more recently right here in New Zealand. Here she tracks her career from the start.

The start of my artist career was marked, when I was ten years old and my grandfather sent me out to burn the rubbish. Watching the flames melt plastic into fluids and turning objects into new shapes initiated along lasting fascination with material transformation and the wish to spin straw into gold.

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Karen Vernon

1 January 2015
Abstract, Artists, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Mixed Media, Nature, Painting

UNDER A BENIGN SPIRIT

“My art doesn’t stand on words. What is on my canvas I sometimes can’t explain away with clever talk. It is not an intellectual process, my paintings are intuitive, and, I feel, painted under the tutelage of a benign spirit.” So says Karen Vernon whose journey into the art world began in 1993 while attending American Folk Art classes in Auckland.

Largely self-taught and without any formal art training Karen says she has been fortunate to have had the guidance of a number of “wonderful” art tutors to get to the level she is at today. “I was a student of Jayne Sprott, and attended her watercolour class for three years. It was at this point I developed a passion for art and began trying other mediums, but staying in the realms of more traditional realistic painting.

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Monika Welch

1 May 2014
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Featured Artists, Figures, Mixed Media, Nature, Oils, Painting, Pop Art

LET US BE ARTISTS!

It was the love of art and an inherent creativity that paved the way for Monika Welch, a former musician, to become a full time artist.

“I never had any formal are training and just blundered and blustered my way through,” she quips, adding that she did not enter the world of ‘art’ until she was 35: “It was New Year’s and my friend Julie asked what shall we do this year? Seeing as we’d both dabbled in writing and music I replied: ‘let’s be artists, and that was that.”

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