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Mastering art is an endeavour that requires a vast amount of patience spanning decades rather than days; an ability to remain fluid and open-minded, yet still in the moment. South African native and Kiwi artist Martha Mitchell has grown to understand these fundamental lessons over time in her bid to perfect her paintings of human expression and sentiment through portraits. An insightful individual and a motivated family woman, Martha shares how she has found balance in life through artistic teachings.

Martha Mitchell grew up on a small farm just outside of Pietermaritzburg; the second largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, known for its mountainous terrain and beautiful landscapes. Growing up surrounded by such natural magnificence, Martha has always displayed a flair for creativity which resulted in her choosing art as a staple class in high school, before going on to gain a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Natal, majoring in Fine Arts. “I have always been interested in art. To me, creativity is something that I can’t suppress or ignore. I need to express the ideas and thoughts that occupy my mind, and this has always driven me to pursue art as a career. After university, I taught in schools for a number of years in South Africa, all the while continuing to create in my free time. Since moving to New Zealand in 2008, working for wages has been put on the back burner more often that not, and I’ve become more focused on honing my own creative abilities in the last nine years.” Just prior to the Mitchell family’s move to New Zealand, Martha had been offered a teaching position at Tikipunga High School in Whangarei. Excited at the prospect of overseas travel and new opportunities for her husband and young children, Martha gladly accepted the offer and the Mitchell whanau made the journey into the unknown – a decision that would prove rewarding for all.

If you would like to get in touch with Martha, or view more of her work, visit her website . Martha Mitchell

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From the moment he could walk, Jack Magnus McDonald, who prefers to be known as Magnus, created and built things. He was four years old when his parents took him on the Interislander ferry and he was so infatuated by the vessel that he spent the following two weeks at kindergarten reconstructing it out of Weetbix boxes. It ended up so big that his parents had to tow it home on the tandem trailer behind the farm truck.

Although Magnus never had any formal training, he has been surrounded by a strong network of creative minds while growing up, offering support, inspiration and guidance. As a naturally observant person, most of his skills have come from watching and learning. While the desire to create has always been present along with his fascination – bordering on obsession – with objects, it wasn’t until he won a local art competition that he decided to take art seriously. “My winning piece was a contemporary, multi-media composition on corrugated iron which represented the now-ruined Christchurch Cathedral. The prize money was mind-blowing for 16-year-old me and, on top of that, I sold the painting to the local law firm. I was hooked.” Magnus’ father, Mark McDonald, is an established artist who became well known in the 80s for his vibrant, moody prints of Mount Taranaki. Magnus enjoys his fathers mentoring, and the talent is strong in the bloodline. When it comes to canvases, Magnus doesn’t really prefer a specific brand, opting to get his canvases custom stretched using professional archival quality materials. He enters the ‘zone’ when he is painting, so listening to podcasts is impossible as he needs his attention for the paintings. So he plays hip-hop and New Zealand reggae and, as he stands at his easel, he uses the freedom to ‘bust out a few moves’. To new artists, Magnus says: “You can be the best artist in the word but if no one lays an eye on your work then what is the point? Marketing is a key skill in the life of any artist. I am not talking about trashy flyers or posters in the local café. What I am talking about is telling a captivating story which resonates with a specific audience and builds your profile as an artist. Balance your time between the easel and the people.” Solid advice there. Magnus has artwork in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

See Magnus' work here: Magnus McDonald.

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Formally trained in graphic design, Georgette Thompson has never lost the drive to express herself through paint. Starting art classes at Art Metro in 2014, under the tutelage of Livia Dias, the frequency and productivity of Georgette’s art has blossomed.

Currently practicing her art in her spare time, outside full time work as a graphic designer at Harvey Cameron in Christchurch, Georgette likes to challenge herself consistently to improve, whether painting a tricky face, complex scene or object. “I love choosing to create either realistic or imaginative works. I use oil painting to challenge my technical abilities, striving for realism. I get satisfaction from conveying a scene or portrait convincingly, whereas I turn to wash and ink drawings as a form of relaxation. In these drawings I have no set outcome in mind, the process controls the outcome, which in turn makes the results unique. I like that I am not fixed to one style or medium. It is also rewarding watching the viewer’s experience of my works. Seeing others enjoy my work is such a buzz.” Her ambition when painting portraits of those who have passed away is to bring life and connection into the piece for the loved ones left behind to enjoy. “This is something that photographs do not necessarily achieve,”’ she says. Her favourite medium is oil paint, and she has come to appreciate the extended working time that this medium allows. “It sure beats acrylic paint in this regard, and I don’t miss the palette drying out on you halfway through! I recently completed a commission of a local scene of the Canterbury Plains viewed from Mt Hutt which reveals the beautiful patchwork of farmland divided by hedges and fence lines. There was much detail to capture and it was also the largest landscape I have done to date.” For new artists, Georgette advises to “get yourself out there. For too long I was too timid to share my work. It is obviously a scary thing to show your work to others but it is also the most rewarding. Try it.” She has work in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.”

See Georgette's work here: Georgette Thompson.

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Gabby McKenzie is the epitome of a quintessential Kiwi fan-girl. Her great love and deep respect for New Zealand’s rich history and modern diversity has inspired her to create vibrant portrayals of our illustrious native species and landscapes. Her paintings depict various scenes; all of which include great references to our ‘Kiwiana’ culture, as well as titbits alluding to the cheeky humour of a typical New Zealander. An extremely talented artist, Gabby has afforded us a glimpse into her creative process and the inspiration behind her quirky characters.

Hailing from Otago in the picturesque South Island, Gabby was raised to appreciate the literary lessons of beloved children’s authors such as Roald Dahl and René Goscinny. She also developed a life-long passion for art. It was thanks to her uncle, a man of many talents, that she was able to cultivate and hone her unique story-telling abilities through illustration and paint. “As a child, I loved storybooks, and it was the illustrations that would really hold my attention. The stories and poetry created by Roald Dahl, as well as the Asterix and Obelix series, appealed to my wild and vivid imagination. I owe thanks to my uncle who would often babysit and take me on many adventures that shaped my view of the world, resulting in my current techniques and style. “My uncle was a creative genius who recorded music and painted billboards by hand in the days before computerised graphic design. He wrote music and poetry, sang opera, sketched illustrations, and played various musical instruments. During the school holidays, he taught me how to paint, and care for my tools, as well as to write poetry. Once, he even made me solely responsible for building a scarecrow to keep the kingfishers away from the fishpond. It was a magical time, and it created in me a strong appreciation of the arts. Today as an adult, the things that I value most are the creative teachings I discovered in those early years.” Due to these influential moments, Gabby continued to follow her artistic passions through to adulthood. Gabby’s inspiration is found in her surroundings, in New Zealand’s wildlife, as well as in the people of Aotearoa.
See more of Gabby's work here: Gabby McKenzie

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Raised in a renovated, nomadic bus traversing the pristine and often transient countryside of New Zealand, Wendy Matenga is no stranger to the great power of imagination and ingenuity. She reflects on her journey to become the artist she is today.

“Like many other artists, my childhood has greatly impacted on my creative being. My father is a very logical man and can make or fix anything with his ingrained Kiwi ingenuity, and Mum has always been a hard worker – always striving to make things look beautiful and homely, and provide the sense of stability despite our moving around so often. Whenever we ended up in the same paddock for a few months, my mum would always plant a flower garden. Once they had bloomed, we would spend hours putting them through a large press Dad had made.
“I think this is why my art has a mix of traditional and contemporary applications; I like the logic of making something look realistic, as well as the freedom of just letting go with shapes and colours. “Growing up on a bus, in a small community in Central Otago, most of my schooling was through correspondence, although I did spend my later teenage years attending Maniatoto High School. “Being an artist was a completely conscious decision. The single painting that has had more influence on me than anything else was from a Renaissance exhibition I went to as a child, and I couldn’t take my eyes off a painting of a lady in a blue dress. I learnt in that moment that you could have an emotional reaction to art; that a painting is different from a photo; and when I went home with my small postcard copy I realised that nothing beats seeing the real deal. “From then on, I had so many ways that I wanted to express myself creatively that it was almost overwhelming and, being a single mum, I didn’t have the funds to pursue them all. I did, however, try my hand at making and selling jewellery for a while, but eventually found myself becoming disinterested and it didn’t stick. I chose painting because I feel like I will never run out of inspiration and I relish every stage of the process.
Wendy Matenga

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As one half of New Zealand’s most talented and prolific power couple – alongside renowned poet, writer, and author Keith Nunes – Talulah has always been a creative force to be reckoned with; an extraordinary acrylic abstract artist whose insight, imagination and undisputed creative genius have led her to weave together brilliant splashes of colour with re-imagined elements of our natural landscape, creating timeless stories through powerful visuals that dazzle and bewitch the senses. In this issue, Talulah Lautrec-Nunes allows us a sneak peak inside her mind to discover the origins of her artistic inspirations, and the journey that has followed.

Comfortably nestled amongst the surrounding bush of Lake Rotoma – famous for the mysterious submersion of the Sunken Island, Motutara; cursed by an angry Tohunga, Te Rarau-mai-Waho, who immersed the island in the waters of the lake – Talulah revels and flourishes in her small patch of land near the lake, working furiously to wring out the many stories hidden in her environment that have been waiting anxiously to be told.
Armed with her palette knife and favourite brushes, Talulah mixes and preps an array of vibrant colours that pulse with life and potential as she eyes her recently gessoed canvas; already seeing the strokes she will make in her mind’s eye.
Talulah Lautrec-Nunes

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Hailing from Luton, Bedfordshire in the UK, Ruby Whitty has found her niche in life right here in New Zealand, surrounded by the stellar beauty of the South Island, whiling away her days creating abstract and still-life masterpieces as she strives to accomplish her dream of becoming a world renowned artist – a dream both she and her late husband have strived towards for many years.
Luton, Bedfordshire is where the phrase ‘Mad as a Hatter’ originated, due to the unsettling behaviour caused by the use of mercury salts to make felt in Bedfordshire’s once booming hat industry. Ruby could never be described as ‘Mad as a Hatter’, although she does harbour a strong artistic streak – which was sometimes equated with madness back in the early 1900’s when the phrase was coined.
As an avid science fiction fan, and unofficial tool maker’s apprentice, Ruby has always had an eye for detail as well as a profound love of painting dating back to childhood. “Growing up, I was always a bit of a loner and therefore had to find engaging activities just to fill in the time between school and sleep. Thankfully, my mother gave me a ‘Paint by Numbers’ set every Christmas, so painting became a staple in life. My elder brother was also very good at sketching while training in his profession to become a tool maker, and when he’d sit at the dining room table to practise his tech drawings, I’d often be found seated beside him, copying everything he did.”
Ruby Whitty

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From a very early age I have always been creating in some way, you could say it’s just part of my soul, part of who I am. It has always been a dream of mine to become an artist. Not all people get to live their dream as I am now. I have never had any formal training in drawing or painting. What I do now has come through trial and error and a lot of hours; some days I find myself still painting in the wee small hours having not noticed the time.
The journey I am on now started in 2015 when I was encouraged to put some of my paintings into The Big Wai Art Sale which is held annually in the Carterton Events Centre. I sold some of my paintings which lit a fire in me. If I was ever going to give my dream a chance, now was the time!
I moved to Carterton in 2013. The people of the Wairarapa are amazing with their generosity and encouragement, and the wildlife of the region has provided a wealth of inspiration and the ideal subjects for me to paint. A love of the natural world inspires my art. I am always listening and looking at what is around me. Just the other day I heard someone say ‘social butterflies’; it sparked an idea which I have since turned into a painting. I was never able to paint as much as I have before coming to the Wairarapa because of work and family commitments. Equally, a lack of confidence has been a major hurdle for me. In my head, I was just doing what I loved, I did not think it would mean anything to anyone else. I am grateful others love what I do.
Jacqueline Hocquard

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