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Having studied at Whitecliffs School of Art – Diploma in landscape, Summer Schools at University – Diploma in figurative design and ATI Certificate for adult education, Loretta Arthur is still going strong.

She cannot remember when she didn’t draw or paint, however in the 1950s, there was no money to be had and she was encouraged to pursue secretarial and accounting work. Although there was no special training in art at St Mary’s College Christchurch, the school she attended, she always managed to receive the art prize.

Loretta became involved in theatre and created many sets for production as well as acting and directing, “Art was always there, sketching on the boat at Christmas, observing figures and the like. When my four children were at secondary school, I decided to become serious about my art.”

Finding immense inspiration from black and white studies, photos and sketches, enjoying the atmosphere created, she kept herself busy sketching and taking her own photos. Loretta maintains she sees potential paintings everywhere around her, in everyday life and all occasions, with her preferred subjects being people in various situations, at the beach or in cafés and historic or old buildings. Her current projects include trying different styles and doing research on various mediums. She is currently enjoying experimenting with Biro and is looking for more inspiration for acrylic work.

The artists who have provided the most inspiration for Loretta are Monet, John Turner and her art tutor, John Horner at Whitecliffs School of Art. “I love impressionist art and using the alla-prima technique, the freedom of just painting on a blank canvas with no preparation; sometimes it doesn’t work, most of the time it does. I find this very therapeutic and suggest all artists do this at least once a year, especially after a big commission. There is a lot to be gained from the peace and solitude of creating something on a blank canvas and calling it your own.” Contact Loretta on NZ (0064) (0)21 941 767.

From an early knowledge that she was creative, but being pushed to be academic, Jo Pedersen has developed the courage to believe in herself and has come full circle as an artist.

Recovering from an illness at home, Jo trusted her instincts and decided to pick up a paintbrush and have a go. She’s never looked back. “When you absolutely know that it’s your calling and passion in life, once you get over the doubts in your mind and stop listening to the ‘nay-sayers’ out there, you find a way to make it work. It is a tough call to be an artist and takes a lot of determination and courage. I know for me, there is no other choice but to follow my ‘calling’, it isn’t a question - that is enough motivation for me”.

Jo is inspired by nature, nature in the world around and the inherent nature of human beings. She is connected in a spiritual and energetic way to life and this is her way of expressing herself. Being musically inclined, music is also very much an inspiration, but essentially, it is part of the beauty of life that she perceives. “I love the immersion in painting, it is a form of meditation where you switch off from the world and for me, that is healing. I also love the transformation from initial mark making to the finished piece, it is a journey. It is an amazing feeling when someone buys your work and they connect with it emotionally.“
See more of Jo's work here: Jo Pedersen

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Wendy Gillespie is an enterprising woman with large goals. How many other Kiwi artists have booked themselves into courses in Edinburgh and had a solo exhibition in New York (the Agora Gallery) over the last few years? She is also grandmother to six beautiful children, and holds a PhD in strategy and organisational improvement. Wendy is keen to assist other artists in putting their original artwork onto high-end products, as she has done with her own artwork. She tells us she is self-taught and recently published her first children’s book - Carter and the Tooth Fairy. Wendy shares her inspiration, motivation and passion.

“As a child I loved drawing. As a Counsellor and Primary Teacher I loved being able to help children transfer their energy into colour and form. Now as a trained strategist, budding artist who lives an eclectic life, I love being able to create the passion and mood into a picture. I have studied and worked in Strategic Management, Organizational Development for over 14 years. One promise I made to myself, when I finished academic study, was that I would do two things: learn to paint oils and to play the classical piano.
In the early 1980s I completed a correspondence course in Commercial Art and Graphic Design. I attended a week-long course with John Wilson in Brisbane in 2006, who taught me how to create beautiful atmospheric conditions. I also attended a two-week course in ‘Portraits in Realism’ in Edinburgh, with the School of Realism, which are techniques I have yet to start developing. My favourite old timers are the Masters who represented what they saw through realism, their every brush stroke and many layers tells a story. I love Charles Lindaeur and Goldie’s depiction of character, and many old Masters who represented depiction of mood through atmosphere, light and dark.”
See more of Wendy's work HERE.

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Sue Graham’s motivation is to portray the dramatic vistas of the North Island’s volcanic plateau and beyond, complemented by close-up elements such as native flora, plus other more whimsical themes. Her acrylic and watercolour paintings feature harmonious colour, creative texture, artist quality materials and contemporary design. Sue is frequently commissioned, represented around NZ and overseas, and regularly requested to tutor all age groups in the central North Island.

"My family was involved in the performing and visual arts, so I have had an appreciation since before birth. When my husband Robbie Graham and I lived in Western Australia, spending time out in the desert and bush areas photographing the abundant wildflowers there, we soon became hooked on looking for native orchids. Fascinated by their elegance and unique forms, I felt compelled to learn to draw and paint them. From there the ‘obsession with self-expression’ has grown into a huge and fulfilling part of my life, for which I am extremely grateful.
I spent a year doing the awesome Diploma of Art and Creativity from the Learning Connection in Wellington 2007, part-time. Of course over the years I have done countless art workshops and courses. Before I left Perth, Western Australia, at the end of 1994, I did half of a Preliminary Certificate in Art and Design.
At first I thought it was a trifle self-indulgent to be producing paintings and selling them, but I soon discovered that it was more about the connection I made with people through my art that really mattered. The paintings are not just material ‘things’ to decorate a house. They are memories, emotions, atmospheres and dreams that can really enhance people’s lives. It’s the most amazing way to communicate; painting something that has moved me in some way, hanging it on a wall, the work speaking to another person whom I have never met, and then it goes home with them to live and keeps communicating something special to them over the years. I personally find this very powerful and meaningful."
See more of Sue’s work at the Wildwood Gallery.

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Melissa McDougall drew like all children usually draw. Both her parents were artistic; her dad Ewan was taught by Colin Wheeler in the 1960’s and her mother, Suzette, raised her in an artistic environment with books on Surrealism and Modern art.

“Mum’s drawing skills were excellent and she encouraged my creative writing and painting. I was good at writing and art but I enjoyed making a tangible image that others could appreciate. I was always inspired and wanted to learn more. I also had a lot of ideas to implement. I was taught different styles of drawing by my High School art teacher, Trevor Gray. While attending Claremont Art School (1989-91), I took Anatomy drawing at the Anatomy Department at the University of Western Australia. In 1996 I began a three year Bachelor of Fine arts at U.W.A., a course mostly focused on art criticism and history. I was 25 at this stage and had already been exhibiting independently for five years, so I began University late. My mother’s death (aged 53) was probably my biggest life changing event. She had cancer and died when I was 31 and it led me to something of an existential crisis. She was a solo parent during my childhood so we were very close. I became aware how much I had relied on her as a friend and artistic collaborator. I had dedicated my show ‘Love and Shadows’ to her in 1999. The birth of my lovely daughter Charlotte in 2005 did a lot to bring back some optimism to my world, and in 2007 my beautiful son Michael was born. My work began again, this time working parallel to family life.
See more of Melissa’s work HERE

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Watching her mum creating her artworks, thinking she was performing magic and inheriting her father’s exceptional design skills as a builder, it’s not surprising that Jane Riley has ended up as a talented, inventive artist in her own right.

Inspired by the seen (she constantly takes photographs) and the unseen (spiritual) world, combined with her well of emotions, the result is vibrant, moving artwork that resonates deeply. Jane is also inspired with the Renaissance Period, enjoying the vast techniques mixed with the spiritual icons. “I couldn’t wait to travel to Europe and explore all that art history that I had only previously absorbed in books.” Jane constantly challenges herself to better herself, finding that once she mastered the techniques she could stray from them and evolve, inventing other ways to express visual communication. “I get excited by textures, new mediums and fresh ideas. Some of my biggest mistakes have been my biggest breakthroughs. I am very experimental, take lots of risks and apply a variety of the learned techniques to my varied repertoire of self taught ideas and mistakes. I hope to inspire people and enhance their visual beauty of living.” She strives to live the ‘Life of Riley’ that was born to her and become a full time artist, focusing and surviving off her art alone. This is a wonderful scenario and she has had periods in her life when she has found a way to do exactly that. However at other times she juggles her creative streak with part-time employment to pay the bills. She does battle with this though and finds being away from her studio robs and depletes her creative juices. To achieve her goal, Jane wants to ensure steady growth with sales and promotion and wants to achieve more international connections.
See Jane’s website HERE.

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Born Jacqueline Lourie in June 1931, in the rolling farming country around Hunterville in the Rangitikei, she was the only girl among five children. Her father used to take her riding and she found her best friends were horses. With an abiding natural talent for drawing, Jackie began at the age of four. When she wasn’t riding the horses, she was drawing them.
Although her life was very busy with work on the farm and raising six boys, Jackie continued to draw and paint whenever she got the chance, on scraps of paper and the back of cigarette boxes.
Howard made Jackie a studio in the old dairy and washhouse behind the cottage and that’s when she started her night-time painting sessions. “How wonderful it was to be able to walk out of the studio and back down the path to the house, knowing that all the boys would be tucked up and Howard would be sound asleep too.” Howard decided Jackie needed a manager and her original studio was superseded in 1978 with a larger Quin’s car-shed-cum-studio. She produced many commissioned works here for friends and race-horse owners but she did find the deadlines stressful and would thankfully return to the freedom of her sketches.
See more about Jackie Williamson HERE.

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During the late 70s, Colin Unkovich and a friend started a business manufacturing surfboards. During this period the ability to turn customer’s ideas into personalised artworks on their new boards was an important part of the business and set them apart from a lot of the competition. The most efficient and effective method of applying colour to the boards was via an airbrush. He found that he really liked the process to the extent that he would sometimes be working on a customer’s request into the small hours of the morning. Over the next 30 years, as well as utilising airbrushing intensively on the boards, he also painted wall paintings in his spare time.

“I paint because that is what I want to do. I was part of a perfectly good business; surviving very well, but I wasn’t getting any time to paint. It just felt like there was a hole in me that needed to be filled. My art does that. I am an outdoors person at heart. I grew up on the land and I think that my upbringing cemented that aspect in me; as a result I tend to look to the natural world for my muse. In New Zealand we have such diversity, not only of the physical landscape but equally importantly of light and colour. I sometimes feel that I am a bit spoiled for choice. Mostly I work on commissioned pieces. I think that I enjoy the challenge of interpreting what it is that someone desires. I always really appreciate it when somebody comes to me out of all of the artists out there. It is so nice to know that what you do is valued and that people have confidence in your abilities. I know that some artists find it too constraining to work with someone else’s expectations, but I find it very rewarding. Most of my commissions are of a meaningful nature to my clients and I have a file of thank you notes from clients for whom I have done work. I keep them all because it is nice to know that I have been able to interpret what they wanted in a meaningful way and that with any luck it has provided them with something to enjoy for years to come. As a counter-balance to working on commissions, I like to paint a few surrealist pieces because there is no right or wrong, there are no rules; it is good to let your imagination go.”
See more of Colins work HERE

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I have always had an interest and love of art, particularly painting. I remember vividly as a child, forever with a sketch book in my hand. My parents were always replacing my felt tip pens, pencils and eventually buying watercolour paints and loads of paint by number sets. I left school at 18 years old and then worked in an office for four years. I married at 22 and went on to have our children. Not long after I realised I missed the creative side of my life and still needed to have a pencil or paint brush in my hand. It almost just feels a part of you. So with a six month old baby in my arms, I set out to buy my first set of oil paints, table easel and a lovely little canvas pad. Seven years later, in 2004, I had my website developed, which was also the year I had my first solo exhibition. Living in a rural area near Rotorua and Taupo, there is always natural beauty all around me. Therefore this is where I focus on my subject matter. It is very inspiring to live surrounded in such beauty. I particularly love the end of the day – twilight – for taking photos. The warm light is just beautiful and intensifies the colours of the flora and fauna so much. I have learnt from many artist’s over the years, many different things about painting, whether it be a new colour mixture, or a way to look at a painting differently, even how to approach a subject. One of my great loves is Bouguereau, a well known 19th century amazing French artist. I fell in love with his paintings of women and children, his execution of painting fabrics, the attention to detail is fascinating. See Vicki’s work HERE.

Artists don’t have to work full time in their studio to be an ‘artist’. Tammie says she believes she has artist etched into her bones, as if she is working on the weekend or too busy during the week to get into the studio, she is like a bear with a sore head, and we know what they do. When the question, ‘What are your hobbies in your spare time’ came up Tammie really struggled to answer this, she says it took her a very long time to come up with a response, as her only true hobby is being in the studio, art is her life. Tammie was home schooled from the age of three, it was not until her parents suggested in 2009 that she should enrol in classes held by the Feilding District Art Society, a class that had eight other students, her being the youngest. This is where Rita Easther introduced her to the influences of Braque and the style of Cubism. Rita was a well-known artist for her renditions of Rangitikei cliffs and landscapes and dislocated birds using cubism. She took Tammie under her wing and passed on a wealth of knowledge and continued to work closely with Tammie after the classes had finished. She encouraged her to join the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, as the next step to be taken and to make sure that she continued to regularly submit work. Rita was Tammie’s main inspiration and she relates how she loves how her work stands out from across the room in galleries. This creates a bit of uncertainty in her as sometimes she worries her work is too different, but Tammie has learned different is good, her work is distinctive. See Tammie's work HERE.

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