Abstract Archives - Page 4 of 6

Natasha Bethune

1 January 2016
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ball Point Pen, Contemporary Art, Drawing, Emerging Artists, Expressionism, Figures, Symbolism, Youth Art

THE ART OF INNER HEALING

At the age of 18, Natasha Bethune tells us of her hardships and how she is devoted to her art and the healing she receives from creating.

Drawing is all that I’ve ever known - as a kid it’s all that I remember doing. My heart aches thinking about pursuing anything other than art. I love being alone in nature. Any place of solitude, that forces me to think and feel whilst listening to deep emotional music that conjures memories and beautiful desires of ‘what if’s and I wishes’.

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Serge Souslov

1 January 2016
Abstract, Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Driftwood, Featured Artists, Impressionism, Maori, Metallurgy, Nature, Sculpture

VIBRANT TALENT

Serge Souslov, born and raised in Irkusk, Russia, has had a passion for art since childhood. He trained at art college between the years of ‘76 - ‘85 and has brought his incredible talent to New Zealand, where we celebrate his contribution to our rich and vibrant art world.

Serge attended the Art College and The Institute of Culture in Russia where he learnt how to play the accordion, compose music and create art pieces. Thoroughly enjoying pushing the boundaries, Serge’s ideas and inspiration come from observing marine life and whimsical sea creatures, as well as from dreams and fantasies dating as far back as his childhood. He is currently a part-time artist but finds his ideas keep pushing him to create.

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Jamie Larnach

1 January 2016
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Landscape, Nature, Painting, Surrealism

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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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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Simon Kerr

1 November 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Emerging Artists, Figures, Painting, Street Scenes, Stylized, Symbolism

SIMON 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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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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Hamish Oakley-Browne

1 July 2015
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Nature, Printing, Still-life

HAMISH OAKLEY-BROWNE

Hamish Oakley-Browne is a passionate artist with printmaking as his chosen medium. Having just completed a degree in fine arts at NorthTec in Whangarei, he is currently doing a six-month residency programme at Te Kowhai Print Trust situated at The Quarry Arts Centre.

Hamish says printmaking reflects a “hands-on tactile backlash to the digital world in which people have lost themselves, their intrinsic senses and richness in their lives.

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Faith McManus

1 July 2015
Abstract, Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Nature, Portraits, Printing

FAITH McMANUS

“There is a revival of printmaking taking place in New Zealand with printmakers being increasingly recognised by the wider art community and the medium is poised to start interacting with other mediums.” These are the thoughts of Faith McManus, locally and internationally recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost printmakers with exhibitions at dealer and public galleries in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

Faith, an art tutor at Northtech in Whangarei, says printmaking in New Zealand does not always enjoy the recognition and appreciation it deserves. “There are not many print galleries in New Zealand and there are probably more people collecting New Zealand prints in Australia than they do here.”

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Reina Cottier

1 July 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Contemporary Art, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Figures, Maori, Painting, Portraits

THE INNER ARTIST

After learning the basics of art at high school Reina Cottier spent much of her life running a series of businesses and raising a family. About seven years ago she took a course dubbed ‘Awaken the Artist Within’, which, she says, “was not so much about learning how to paint, but more about expressing yourself from within and finding inspiration”.

Needless to say the artist within Reina was re-ignited. Not that it was ever that far away. With a theatre wardrobe mistress for a mother Reina had an unconventional upbringing, surrounded by art and craft and everything that went with it.

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John Burns

1 July 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Drawing, Featured Artists, Figures, Landscape, Portraits, Surrealism

THE INVENTOR

John Burns, husband, father, grandfather, and artist, born in Wellington “many years ago” does not see himself as an artist but describes himself as an ‘inventor’ who makes ‘stuff’, something he has been doing very successfully for the last 30 years, selling most of the work he has produced. This is John’s story and a collection of his works over the years.

“I admire and am inspired in my art by people such as Pablo Picasso, Petrus van der Velden, Colin McCahon, Marc Chagall and many others. To me their art was different from the ‘norm’ (whatever that was). Some have taken flack for their style of art; Colin McCahon is an example of this. I think art is a long term activity where one can become bolder over time something I certainly feel applies to me.

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Chris Dews
DEWSY ART Chris Dews was born in the Isle of Wight, UK, and is the…
Jamie Harkins
ABOVE: Jamie creating his work on Mount Maunganui Beach, Tauranga THREE DIMENSIONAL PERSPECTIVE Always wanting…
Joanne Luker
ABOVE: Rangitoto Porcelain SHARDS OF JOY Born in the UK, Joanne Luker loved art at…
Sonja Walker
ABOVE: Sonja with her Tasman National Art Award Merit Award painting - 'Everything but the…
Jill Richards
Above: Golden Days COLLAGE AND STITCH Jill Richards’ family originated from the UK, then moved…