Abstract Archives - Page 5 of 6

Keith Grinter

1 January 2015
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Glass, Kiwiana, Nature, Sculpture

EXTREME ART

It is not every day one meets an artist who ‘renounced’ the relatively calm aura of oil paints and easel for the fiery inferno of glassblowing, but it was enough to make Whangarei-based glass-artist Keith Grinter an irresistible subject for The New Zealand Artist Magazine. Photographs by Diana Rees.

Keith Grinter started work in his own glass blowing studio in Whangarei in September 2013. He recalls: “I had been discussing moving to Whangarei and working with Keith Mahy, (one of the founding fathers of art glass in New Zealand), when he unfortunately passed away.”

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Jan Huijbers

1 January 2015
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Installation, Nature, Painting, Sculpture

THE CREATIVE MIND

A history buff, a fascination for new inventions and a keen gardener. During his life-long journey to establish himself as a full-time practicing artist, Jan Huijbers has been exposed to a myriad of different styles and influences. In the article below he talks about his life long journey as an artist.

I had no formal training but was involved in art at an early age. At age 16, I was a member of an art design team creating flower structure parades, a yearly event in Zundert Holland for many years.

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Vjekoslav Nemesh

1 November 2014
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Figures, Nature, Oils, Painting, Palette Knife

UNIVERSAL LOVE

Inspired by nature and the outer reaches of the human soul, award winning artist Vjekoslav Nemesh says the overriding subject matter of all his work is quite simply universal love.

Born in Petrovaradin in the former Yugoslavia, Vjekoslav Nemesh has been a professional working artist since 1984, participating in over 150 group and 30 solo exhibitions.

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DeAnne Lawford-Smith

1 November 2014
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Figures, Impressionism, Installation, Maori, Portraits, Sculpture

FOR LOVE OR MONEY

Born in Levin, DeAnne Lawford Smith has been artistically inclined from birth. Growing up in a large family which included many foster children, the easiest and most economical means of entertainment was with paper and pencils. With enthusiastic encouragement from her family, DeAnne has blossomed into a full time professional artist.

Married with three children, DeAnne travelled between Rotorua and Taupo over a four year period to complete her Diploma of Visual Art (Fine Art) in 2000 at the Waiariki Institute of Technology. Armed with this accomplishment, she managed to overcome her shyness and was able to present her work to galleries and buyers, resulting in her first solo exhibition in Tauranga and achieved first place in the prestigious Portage Ceramic Award in 2007.

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John Hodgson

1 July 2014
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Drawing, Enamel, Featured Artists, Figures, Impressionism, Oils, Painting

THE LIVING ARTIST

After many years of working in the corporate world, John Hodgson completed a long transition to full time artist with his first solo exhibition at the Depot ArtSpace in Devonport in April this year. Representing seven years of work, a good number of the pieces on show sold over the two weeks of the exhibition which also saw some 600 visitors to the gallery.

Whangarei-born, John, whose very first painting was a self-portrait completed back in 1977, has had a long interest in art but says he ‘played around’ for years while in ‘corporate career mode’ here in New Zealand and in the USA. On returning to NZ in 2003 he says he became really serious about his own art while beginning with partner Mary, a modest collection of work by New Zealand artists.

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Karen Panton

1 July 2014
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Illustration, Nature, Painting, Portraits, Still-life, Surrealism

THE ART OF HUMOUR

Karen Rosaline Panton is one of those exceptional, largely self taught artists who has developed a sense of style and presentation all of her own. Reading her comments in this article and perusing through some of her paintings it is evident that Karen lives her art; each painting has a voice and meaning, each one a soul.

Apart from the odd day class, Karen, who currently hails from Napier, says she has enjoyed several short courses with the likes of Krispin Korschen, Rua Longley, Marianne Muggeridge, Megan Schmidt, among others. “All fabulous artists,” she enthuses, “who have stretched my mind sideways, up and down and inside out, that is when they could catch up with my own train of thoughts.”

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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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Jo Chester

1 May 2014
Abstract, Animals, Artists, Featured Artists, Figures, Oils, Painting, Portraits, Realism, Still-life, Surrealism

HOLD ON TIGHT

“Art enables us to find and lose ourselves at the same time” Thomas Merton.

“Ever since I can remember I have always been drawing and creating images,” Jo Chester explains when asked about her entry in the world of art, “I had a very supportive teacher at Rotorua Girl’s High who encouraged my talent and insisted that I apply to Wellington Polytechnic to study graphic design.”

This ultimately resulted in a career with art as the baseline. “I have worked as a Graphic designer, Textile designer, even designing jeans at one stage as well as drawing up fashion shots for a retail outlet.

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Geoff Popham

1 March 2014
Abstract, Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Digital, Featured Artists, Ink, Maori, Nature, Painting, Watercolour

EXPLORING NEW DIRECTIONS

Born in Kawakawa, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, art has always been a part of Geoff Popham’s life. From when he was a child growing up in the Far North, he was surrounded by what he describes as 'amazing artwork'.

“Spending time at our whanau marae, and being taught by my elders about the carvings, paintings and weaving was my first education in art,” he reveals. “Seeing the intricacies of the skilled work and the meaning and pride associated with them, inspired me to want to do the same.”

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Robyn Mitchell

1 March 2014
Abstract, Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Figures, Maori, Nature, Sculpture

CHISELING OAMARU STONE

“Learn to organise your life, make time to do the things you dream of.”

Robyn Mitchell’s favourite sculptural medium is wood: “It is not until you start to shape and polish the wood, that the beauty of the grain and colour are revealed,” she says. “Because of the variants of grain, the type of wood and what part of the tree they come from, no two pieces will ever come out the same.”

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Sally Heritage
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Nick Hayter
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