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Heather Leonard

EXPRESSIONS

Having always done well with art subjects in secondary school, Heather Leonard returned to school as an adult to complete her sixth form certificate in drawing and painting at Tokoroa High School in 1989, finding the teacher of that year to have made all the difference and making her realise how serious she was about painting.

“I realised that art and painting was something I wanted to do every day. As a watcher of people and having an understanding of body language, I enjoy art with an expressionist style, not wishing to paint in a realistic way, I want my own interpretation of the subject to be the art, and not to render an exact copy of what I see. My work often has a humorous aspect, as I realise most people respond to humour.”

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Magda van der Walt

magda-van-der-walt-aotearoa-artistIRONING IT OUT

Mixed media artwork embraces so many mediums, differing creative processes and ways of getting to that all-important final result. We hear about the use of all sorts of medium and materials, however for Magda van der Walt, the word ‘wax’ changes everything.

“The moment I melted the first small block of wax on the hot travelling iron, I was hooked. It is a medium like nothing else I have ever experienced. It can fluctuate between solid and liquid within a few seconds and it dries solid in a single breath, she says. “It retains texture and reflects light in a way no other medium can. Working with it is almost meditative; definitely therapeutic.”

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Lorraine Bailey

lorraine-bailey-aotearoa-artistHAPPY HEART, HAPPY ART

Moving from one place to the next can be a drag. Boxing up your life in the hope of finding your happy place; eventually realizing this is more than just a location it also becomes your state of mind too. For Lorraine Bailey this has happened a few times, after a stint in Auckland, she settled in a new happy place – Matamata in the Waikato – however all this came about from her beginnings in Rhodesia, Africa where her love of the environment there spurred her creative desire.

“My environment plays a pivotal role in my creativity. In fact, I can’t imagine what my art would look like without it. I believe, that it’s your surroundings that trigger all the senses to influence your heart and soul, which you then interpret onto canvas/paper. I particularly enjoy capturing that moment when light bounces or reveals something on the subject causing the viewer to pause in reflection. When I lived in Rhodesia and then in South Africa it was the wild life that influenced my work. My father was a Scoutmaster, and so from a very young age I became very aware of my natural surroundings,” she says.

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Keeley Eastwood

keeley-eastwood-aotearoa-artistEASTWOOD MYTHOLOGY

Myths, legends and the other-worldly creatures that bring them to life have long caught the attention of young and old. Authors and illustrators alike have been caught in the web of tales spun across generations. The fantasy genre is one of the key elements that sparked something in Keeley Eastwood and became one of the core inspirations behind her works.
Photos by Brad Mosen Photography

“As a child I have memories of loving illustrated children’s and young adult’s books and televised stories featuring anthropomorphic animals, fairies, mermaids and other mythological creatures,” she says. “These included the Beatrix Potter series, Wind in the Willows, tales about Greek mythology, The Dark Crystal, The Chronicles of Narnia, The NeverEnding Story, The Borrowers, Labyrinth…” Keeley also describes human emotion / states of being, animals and her love for the natural world as other major influencers.

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Cindy Woest

cindy-woest-aotearoa-artistHONEST ABANDON

While visiting Dougie Chowns one Sunday, I met a neighbour of his, Cindy Woest. Cindy is a very talented woman with a pioneering spirit and endless ‘get up and go.’ She has the ability to tramp into a spot she enjoys, with her canvas and paint, and just - in a couple of hours - produce a painting so true to the view, yet with a loose, pleasing technique. Cindy also writes for this magazine as well as others and is indeed, multi-talented. She tells us her story

I love being outside – the sights, sounds and physical connection with everything outdoors makes me somehow feel part of a larger whole. Being in nature, as a specific part of the ‘outside’, leaves me with a sense of generic wellbeing that travels with me when I return to my ‘inside’ and very average life. The uplifting impact of this residual feeling (which can last for days) has drawn me into capturing that ‘happiness essence’ so that I can use it to stir up good memories for myself and hopefully others viewing my work.

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Liz Payne

Liz Payne - Aotearoa Artist - The New Zealand Artist Magazine

A DEMANDING MISTRESS IS ART

Time, concentration, organisation and capital investment in materials. Liz Payne is delighted to dedicate all of the above to her demanding mistress, that of being an artist. Having studied with several tutors such as those from the Uxbridge Arts centre in Howick, Auckland - amongst others - including Amber Brook, Alvin Zhong (portraits) and Merv Appleton (landscape impressionist), she is thoroughly enjoying her retirement in this pursuit.

We asked Liz where she finds her inspiration: “I love a stormy sky, the colour and mood, the intense green of the sun shining through on the grass in contrast to the dark skies. The movement of sand and water as well as the vibrant colour of birds and their bright, inquisitive eyes.”

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Andrea Choonoo

 


andrea-choonoo-aotearoa-artist

Photo Credit Ruslana Semenyshena

MULTI-TALENTED SAILOR

Born in South Africa, multi-talented Andrea Choonoo immigrated to New Zealand in 2000. Here she graduated with a Fine Art and Graphic Design Degree from Whitecliffe College of Art and Design in Auckland. She went on to study honours in Screen and Media Studies at the Waikato University and worked as a graphic designer in Sydney, Australia for seven years. 

After working in Australia, Andrea went on to sail around the world, capturing the beauty of life through photography and making video documentaries. “I love the outdoors, especially nature and this can be seen through my artwork. Fine art has always been a strong passion and this next venture is a huge undertaking, but also an exciting adventure.” 

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Vanessa Owens

vanessa-owens-aotearoa-artistTAKING FLIGHT

Creative from an early age, Vanessa Owens always took art as a subject in college and loved it. She approached a local art gallery in her twenties called Naxos Art Exhibits in Wellington, since closed, where she exhibited her acrylic paintings successfully for three years, part time. The gallery owner was very encouraging and she had good sales which gave her a growing confidence in her painting ability and confirmed her desire to become a full-time artist.

After finishing college, Vanessa began to feel unchallenged and robotic in administrative job roles. In contrast, her painting has made her feel challenged, and the freedom has become intoxicating. “Perseverance has taught me that progress is gained in small steps, not giant leaps forward.”

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Lynley Van Alphen - Aotearoa Artist - The New Zealand Artists Magazine

Lynley van Alphen

lynley-van-alphen-aotearoa-artistSOUL SOOTHING

Although largely self-trained, Lynley van Alphen has done various workshops with the likes of John Crump, Ben Ho, Wayne Edgerton as well as a week-long plein air workshop with John Wilson in Alice Springs, Australia.

Always a teenage dream, and always having wanted to make a living as an artist, Lynley fondly remembers sitting on the hillside above the Tarras (Central Otago) primary school, sketching with crayon the distant Hawkdun mountain range. She has continued to paint and sketch during her free time. The sad passing of her husband, seven years ago, enabled her to take the step to pursuing her artist’s dream more fully. "He told me when we first found out his terminal diagnosis of motor neuron disease, that he’d like me to follow my art dream when he was gone. Focusing on that helped me overcome the grief that comes from losing one’s life partner."

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Alex Hoare

 

As with all artists across the board, the issue of confidence in ability is always a tenuous thing, especially when young and starting out. Alex Hoare is just such a young talented artist, who is finding out exactly how much talent he really has, both with visual and performance art. Colin Hoare, Alex’s father was featured in our September October 2014 issue, and visited us here in Whangarei around the same time, bringing his twin sons, Alex and James to introduce them. It is with great pride and pleasure that we introduce our readers to Alex, his talents and his reflections.

The only formal training for art I’ve had was in classes at school. My art class in high school was the foundation for my understanding of art and made me excited to create; it gave me a really good baseline understanding of how to apply different materials and techniques to my work to create art that looked the way I wanted it to. I remember we would experiment with so many different mediums and just have fun with creating art and I think that’s still so important to my creative process now.

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