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Sally-Ann Davies

Sally-Ann Davies was born in Shropshire, England and resides in Taupo. She started her journey of becoming an artist as a toddler, drawing on the newly wallpapered walls of the farmhouse she grew up in. Her favourite subject at school without doubt was art. She vividly remembers that the primary school she attended would reward you if you finished your work early, with going and playing in the craft corner. She remembers how amazing creations developed with the simple materials such as egg cartons and toilet rolls. 

Her journey to becoming the esteemed artist she is today did not come with ease. A the age of 12 she had a detached retina so ended up having quite a few months off school. This meant no active play, which she says was very frustrating when you grow up on a farm with her brothers. Sally-Ann is a triplet, so you can understand the frustration she must have had, because she and her brothers normally spent their time building dens, rafts and camping by the river. 

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Rochelle Boult - Aotearoa Artist

Rochelle Boult

FREE SPIRIT

Watching unlimited possibilities unfold onto paper, Rochelle Boult’s free spirit finds itself at the tip of a sharpened pencil. Finding peace and relaxation within her mark making, she builds her line and tone gently, observing her drawing as it gradually grows in depth and detail using shading and clever use of the different softnesses of her medium.

Rochelle creates works with Faber-Castell thick Graphite on Bockingford Drawing paper. Starting with an HB which she uses to sketch the outline, she then moves through from a 2B for shading to a 6B and an 8B for final depth. Rochelle also does some printmaking including etching and woodcuts, which she has successfully sold in a Marlborough exhibition.

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John White

John White - Aotearoa Artist

WILD PASSION

“Don’t be afraid, all the great painters had to start somewhere. You will make many mistakes so go ahead and start making them”. Adeptly using the time honoured mediums of oil and watercolour, John White portrays his love of wildlife through richly built paintings, softly painted, revealing the passion he has for his subject. Having built his skills over a lifetime he continues to create, advise and exhibit in New Zealand and overseas.

You know the first thing people ask me when they see my art is “how long have you been painting”? My answer is that I have always painted. I was brought up in a small place called Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula with my three brothers and one sister. One of my brothers is my identical twin who is also an artist. We are the only ones in our family who do art, so my parents really did not understand what it was all about but they did encourage us. In my late teens I used to come home after playing rugby on a Saturday and paint watercolours on our kitchen table. If we had any visitors my mother would bring out my paintings and show them.

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Carla McKnight

carla-mcknight-aotearoa-artistCarla McKnight ‘s favourite subjects are equestrian and aviation (warbirds). She works mainly in acrylic but has been known to play around with other mediums. “I’ve learned what works and doesn’t work by giving it a go and taking risks.” She finds the use of a ‘white-light’ lamp essential and uses a variety of brushes, sponges, scrapers, an airbrush and a spraygun. Carla tells us about herself . . .

I was born in Holland and my family immigrated to New Zealand when I was nine years old. I’ve always loved seeing artwork of horses from a very early age. Around 14 years old I started trying to draw horses but found it frustrating as I didn’t like the results. I was always on my horse, Misty, with my best friend Leeanne on her horse, Kelly. We used to ride all over the place and on wet days we watched cowboy movies and tried our hand at art, and that’s where it all started. My parents were very creative, so I guess that gave me a boost, but they didn’t ride horses or make art.

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Terry Fergusson

Terry Fergusson - Aotearoa Artist

THE BUSHMANS SON ©

From a young age Terry Fergusson would sketch portraits and received an Art award at school. Then with everyday life and becoming a solo Dad he just never had time to pursue it further. Now, as an empty nester, he has felt the urge to pick up the brush and concentrate on painting people, their faces, their emotions. Terry tells us about his passion.

The results of picking up the brush again have been inspiring and well accepted. My passion has evolved beyond what I ever could have imagined. Creating a legacy of work that I can leave behind that speaks my name and my brand, along with the subject and the emotion shown was all inspiring to me. I want people to see what I see, remember what I remember and enjoy it long after I’m not here to paint anymore. Looks, emotions, stories and faces inspire me, and the ability to capture them through a mix of photography and acrylic excites me every time I start or have the idea to start a new piece. 

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Jamie Mackman - Aotearoa Artist

Jamie Mackman

 

mug-shot-catherine-dunn-aotearoa-artistFIGURATIVELY SPEAKING

“I guess the galaxy just aligned for me that night in 1989 when I was born,” is why Jamie Mackman thinks she became an artist. She is a young Wellington artist who just loves the human form. We think it’s her undeniable talent as well.

I have always been the kid who made ridiculous clothes for their dolls, or vehicles with too many flashing lights for their action figures. When I wasn’t running about outside like a crazed animal with my sister I was hiding away inside a blanket tent talking to myself about some amazing idea for building something. Being an artist I guess is just a certain way of thinking and using your brain. I am a problem solver, I get a kick out of thinking far outside the square and trying to find solutions to the questions that need a creative mind to solve them. Finding what visually or verbally stimulates you to stay sane in a world that bears so much beauty and consequently constant destruction of that beauty. 

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Catherine Dunn

mug-shot-catherine-dunn-aotearoa-artistI don’t remember a time when I didn’t make art. It has been with me from the beginning. One of my earliest memories of being given an opportunity to paint was on my first day at kindergarten. It was a momentous discovery at the time for me and I didn’t want to do anything else.

Art was always a favourite subject at school, which led me to study art fulltime in Australia. I attended Claremont School of Art in Perth, Western Australia in the early 90s and graduated after three years, majoring in Sculpture. It was a lifetime ago and a valuable experience, fraught with all the learning curves of youth of course, but definitely provided a solid base to build on, and great memories. After Art school in my 20s I meandered through the creative process a bit, mostly in a sleep deprived fog, due to the addition of a husband and children. I always tried to keep my hand in while running a busy household and raising a family and continued to exhibit in Australia and in New Zealand, but it is only now that two out of three of my children are out into the world and doing their own thing, and my husband has miraculously morphed into a fulltime Picture Framer, that I have the opportunity to really work as a fulltime artist.

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Annette Straugheir

 

annette-straughier-aotearoa-artistCREATIVE FREEDOM

Wellington born of Dutch heritage, Annette Straigheir passed art in secondary school and has attended many art courses and workshops over the years. Still fully employed, she enjoys her painting as a secondary focus, although she thoroughly enjoys the freedom of creativity she finds in her art.

Finding time to paint has been her biggest obstacle, but she’s found the formula of making it a priority of her ‘at home’ time and she tries really hard not to procrastinate or get side tracked. Having deadlines helps to keep her focussed. Art is Annette’s passion and watercolour her favourite medium. She loves the transparency and looseness watercolour offers and says she does not find that as easy to achieve with other mediums. However, she is finding a lot of success with acrylic as well. “I enjoy the process of being immersed in creating a piece of artwork. The beauty of nature is my biggest inspiration, sunsets, sunrises, landscapes, flowers and people.”

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Alfred Memelink

Alfred Memelink - aotearoa artist

Within the delicate touch of watercolour, Alfred Memelink’s love and admiration of the sea is clearly visible. His joy and wonder in the environments he portrays are clear in the lightness and pleasure of his colour range and composition which emits a sense of satisfaction and contentment. With an easy brushstroke, one gets a feeling of comfort almost giving us permission to forgive nature its dark side with its wondrous and supple beauty. Even his stormy works have a feeling of softness and fragility, yet evoke inspiration.

Self taught, while at sea, his work was developed whilst sailing between New Zealand and Japan, working as a marine engineer. Giving credit to the Pacific Ocean and King Neptune, he began an artistic journey alongside the one he was already on. Having already had an early introduction with a childhood flavoured with artistic parents and wanting a hobby during his voyaging, watercolour was the practical decision to begin his artistic endeavours. A leisurely diversion from the practicalities of living, these early exercises and a book, ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ led to the decision in 1994 to leave the sea to paint full time and get ready for his first solo exhibition in a local cafe.

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Miramar Mural

Wellington Art Club painted a community mural for the Peninsular Art Trail weekend 2016. Phil Dickson designed our mural for the north wall of the Miramar Community Centre.

By Lucille Cash • Wellington Art Club Committee

It was painted in panels of wooden tiles by members of the Art Club and the local community on the weekend of Artists in Action. On the 12-13 March, there was a buzz of excitement as the mural appeared on the floor of the Clubrooms as artists completed painting their tiles.

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