Kiwiana Archives - Aotearoa Artist

Melanie Corby

1 September 2020
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ball Point Pen, Birdlife, Drawing, Ink, Kiwiana, Painting, Stylized

ZONING IN

Melanie Corby has an unusual claim to fame: her painting is the first thing people see when entering the Wellington Police HQ holding cells. “I just hope when people walk through, they’re inspired that there is hope and the world is full of colour and brightness. They can grasp a little straw of that and know they’re here for a reason and a purpose,” she said.

I used to love drawing as a child, and I had an Aunty who used to paint. She taught me to make a notebook out of recycled paper when I was about 12 years old. I filled that little notebook with 100s of drawings of cartoons and animals. I had an eye for detail and being able to look at a large image and draw it perfectly scaled down. I took art painting right up to bursary level 7th form. I wanted to do a fine arts degree when I left high school, but my parents said there was no money in art, so I trained as a primary school teacher.

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Levin Adventure Park Mural

1 July 2016
Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Kiwiana, Maori, Murals, News, Spray Paint, Street Art, Youth Art

A huge colourful mural has transformed the wall at Levin Adventure Park’s northern border.

At a ceremony to celebrate the mural’s completion last Thursday, Horowhenua Deputy Mayor Garry Good described it as a 300 square-metre landmark piece of beautiful artwork. “From Council’s perspective, it’s the most amazing mural in New Zealand. You won’t see anything like it in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, anywhere. We’ve set a standard with this here in Horowhenua,” Mr Good said.

Ira Mitchell

1 July 2015
Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Figures, Jewellery, Kiwiana, Landscape, Painting, Seascape, Stylized

IN THE ZONE

The 2010 Christchurch earthquake irrevocably changed Ira Mitchell’s life. In this article she tells of how she faced the formidable challenges of depression and post traumatic stress and found a new direction and purpose through her art.

I was in a high-rise building in Christchurch when the earthquake struck. That, and the ensuing aftershocks, traumatized me to the extent I still suffer from PTS. I was teaching part time at that point and it made me rethink my life and what I wanted to do with it.

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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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Vinny Thompson

1 January 2015
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Floral, Kiwiana, Painting, Street Scenes

THE PASSION THAT SURROUNDS

When a fine artist was introduced to ceramics the resultant mix was an evocative blend of genres and bold colours recalling another side to what makes New Zealand what it is. Vinny Thompson talks about her life, work and her passion for clay.

My introduction into ceramics came about while I was attending night classes at Archibald’s ‘The Art Place’, in Upper Hutt where I was learning portraiture painting with Mary Archibald. I booked in for a weekend class doing clay sculpture with Wellington sculptor Di Conway who was teaching us how to make ‘roly poly’ women. In the first 10 minutes of having my hands on the clay, I thought, “Oh I can do this! I like this!”

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Julia Henderson

1 November 2014
Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Figures, Floral, Kiwiana, Maori, Painting, Realism, Still-life

THE DISTINCTIVE VOICE

Growing up and being schooled in the United Kingdom, Julia Henderson attended a very conservative grammar school, where art was not considered an appropriate career choice. She studied Biological Sciences and went on to do a BSc and PhD in Ecology. She still felt the urge to get involved with the arts though and after immigrating to New Zealand 25 years ago, she obsessively studied art, taking numerous classes and workshops covering all aspects of art – drawing, painting in all media, print-making, colour theory and art history including Maori and Pacific art.

After deciding to take the next step and try to make a career out of art, she began entering competitions, experiencing some success. Finally a friend convinced her to approach a gallery with her work, and to her delight and beyond her wildest dreams, Julia was offered a solo exhibition. The sell-out show, held nearly 20 years ago, cemented Julia’s ambition and she has prospered ever since.

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Monique Rush

1 May 2014
Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Kiwiana, Nature, Painting, Vehicles

SPICE OF LIFE

Monique Rush is an artist who enjoys painting a variety of subjects, ranging from landscapes and beaches, native birds, underwater life, Kiwiana to cars, (vintage, classic and new).

Monique studied art in college at Green Bay High School receiving 98% in painting and spent a year at Unitec Bachelor of Arts, from then on she taught herself. She says she has always considered herself an artist, as drawing and painting came naturally. “I have always worked hard in any job and art was my sideline but it is now becoming my main focus.”

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Tanya Finlayson

1 January 2014
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Carving, Enamel, Featured Artists, Figures, Kiwiana, Painting, Realism

CARVING A NEW FASHION

“Have a goal, have something to achieve and then go and fulfill it. It always a nice feeling to look back on the journey of how you realised your dreams.”

So says Tanya Short, who some may remember as Tanya Finlayson making and selling handmade jewellery and sewing children’s clothing at the Whangarei markets.

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