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Levin Adventure Park Mural

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.

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Serge Souslov

Serge Souslov - aotearoa artist

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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Reina Cottier

Reina Cottier - Aotearoa Artist

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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Gareth Barlow

Gareth Barlow - Aotearoa Artist

A SENSE OF BEING

Accompanied by family and friends, well-known Lower-Hutt-born New Zealand carver and painter Gareth Barlow describes his first major solo show at the Kura Gallery in Wellington earlier this year as “a very proud moment and a wonderful experience.”

The show was a great success to further represent Gareths work, as well as his future exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia including a show scheduled for Queenstown this month (July). In this article Gareth writes about his insights and the thought processes that brought his exhibition ‘From the Land’ to fruition.

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John Unasa

John Unasa - Aotearoa Artist

CONSUMED BY PASSION

After many years of focusing on various career paths John Unasa recalls that it was becoming quite apparent his desire to create from a very young age was still very much alive and something had to be done about it. Now, at 35, full of life experience, qualifications and a range of skills, he says he feels the time is right for him to put his full focus into his creative passion.

“My inspirations emanate from my feelings about my physical and social environment, my mood, my imagination, my culture, pop culture and my education,” he says.

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Michael Angelo Burke

aotearoa-artist-michael-angelo-bourkeHERITAGE ART

A carver and painter of murals and pictures, portraying an individual style unique in New Zealand, Michael Angelo Burke’s inspiration comes from the spiritual aspects of nature.

The themes of his work reflect a childhood spent playing among native trees, observing wildlife in the Coromandel native bush and extensive travel to National Parks of the world, including USA, Canada, Alaska, Australia and UK.
“I express this inspiration by combining the disciplines of drawing, carving and painting. I don’t plan my artworks - they just flow from my life experiences.” Michael Angelo says.

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DeAnne Lawford-Smith - Aotearoa Artist

DeAnne Lawford-Smith

DeAnne Lawford-Smith - Aotearoa Artist

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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Julia Henderson

Julia Henderson - Aotearoa Artist

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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Geoff Popham - Aotearoa Artist

Geoff Popham

Geoff Popham - aotearoa artist

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 - Aotearoa Artist

Robyn Mitchell

Robyn Mitchell - aotearoa artist

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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