Movement

LevinAdventureParkMural2-aotearoa-artist

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.

Margaret Scott

Margaret Scott aotearoa artist
Photo by Pip Guthrie

PRIDE AND PASSION

When Margaret Scott got married, she started painting as a way to supplement their income. Early farming years were tough and she found she could sell paintings of Mount Taranaki to tourists and gift shops. “If I had a hundred calves to feed or four children to look after, I still found time in the evenings to paint. I am constantly thinking of the next painting and what I will paint. I live by the sea and spend lots of time walking, looking at the environment, taking photos and making workbook drawings. Gathering resources is a very important part of being an artist and a teacher.”

It has been a complete need, a passion and drive that has brought Margaret to this point. Having just published her first book, ‘Self-portrait of a Paua’ she laments about the lack of support from the government for artists. “We used to have a thriving arts environment, supported by local arts councils. I was chairperson of the Egmont Community Arts Council for over ten years and we had exciting projects, exhibitions and workshops, all government funded. There were four arts councils in Taranaki and it’s much harder to get funding from the local councils. There is virtually no funding available for solo artist’s ventures, for example, my book, which I had to fund myself. “I am very proud of this book, as it is part autobiographical, historical and resource. The students I teach encouraged me to do this as they felt I should reproduce pages from my workbooks. This makes the book a valuable resource for both teachers and students alike.”

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Barbara von Seida

Barbara von Seida - aotearoa artist

EXPRESSION IN COLOUR

My aim as a painter is to create images that reflect my personal interpretation of my subject. Painting is not really a creative act until such time as the personal judgment and emotional reaction enters into it. In my opinion the ultimate aim of an artist is not to produce a record of something, rather to establish a personal view with a deeper narrative beyond the surface. What a painter feels is more important that what he or she sees. My work starts with a strong feeling and ends with an expression.

Raised near Dusseldorf, Germany, Barbara trained for five years in Art and Design, three years in textiles and two years in product design at University of Applied Sciences in Krefeld. She worked as an employee for, amongst others, the international company Vereinigte Seidenwebereien A.G. (United Silk Weaving Company) in Krefeld, and later, as a freelance fabric designer. In early 1984, Barbara migrated to Bantry Bay in County Cork, south-west Ireland where she opened the Country House Gallery featuring her watercolours, which in a short time were much sought after with both the local population and overseas visitors alike, culminating in her being invited to exhibit at the Royal Hibernian Society in both 1988 and 1989.

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

compilation2-lynn-webb-aotearoa-artist

Lynn Webb

Lynn Webb - aotearoa artist

EXPLORING THE COAST

“Waves, rocks, reflections on the sand, boat sheds reflecting on the water - these are my inspiration,” says Lynn Webb, oil and watercolour artist from Tauranga. “Having grown up in the small untouched coastal settlement of Tongaporutu, within the crumbling cliffs and the black reflecting sand amongst the waves and rocks, fills me with an exciting inspiration to capture the many moods of the coast, the sea and the never ending procession of breaking waves.”

Not having had any formal training, Lynn says she has been creative since she was little. “Even as a child I loved to draw. I guess as the years have gone on the urge to paint became stronger and so it began.” Inspired by the likes of Richard Robinson and John Crump, Lynn prefers a loose style of painting, often using a palette knife to capture light and colour in her work.

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Monarch-worm-mille-dunstall-aotearoa-artist

Mille Dunstall

My dead uncle-mille-dunstall-aotearoa-artistBorn in 2000, Mille is another youth artist who is proving that this century is producing excellent artists. With one sibling, Mille’s family isn’t particularly artistic. “I’m kind of the odd one out”, she says.

Waihi College have Mille’s attendance and she has decided to take art this year, planning to get into a graphic design course in the future. From the looks of what she is producing thus far, we believe graphic design would definitely be the way for Mille to go. It might be worth Mille’s while to investigate illustration as well, a noble, well established art form.

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Richard Page - aotearoa artist

Richard Page

Richard Page - aotearoa artist

UNDER THE SKIN

New Zealand-based sculptor Richard Page aims to rival the perfection of nature in his work. Using techniques acquired through collaborations across the world, Page creates stone-based sculptures that reference or play with the physical force and beauty in organic formations. Richard’s work often combines smooth, voluminous forms with intentionally rough-cut textures, as the contrast highlights the naturalistic elements of both styles. Similarly, the raw textures hint at the process that goes into producing the more refined ones, providing a sense of time and context for the viewer.

Whether sculpting abstract, geometric pieces or more impressionistic works, Richard’s work shows a clear aquatic influence in both composition and texture. His choice of stone often corresponds to the patterns found in marine life, while the curving surfaces of his work resemble the smooth character of ocean rocks. Even in the contrast of refined and raw, or hard and smooth, the sea provides a model for Richard’s naturalistic take on erosion. Richard’s gift is the fine precision in reproducing the organic qualities that nature has to offer. 

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Ian Given

Ian Given - aotearoa artist

FROM THE BOAT HOUSE

In 2010, after being in business for 30 years, manufacturing aluminium windows and supplying hardware, both retail and wholesale, Ian Given - a keen photographer - decided to begin painting. He signed up for lessons with Sue Dent, a recognised Tauranga artist, and has never looked back.

Spending many years looking at and enjoying other artists work, Ian always had a niggle in the back of his mind that he could paint like that if he tried. Some of the most influential artists in Ian’s artistic career include Tim Wilson for his attention to detail and the way he portrays mist and clouds, John Crump for his ability to paint plein-air on large canvases and the depth he manages to portray in his paintings and Richard Robinson for his loose brush work, the ability to control his colours and his talent with adjusting scenes to ease and balance up his composition. Preferring landscapes, seascapes, boats and architecture as his subject matter, Ian also takes commissions. Currently he is doing a commissioned painting of the Pungapunga estuary at the northern end of Whangapoua Beach. He is also working on a group of scenes of the coastal areas around the Coromandel. Both of these areas are firmly in Ian’s favourite list. 

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

three-graces-fran-gould-aotearoa-artist.jpg

Fran Gould

Fran Gould - aotearoa artist

GRAPPLING WITH GRAPHITE

My love of being an artist started with a Folk Art course at Waimea College in Richmond. Gradually art became more important in my life. After hearing the enthusiasm from several members of the art group I had joined, regarding courses with The Correspondence School in Wellington, I decided to enrol. I met my tutor in Wellington and he was happy for me to pursue figurative work, which was and still is, my passion as an art form.

My partner had a massive heart attack and several operations later, recuperative time, along with the process of ‘just being there’ as he got his strength back had a huge effect on me physiologically. After a while I started my second year at the correspondence school. My partner by this time was well enough to model for me, so I photographed him for my work and the ideas came fast and furious. My painting fitted into my studies “the human condition”. It all turned out to be very cathartic and the finished article, at the end of the year, achieved NZCA excellence. The whole project transformed me, mainly from the stress of the previous year. 

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Christine Redfern - aotearoa artist

Christine Redfern

Christine Redfern - aotearoa artist

BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES

Christine Pickstone-Redfern spent her childhood years watching and assisting her father, the renowned Queensland artist, George Pickstone, sketch, paint and carve. Her passion and inherent talent ensured her participation in scholastic art activities, where she spent much time sketching and entering art competitions. Winning an Australasian scholarship to the Melbourne Art Training Institute boosted her confidence. She re-trained to become a nurse. 

Christine has a very interesting perspective in life. All of her creations are unique - ‘one of a kind’. She will not reproduce any work (not even try to) twice, and the worst thing you could say to Christine is: “It can’t be done, it’s not possible.” She wants to know why, and you while you are explaining, she’ll do it anyway and when you finish explaining, she will be standing proudly next to her latest creation, defying the rules.

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

Patrick Greene

Patrick Greene - aotearoa artist

TAKING A RAINBOW FOR A WALK

A master watercolour artist, draughtsman and recipient of many awards, James Patrick (Patrick) Greene sadly passed away in October 2014.

By Barbara von Seida

In the 1950’s, he trained as a cartographic draughtsman with the Lands and Survey Dept, which was interrupted for two years whilst he travelled his big “OE”. During this time he was actually shipwrecked in British Guyana. His love for art took him to the great museums of the world which left a big impression on him and a desire to become an artist.

register and subscribe

Subscribe Today

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →
Back To Top
Search

You cannot copy content of this page