Giclée Printing
GOING GICLÉE Giclée (pronounced zeeclay) art prints produced by artists in New Zealand are becoming increasingly popular and more widely available…
Packing for Post
HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR PRECIOUS CREATIONS WILL REACH THEIR DESTINATION UNHARMED? Shipping your artwork can be a stressful process no…
Creative Burnout
It’s two-o-clock in the morning, you are standing in front of your easel, you can’t remember when you last had a…
Gouache
WHAT IS GOUACHE? The History Gouache is both a technique and a product. The technique, dating back to before the renaissance,…
Pastels
WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT PASTELS? By Serena Dawson Serena Dawson who hails from Ngunguru, says she has been asked several times:…
10 Tips from an Art Teacher
TEN TIPS FROM AN ART TEACHER By Kim Kerr Drawing is important Learn to look closely, allow your eye to find…
Greg Maddox
DRIFTING WITH PASSION
Trained as a signwriter, Greg Maddox’s five year apprenticeship taught him a range of disciplines in engineering, carpentry and the art of hand rendering signs using brush and airbrush, something he loves with a passion.
Trained as a signwriter, Greg Maddox’s five year apprenticeship taught him a range of disciplines in engineering, carpentry and the art of hand rendering signs using brush and airbrush, something he loves with a passion.And if you think signwriting is mundane, Greg’s skills have taken him all over the world, including Europe and the USA. He was involved in creating 3D apples for the ‘Big Apple Campaign’ that now adorn the streets of New York City and another project in South Street, Seaport. “Moving to Europe was great, as the culture was a pleasure to immerse yourself into. I spent many hours in the English Garden, Munich rendering pastels of the human form. It was bliss. “I thought making money as a portrait artist was me for the rest of my life.”
Brian Looker
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REFLECTION
When Brian Looker returned to New Zealand after an absence of twenty years living in Australia, it was like coming to an unknown country. It was the catalyst he needed to become a full time artist. “It seemed a fitting time, to follow my dream and make a commitment to pursue my art on a deeper level,” he says.
“It seemed a fitting time, to follow my dream and make a commitment to pursue my art on a deeper level,” he says. “For many years my wife and I had visited artists in their studios in many countries around the world, each time thinking what a perfect lifestyle they had. Truthfully the only difference between dreaming and having is that first step of doing.”
Stretching Watercolour Paper
STEP BY STEP - STRETCHING WATERCOLOUR PAPER If you have ever painted on a sheet of well-stretched watercolour paper, you will…
Amanda Brett
THE COLOURS OF WATER
“All my life I had always wanted to be an artist,” Amanda says, “but it got lost amongst a business career, and that of being a wife and mother.” Continuing she adds that High School was a big waste of time for her.
“I had many ideas for my future but I am sad to say my school would not support any of them. I wanted to become an architect, but I wasn’t allowed to study any of the foundation courses. I was even told by the school career counsellor “not to worry about art or music school as I was just going to get pregnant, so why bother?”