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…
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?”
Geoff Popham
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.”
Don Wilkie
SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS
Painter, published author, and printer - Don Wilkie does not set limits on his range of creative talents.
“Painting provides the space and relaxation in which I lose myself in creating,” he reveals, “one of my biggest joys is when the painting is completed and seeing what has been achieved from a blank canvas.”