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Estefania Mondaca

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Born in Chile, South America, Estefania Mondaca is just starting on her artistic journey and we are pleased to introduce her work to you.

Estefania is currently studying for a Bachelors degree in Architectural Studies at ARA Canterbury. She has learned that all ways of creating achieve the same point, which is to create, whatever name you call it. Inspired by life itself, the things she sees that make her think or suprise her; she finds that in Chile the focus was on people, the human figure and a totally different landscape to New Zealand. Here she is inspired by the remarkable beauty of New Zealand’s terrain. “I normally go out and take photos, for example, the Heaphy Track on the West Coast, which was the first awakening for me to this beautiful country. I started to draw and paint what I saw. I think walking is a big inspiration for me, giving me an understanding of my feelings and perception of what I see.”

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Dylan Keys

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CREATIVE INTUITION

Self-taught artist Dylan Keys has been creating since he was a small child. “I always wanted to be a full-time artist but it was an unexpected series of events that led to it actually becoming a reality. Unfortunately, I’ve been in poor health for a number of years and one of the ways I cope with the pain and unpleasant sensations is to distract myself by drawing and painting.”

“A few years ago, I did a realistic charcoal drawing which caught the attention of leading motivational speaker Craig Harper, who is also a writer and educator in the areas of health, high performance and personal development. He shared my work with his online audience and I soon had a few commission enquiries coming in for charcoal portraits. Although my preferred style has always been a very loose and expressive one rather than realism, I decided to make the most of that momentum. I launched my website and social media pages soon after and I’m lucky enough to have been a full-time artist since.”

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Alison Gilmour

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VISUAL STORIES

Alison Gilmour has always been a visual person and able to draw. Part of her job as a graphic designer was illustrating and visualising with art markers. In 2001 she did some night classes at Mairangi Arts as a fun thing to do with a friend. “In one of the classes I started doing some still life drawings in coloured pencil. They were pretty good so I decided to go out and buy some acrylic paints, canvas and brushes and give it go. They were good, so I carried on and the rest is history.”

Alison finds inspiration is everywhere. How the light falls on an object or vista, how colours change with the light. Marvelling at nature’s detail and beauty, especially flora and the sea, she loves to note how weather affects them. “I thoroughly enjoy being able to express myself on the canvas and use my talent to create beauty, painting detail and sculpting my subject matter through light and depth to make the beholder overjoyed.” 

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UK ARTIST Gerry Defries

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Gerry Defries, who considers himself a colourist in the impressionist style, has exhibited widely in England, America and France. He paints seascapes and landscapes in acrylics and has sold close to 200 works.

By Tim Saunders

During a stroll along the Thames he spied a laser boat; a small racing dinghy that he used to race in his younger day. “I took a photograph and painted it,” recalls Gerry, whose first cousin married a man from Wellington and lived there for five years before relocating to Auckland where they stayed for five years before settling in Melbourne, Australia. “It got selected by a gallery in Edinburgh and then it got moved to Glasgow. The same painting was also selected by the Mall Galleries for the Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition. I forgot that it was already in Glasgow and couldn’t find it. So I spent the weekend producing another one. I then realised where the first one was, got that back and duly took it to the Mall Galleries. They sent a picture of it out to all their clients. One of the clients recognised the boat. The next thing I knew I got an email from this gentleman saying ‘you have painted my boat’. I thought ‘oh goodness me, I’m in trouble for breach of copyright or something’. He came to see the painting and bought it, went on my website and saw the other one and bought that as well. He then commissioned me to do another one.

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Uriel Tian

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INSPIRATIONAL FANTASY

Growing up in Barcelona, Spain and watching fantasy films filled with amazing creatures, Uriel Tian found the 1990s and 2000s a golden age for fantasy films. He was absolutely delighted to find the world he could create just using his imagination. This made him realise that he could do something like this and he began to direct his life toward becoming an artist. 

“I studied Practical FX (A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques) for the film industry in Barcelona in THUYA Academy in 2012, and then I began my Sculpture degree in 2014 in La Llotja Arts School in Barcelona.” Loving the feeling he gets while creating and the freedom that comes with it, Uriel knows he can challenge himself to become better and better. “I like to have dynamic projects and I feel I could never get tired of working. That also makes me understand how powerful it is to pursue your goals and dreams.”

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Karin McCombe Jones

 

THE ESSENCE OF COLOUR

With a plethora of training in all sorts of artistic areas including art and design, dance, physical education, and achieving a Bachelor’s Degree of Education with Honours, Karin McCombe Jones started her career teaching dance, drama and art in Engl­and. She moved to Canada and after immigrating to New Zealand, did various courses at the Learning Connexion school of art and creativity in Wellington where she now holds evening classes.

Born in Wales, Karin was a child who enjoyed drawing although her main ambition was to be an actress. “I got to teach drama, dance and art, which was close to being on stage at times, and painted sets for productions although I craved to be able to create my own work rather than simply making exemplars.”

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Karen Gourley

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IMMERSIVE DETAIL

“I love when an idea in my head comes to life on paper and translating that idea into a visual representation. The tactile nature of pastels is very therapeutic. I love sharing my love of nature with people and am so honoured when people choose to buy my artwork to hang on their wall.” So says Karen Gourley, a pastel artist, born in Ireland and now gracing New Zealand with her tremendous talent.

Her move to New Zealand means she has the opportunity to be immersed in nature, and with so many birds and wildlife on the doorstep, she feels compelled to paint them all. “I have always loved art from a young age, watching Tony Hart on Hartbeat and carefully copying along as I watched. Art was my favourite subject at school and art is a part of who I am. After studying, I followed a career as an accountant and took up painting in 2007 as a hobby.” After completing a Natural History Illustration course in 2018 she started applying the learned techniques to her pastel paintings. 

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Diana Peel

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FLORAL FREEDOM

With a Master’s Degree in design and having had full training in visual arts, Diana Peel has found herself in her exuberant floral paintings. Hailing originally from Russia, her natural passion radiates through her work.

When Diana first immigrated to New Zealand, she struggled to find work with her qualifications; she eventually started as an interior designer, but discontinued as “I was not good at designing pharmacies”. In great frustration she bought herself a large canvas and passionately painted an amazing iris, which she completed in four hours. “It was a turning point in my life - the energy flowing through my blood and that feeling of happiness and satisfaction just blew me away! After finishing that painting, I stepped back and said to myself: I am not an interior designer anymore, I am an artist!” Inner happiness and balance are the biggest inspirations for Diana. She doesn’t work with reference pictures anymore. “With time and lots of practice, I have learned to express myself in an abstract floral language. I can pour my feelings onto the canvas. Usually I just need to be happy, full of energy and craving some particular colours, and the magic happens.

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Carina Sim-Smith

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CARINA CREATES

Born in Singapore, Carina Sim-Smith is a marine biologist by profession and a very talented artist in her free time. She taught herself how to paint by attending art classes and workshops by various tutors at her local arts centre, and by hours of practice.

“I’ve always enjoyed art but could never afford any of the pieces in art galleries that I liked, so I decided to learn how to paint so that I’d have something to hang on my walls. I enrolled in a beginner’s art class and found that I really enjoyed painting.” She feels the pressure of having to earn a full-time income from her art would ruin her enjoyment of creating. “For me, art is an activity that I do for pleasure.”

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Adair Davis

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HOW COULD I NOT?

Born into a creative family with parents who belonged to a vibrant arts community, Adair Davis tells us that when she was born, Rita Angus, who lived with her family at the time, looked at her palm when she was born and proclaimed: “Adair will be an artist”. With this kind of background, it is not surprising that Adair has continued so successfully with her artistic journey.

Adair studied art at Whitireia New Zealand, previously called Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Parumoana Community College, in Porirua and claims her Mum was her mentor, teaching her to work in rich colour and three dimensional form. Her father was also instrumental in her influences, and actually made her an easel, which she still has and which is her favourite piece of equipment.

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