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Lui Peti

lui-peti-aotearoa-artistLui Peti’s art is surrealistic, emotive and a little quirky. His digital paintings are available to be enjoyed by everyone, with his original work sold online as affordable art prints. His hope is for people to enjoy his art as much as he enjoys creating it. With buyers already in Australia, the USA and Canada, Lui is well on his way to becoming a full-time artist.

I love being able to visualise my thoughts and being able to create art from a process of thinking. I like pushing myself to be braver and reach deeper into my psyche to explore its essence. Perfecting my craft and being surprised by my progress is very satisfying. 

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Mike Greenwood

Mike Greenwood - aotearoa artist

CRIKEY! IT'S MIKE GREENWOOD

A larger than life, grumpy sweetheart with a brilliant sense of humour, Mike Greenwood started drawing and painting at the tender age of 12. In school, he was only ever interested in art and sport and has been actively pursuing these passions for 64 years.

Mike left school at 15 and played football until he retired aged 33, intending to be a full time artist. As all artists do, Mike found it hard to exist on the income from his art and decided to start his own domestic fencing business. In this business, he not only did fencing, but retaining walls, decking and landscaping, designing all jobs himself.

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The Foundry- Jonathan-Campbell-aotearoa-artist

Jonathan Campbell’s Foundry

LOST AND FOUND

Jonathan Campbell has had sketch books since he was a youngster, constantly sketching compositions and ideas, generally ending up in one theme that leads to another. When he starts to make sculptures, he experiences further changes. “I don’t over-think, once I start doing a piece of work, it seems to take off.”

Having studied at the Foundation of Fine Arts in Whitirea, Jonathan had just picked up his skills when a French wool buying company approached him to produce about 200 castings, to celebrate their centenary. “They had seen my work in a group show and had tracked me down. It was complete luck and it enabled me to set up with decent equipment right away.”

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Donna Lee

Donna Lee - aotearoa artist

INNER CREATIVE DESIRE

I’ve always dabbled with art whether it being sewing, painting, jewellery and so on but it stepped up a gear when my mother, Janice Corbishley, purchased the Red Peach Gallery in Ahuriri, Napier. I began creating jewellery from fine bone china and created a brand ‘China Horse’ which I sell in there. After meeting Brent Redding through the gallery I took up painting lessons and started to put in the long hours of practice behind the scenes while still selling the jewellery. Then in 2013 I held my first solo exhibition and since then have focused on painting.

I paint and create because of a great inner desire to do so. When I paint I feel happy, free and connected! It allows me to choose a lifestyle of freedom, expression, travel and happiness which I cherish above all. The motivation comes from many avenues but is mainly an internal drive to achieve the very best I can be and to attain this lifestyle I have created for myself.

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Katie Mines - Aotearoa Artist

Katie Mines

Katie Mines - Aotearoa Artist

MEDITATIVE ART

An intense academic by nature, and artist in heart and soul, Katie Mines spent much of her life studying for a series of degrees and teaching at university before engaging her childhood dream of being full-time professional artist in her own right, and on her own terms.

Prior to 2012, Katie spent 10 years travelling through Asia, Africa and America and seven years teaching at a Confucian University in Seoul, South Korea. She returned to Hawkes Bay at the end of 2012, to raise her daughter and try her hand at painting, which remained a life long dream, “I always knew that art would become a big part of my life, I just wasn’t sure in what capacity until I started painting full time,” she reflects. After years of travelling, Katie was ready for what Hawkes Bay has to offer, “the space to slow life down, have a garden, bring up my daughter, and paint.”

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Print Feature-aotearoa-artist

Faith McManus

FAITH McMANUS

“There is a revival of printmaking taking place in New Zealand with printmakers being increasingly recognised by the wider art community and the medium is poised to start interacting with other mediums.” These are the thoughts of Faith McManus, locally and internationally recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost printmakers with exhibitions at dealer and public galleries in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

Faith, an art tutor at Northtech in Whangarei, says printmaking in New Zealand does not always enjoy the recognition and appreciation it deserves. “There are not many print galleries in New Zealand and there are probably more people collecting New Zealand prints in Australia than they do here.”

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Anne Michelle Johal - Aotearoa Artist

Anne Michelle Johal

Anne Michelle Johal - Aotearoa Artist

THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION

My entire family are passionate readers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and story tellers. My father, a farmer, collected humorous books with illustrations full of wonderful little stories that tickled, and he taught us how to draw cartoons as a child. Beatrix Potter’s little handheld books, with her delicious little watercolour paintings, were read to us by our grandmother. Dad’s books included those written and illustrated by A.S. Paterson, the Andy Capp series, and many others. The coloured line illustrations and stories of Asterix and Obelix, the black and white cartoons of Murray Ball, The What a Mess collection by Frank Muir with Joseph Wright’s wonderful illustrations, Quentin Blake’s work, among others, became part of our favourite collections growing up.

A passionate reader, from a very young age, I lived inside these books as movies in my imagination. The narratives of people and places, emotion and experience captured and transported me out into the world of cultural difference and exciting possibilities, such a contrast to the farm life.

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Geoff Noble

Geoff Noble - Aotearoa Artist

FREEDOM AND MOVEMENT

There is a lot of paint and colour, lots of colour. Bright, vibrant and even startling. And movement, always movement, large bold images leap out demanding attention, captured but seemingly not, on the cusp of rising and falling but nowhere near frozen.

There are paintings all over the place when entering a very cluttered Tahuna Studios in Nelson. Some are complete, overs still in that moment of creation. New and old it is an eclectic mix. Added to this are posters, surfboards, skateboards, and all manner of tools.

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Vinny Thompson

Vinny Thompson - Aotearoa Artist

THE PASSION THAT SURROUNDS

When a fine artist was introduced to ceramics the resultant mix was an evocative blend of genres and bold colours recalling another side to what makes New Zealand what it is. Vinny Thompson talks about her life, work and her passion for clay.

My introduction into ceramics came about while I was attending night classes at Archibald’s ‘The Art Place’, in Upper Hutt where I was learning portraiture painting with Mary Archibald. I booked in for a weekend class doing clay sculpture with Wellington sculptor Di Conway who was teaching us how to make ‘roly poly’ women. In the first 10 minutes of having my hands on the clay, I thought, “Oh I can do this! I like this!”

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Jodie Marlow

Jodie Marlow - Aotearoa Artist

VIBRANT COLOUR

“When I am happy the people in my life are happy.” says landscape artist Jodie Marlow. Whangarei-born Jodie is happiest when she is painting. “I love how it makes me feel so alive, it gives me the ability to express who I am as a person.”

Jodie has been painting and drawing her entire life, attending many after-school art classes and achieving a cracking 98 percent for her final school art certificate. From 1990-1993 she studied for a diploma in fashion design in her hometown of Whangarei.

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