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Wendy Leach - Aotearoa Artists - The New Zealand Artists Magazine

Wendy Leach

 

wendy-leach-aotearoa-artistThree years at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University (Diploma of Fine Arts) and two years at Whitecliffe College of Art and Design (Master of Fine Arts, 1st class honours) has seen Wendy Leach through to a fine career in visual arts. She tells us her of her process and progress.

I went to Elam when I left school, then trained as a secondary teacher. I became an art teacher first, then an exhibiting artist later. In terms of a philosophy that drives my creative soul, that would be the language and understanding of the power of opposites, yin and yang. These complementary opposites - dark and light, black and white, night and day, warm and cool, storm and calm - are fundamental to my current paintings as I explore the natural elements around me.

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Charne Christensen

 

charne-brent-christensen-aotearoa-artistBRIEF MOMENTS

Charne Brent Christensen’s immaculate photo-realistic painting style does justice to the dramatic but serene landscape of the South Island. Blending the mists of the unknown with the hyper-realism of strong light on crisply defined mountain and lake scenery, he has developed a unique style which he shares with us here.

My art is inspired by the New Zealand landscape. I regularly take my eight-year-old dog Chow Chow on road trips around the South Island. I love to explore the countryside and every trip inspires a new creation. It’s as if the lakes and mountains beg me to capture them for one brief moment in time; so that they can be displayed in a loving home to remind us of their eternal beauty. I work full time, so I paint whenever I get the time - mostly on weekends. I have been driven to learn and develop my skills so that one day I can become known as an accomplished artist. 

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Freeman White

freeman-white-aotearoa-artistANSWERING THE CALL

Born in the Hawke’s Bay, Freeman White started drawing before he started school, and enjoyed tremendous support from his parents. While still in primary school, Freeman was entering and winning art competitions, always serious about his artwork.

In the late 90s Freeman attended Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland for a year. “Their mantra was that ‘painting is dead’, but painting was very much alive for me, so I left after a year. After that I received a scholarship to study Honours at the Learning Connexion in Wellington where I met fellow painter Sandro Kopp.” 

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Sue Currie - Aotearoa Artist

Sue Currie

Sue Currie - Aotearoa Artist

Sue Currie was delighted to find that a comprehensive Australian correspondence course in graphic design for three years while at high school in Christchurch was a successful background for working in art. “In those days there were few opportunities for women to be taken seriously. In Sydney, Australia, the attitude was much more positive.”

Sue also took lessons with artist and illustrator Arthur Renshaw, (a retired tutor from the NSW Polytech), twice a week for six months as well as working freelance in graphic design. After six years she returned to New Zealand to paint, attending weekend workshops with a few fellow artists.

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Sally-Ann Davies

Sally-Ann Davies was born in Shropshire, England and resides in Taupo. She started her journey of becoming an artist as a toddler, drawing on the newly wallpapered walls of the farmhouse she grew up in. Her favourite subject at school without doubt was art. She vividly remembers that the primary school she attended would reward you if you finished your work early, with going and playing in the craft corner. She remembers how amazing creations developed with the simple materials such as egg cartons and toilet rolls. 

Her journey to becoming the esteemed artist she is today did not come with ease. A the age of 12 she had a detached retina so ended up having quite a few months off school. This meant no active play, which she says was very frustrating when you grow up on a farm with her brothers. Sally-Ann is a triplet, so you can understand the frustration she must have had, because she and her brothers normally spent their time building dens, rafts and camping by the river. 

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John White

John White - Aotearoa Artist

WILD PASSION

“Don’t be afraid, all the great painters had to start somewhere. You will make many mistakes so go ahead and start making them”. Adeptly using the time honoured mediums of oil and watercolour, John White portrays his love of wildlife through richly built paintings, softly painted, revealing the passion he has for his subject. Having built his skills over a lifetime he continues to create, advise and exhibit in New Zealand and overseas.

You know the first thing people ask me when they see my art is “how long have you been painting”? My answer is that I have always painted. I was brought up in a small place called Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula with my three brothers and one sister. One of my brothers is my identical twin who is also an artist. We are the only ones in our family who do art, so my parents really did not understand what it was all about but they did encourage us. In my late teens I used to come home after playing rugby on a Saturday and paint watercolours on our kitchen table. If we had any visitors my mother would bring out my paintings and show them.

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Roger Shanks

Roger Shanks - aotearoa artist

HARNESSING THE BEAUTY

When Roger Shanks retired from a full time career in sheep and cattle farming, he became an artist, gaining knowledge from reading books and magazines and attending workshops with prominent Australian and New Zealand artists.

Having had no formal training, art filled a need to keep himself occupied during his retirement with the biggest motivating factor being the sense of achievement that comes from creating beautiful paintings. Roger retired at age 54. Eighteen years later, Roger is very proud of having had a private exhibition in Napier, two exhibitions in Gisborne and being a finalist in the Australian Artist magazine competition, Volume 203. He intends to continue on his artistic journey indefinitel

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Tony Clarke

Tony Clarke - aotearoa artist

CORNERSTONE SKILL

With luscious, almost glowing colour pouring out from the canvas, Tony Clarke’s work emits a sense of vibrancy making his art feel alive. The intricate texture conveys the feeling that you could reach out and touch the feather or fur.

Tony’s father was a very accomplished hobby painter and encouraged him from an early age. “He gave me a book at age 13 of Raymond Ching’s book of British Birds and took me out drawing over the weekends. I copied paintings from that book and studied originals at the International Art Centre.”

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John Dumergue

John Dumergue - aotearoa artist

BELIEVING IN BALANCE

An active family man, at age 71, John Dumergue has the balance right in his life. As a member of the oldest team in the Half Ironman in Wanaka, the swimmer being 72 and the cyclist, 82, his most important advice is believe in yourself. “This is what my running coach would say to me as I lined up for, say, an 800m race. I believe this applies to anything you do in life.”

When John was in his fifties, he spent five years training in the martial art of Kung Fu, with elements of Tai Chi. He became an instructor, enjoying the tutoring of beginners classes. He still runs regularly and counts the benefits as endless. He says art was never a career choice, it was just something he did during his spare time. Although, clearly John’s artistic abilities were part of his career choice after all, as he is also a carpenter by trade, having built his own house at the tender age of 21. Art comes in many forms and what will out, will out. Incidentally, he also has a diploma in writing. A multi-talented man. Now that he’s retired from his job as a Certified Kitchen and Bathroom Designer, he paints about four times a week.

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Ben Woollcombe

Ben Woollcombe - aotearoa artist

DISTILLED INSPIRATION

After almost four years of studying Industrial design at the Wellington School of Design in the early ‘70’s, Ben Woollcombe realised industry was not such an inviting option when the alternative was that he could create things of his own fancy and have people appreciate them, even buy them. The motivation to become an artist came from being able to make his own decisions and “enjoy living by my own wit rather than swapping my time for a pittance, while manifesting someone else’s dream.” He loves being able to use his time as he pleases - fishing, entertaining friends, sailing, painting or digging the garden.

Ben always enjoyed the Geography & Biology sets during his early education through correspondence school, as they usually involved illustration of some sort. A high mark in art was his main reason for gaining school certificate. 

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