Seascape Archives - Page 2 of 4

Amanda Gleason

1 June 2021
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Drawing, Featured Artists, Landscape, Oils, Pencil, Realism, Seascape, Still-life

Painting en plein-air is a dream for many landscape artists. Unfortunately, the hurdles of self-consciousness and a lack of appropriate equipment often constrain us to the studio. Amanda Gleason has broken these chains and is now flying solo; loving her newfound artistic freedom.

My mother was an artist and art teacher, so I was surrounded by art all my growing years. I work full time as Practice Manager at a physio clinic, but once my children had finished high school, I had the time to pursue some formal art classes and over the last five – six years I have become increasing impassioned with my painting and drawing. I have had classes in oil painting, portrait painting (based on the old masters’ techniques), drawing and landscape painting. I have also done a number of workshops through the Howick Art Group, including life drawing and still life painting.

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Freeman White

1 November 2020
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Landscape, Oils, Painting, Portraits, Realism, Seascape

ANSWERING 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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Mark Daniells

1 September 2020
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Oils, Painting, Portraits, Seascape, Watercolour

EXOTIC ROOTS

Born in California, Mark Daniells grew up in the Federated States of Micronesia. While living there, his mother was a teacher and his father was a civil engineer and both were artists as well. He loved drawing during his youth and had ample time to explore the wildlife with his three brothers. Years later, after moving back to California and focusing on art, he graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Print Making. He had acquired the additional skill of being a builder which helped sustain him for many years.

During his childhood, growing up in the islands of Micronesia, Mark was instilled with a sense of awe for natural beauty. Nature is the true master of design, shapes and colour. With his island roots he eventually moved to Hawaii where he lived for close to 40 years with his wife Diane. Being an accomplished builder he finally realized his dream of being a full time artist and opened Mark Daniells Gallery in the town of Hanalei on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

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Sally-Ann Davies

1 January 2017
Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Featured Artists, Impressionism, Ink, Landscape, Nature, Painting, Printing, Seascape, Stylized

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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Annette Straugheir

1 November 2016
Acrylic, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Floral, Impressionism, Painting, Seascape, Watercolour

CREATIVE FREEDOM

Wellington born of Dutch heritage, Annette Straigheir passed art in secondary school and has attended many art courses and workshops over the years. Still fully employed, she enjoys her painting as a secondary focus, although she thoroughly enjoys the freedom of creativity she finds in her art.

Finding time to paint has been her biggest obstacle, but she’s found the formula of making it a priority of her ‘at home’ time and she tries really hard not to procrastinate or get side tracked. Having deadlines helps to keep her focussed. Art is Annette’s passion and watercolour her favourite medium. She loves the transparency and looseness watercolour offers and says she does not find that as easy to achieve with other mediums. However, she is finding a lot of success with acrylic as well. “I enjoy the process of being immersed in creating a piece of artwork. The beauty of nature is my biggest inspiration, sunsets, sunrises, landscapes, flowers and people.”

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Julie Freeman

1 September 2016
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Featured Artists, Hyper Realism, Nature, Painting, Pastels, Realism, Seascape

A self-taught artist, Julie Freeman has always loved art as a hobby. When she moved overseas after marriage in 1980, she was able to pursue her art while her husband Michael was completing a Masters in Product Design at the University of Illinois. She began doing animal portraits and some figurative work, which gradually progressed from black and white to colour. After living in the USA for eight years they transferred to the UK. Life was pretty busy with two young children but she persevered, mainly doing commissioned animal portraits, which became popular through word of mouth. Julie tells us of her journey from then through to winning the 2016 Unison Colour Cup at the PANZ ‘Purely Pastel’ National Awards in Mapua.

We returned to New Zealand at the end of 1993, and my primary focus was on the children, the home and part-time work in a local art shop. As the children got older I had a little more free time and started to focus on pastel as my preferred medium. My first exhibition was with two other professional artists, Merle Bishop and Joan Taylor, at A Fine Line Gallery in Matakana in December 2009 which was a turning point for me as an artist. My work for this exhibition covered a range of subjects, focusing on what I thought would be popular with the local residents and I successfully sold the majority of my work.

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Alfred Memelink

1 September 2016
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Impressionism, Naval, Painting, Realism, Seascape, Street Scenes, Watercolour

Within the delicate touch of watercolour, Alfred Memelink’s love and admiration of the sea is clearly visible. His joy and wonder in the environments he portrays are clear in the lightness and pleasure of his colour range and composition which emits a sense of satisfaction and contentment. With an easy brushstroke, one gets a feeling of comfort almost giving us permission to forgive nature its dark side with its wondrous and supple beauty. Even his stormy works have a feeling of softness and fragility, yet evoke inspiration.

Self taught, while at sea, his work was developed whilst sailing between New Zealand and Japan, working as a marine engineer. Giving credit to the Pacific Ocean and King Neptune, he began an artistic journey alongside the one he was already on. Having already had an early introduction with a childhood flavoured with artistic parents and wanting a hobby during his voyaging, watercolour was the practical decision to begin his artistic endeavours. A leisurely diversion from the practicalities of living, these early exercises and a book, ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’ led to the decision in 1994 to leave the sea to paint full time and get ready for his first solo exhibition in a local cafe.

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Jill White

1 September 2016
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Mixed Media, Nature, Seascape

FINDING THE SECRETS

I have had no formal art training but I come from a family of art lovers so I always say it must have been through a process of ‘osmosis’ that I learnt to work with colour. Being surrounded by art in the home must have had some subconscious influence. My sister Loy Forrest was the artist in the family so until I came to New Zealand from Botswana, it wasn’t something I had considered doing.

Once I asked a friend’s daughter to do a painting for me but she was too busy so I thought I would try to do one myself. Another wonderful friend of mine Raewyn Coker saw it and took it into the local community gallery where it sold in the first week - they asked me to bring more work in to which I replied “but I’m not an artist and I don’t think I can”. However, I gave it a go and when that one sold, my career as an artist took off. Once I started painting I couldn’t stop, finding a need to create.

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Patrick Greene

1 March 2016
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Featured Artists, Impressionism, Landscape, Nature, Painting, Seascape, Still-life, Watercolour

TAKING A RAINBOW FOR A WALK

A master watercolour artist, draughtsman and recipient of many awards, James Patrick (Patrick) Greene sadly passed away in October 2014.

By Barbara von Seida

In the 1950’s, he trained as a cartographic draughtsman with the Lands and Survey Dept, which was interrupted for two years whilst he travelled his big “OE”. During this time he was actually shipwrecked in British Guyana. His love for art took him to the great museums of the world which left a big impression on him and a desire to become an artist.

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Nina Cook

1 January 2016
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Drawing, Expressionism, Figures, Nature, Oils, Realism, Seascape, Symbolism

ARTISTIC COMMUNICATON

Nina Cook’s artistic intent is to communicate but unfortunately, the very character traits that enables her artistic self, makes the act of self-promotion extremely uncomfortable. “I never intended to show my work, but have received such kindness and encouragement from my beautiful husband, children, friends and gallery owners. For me, art is more a vocation from which I would be delighted to earn a living.” Nina tells her story.

I completed a Bachelor of Design at Christchurch Polytechnic School of Art and Design in 2006. The drawing classes at CPIT were to a particularly high standard and an incredibly valuable learning experience. Apart from that I am self-taught.

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