Creative Matters (Mandy Jakich)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Creative Matters
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 2022 | John Botton - Photographer and Fine Art Printer | 01:09:59 | |
John Botton is a fine art photographer and a digital giclée inkjet printer who holds a Fellowship from the Photographic Society of New Zealand. He's also an entrepreneur and self confessed 'Technical Geek' and is the founder and CEO of Print Art: Fine Art Imaging - a company well known and loved by many NZ artists. John is a true supporter of artists and their process. He sees his fine art printing business as much as a printing business as an "enabling business" for artists and photographers. He's a people person and has created a community amongst NZ artists and his business is like part of the family for many New Zealand artists. John speaks of his passion for Namibia, the dichotomy of desert environments, his small business learning curves, marrying the "technical geek" with the creative, his perception of failure, the importance of having a mentor, how the artists he works with inspire him and the strong community he has built with NZ artists - amongst many other things. https://www.artcollective.co.nz/
She worked for 4 years as an art educator at the Auckland Art Gallery - New Zealand's largest and finest gallery - designing and delivering visual arts programmes to primary, secondary and special needs children, as well as Professional Development courses for teachers.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 03 Mar 2022 | Rosemary Eagles - Contemporary Painter | 01:13:09 | |
Rosemary Eagles is an established contemporary NZ artist living in Auckland. She has with a deep appreciation of nature and the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work captures vibrant impressions of native trees, plants and flowers and strata land formations with an unrestrained use of texture and colour, depicting her expressions of these different environments and the things within them, discovered on her walks and travels around NZ. Rosemary’s recent works depict mānuka trees in Tāwharanui, “where rolling land meets the sea”. This regional park is a treasured place for Rosemary and the mānuka trees are a special source of inspiration. "From the simplest form of a single flower bud" says Rosemary, "through to the wonderful rock formations on our coastal beaches, bursting Harakeke Flax flowers with chocolate brown pods, to the wild and free flowing Toi Toi on our West Coast beaches. Just stopping and taking another look opens up endless fresh painting inspirations" Art by the Sea Gallery http://www.artbythesea.co.nz/Rosemaryeagles Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rosemaryeaglesnzartist/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rosemaryeagles/ She worked for 4 years as an art educator at the Auckland Art Gallery - New Zealand's largest and finest gallery - designing and delivering visual arts programmes to primary, secondary and special needs children, as well as Professional Development courses for teachers.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 10 Mar 2022 | Jenny McLeod - Contemporary Glass Artist | 01:15:02 | |
Jenny McLeod is a contemporary glass artist from West Auckland, NZ. She creates quality, original functional glassware, sculpture, garden art, installation and exhibition work and enjoys using glass for a modern environment in a non-fragile way. Her two 6 cubic foot kilns in her workshop at home give her the control required to fuse and slump cut and layered sheet glass. Much of her work is mixed media , incorporating a variety of materials including concrete, resin beads, wood, pumice, shells, feathers and a NZ native fibre, Harakeke. Jenny enjoys working with all these materials and is inspired by their natural quality and the unlimited possibilities of combining them with glass. Jenny's Whitianga farming upbringing on the Coromandel Peninsula in NZ, nature and the Pacific are constant reference points and inspiration for her work. http://www.jmcleodglass.co.nz/ https://www.facebook.com/JennyMcLeodGlass https://www.instagram.com/jennymcleodglass/
She worked for 4 years as an art educator at the Auckland Art Gallery - New Zealand's largest and finest gallery - designing and delivering visual arts programmes to primary, secondary and special needs children, as well as Professional Development courses for teachers.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 18 Mar 2022 | Lucy Davidson - Contemporary Landscape Painter | 01:04:34 | |
Lucy Davidson is a contemporary landscape painter from the Tutukaka Coast in Northland NZ, currently living in Auckland. Her abstract paintings explore the notion that nature and human emotion are interconnected and affect each other. To Lucy, Memories are inherent in our natural landscape and she uses colour to highlight the things we might miss in our daily encounters with natural elements. Her experiences at Elam School of Fine Arts (Auckland NZ) and in the film, TV and design industries in twenties have informed her painting practice and she is now a full time artist at the age of 30. She has created a busy practice and an inspiring life for herself that allows for freedom, flexibility and creativity. https://www.facebook.com/lucydartist/ https://www.instagram.com/lucyd_art/?hl=en She worked for 4 years as an art educator at the Auckland Art Gallery - New Zealand's largest and finest gallery - designing and delivering visual arts programmes to primary, secondary and special needs children, as well as Professional Development courses for teachers.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 24 Mar 2022 | Philippa Bentley - Multi Disciplinary Artist | 01:08:45 | |
Philippa Bentley is a multi-disciplinary artist inspired by nature, with ecology and environmental concerns at the heart of her work. While primarily known as a painter and printmaker, Philippa incorporates a range of media and processes in her art practice. She is interested in the intersection of art, design, science and technology and the possibilities this brings." "We are an island nation" explains Philippa - "New Zealand begins with the sea and ends with the sea - and we all have a relationship with the water. Listen to the sea, it has something to say to you." It is not surprising that Philippa's work is so connected to and informed by the sea and reflects her careful observation and love of the natural world, overlaid with a layer of contemplation. Philippa has become increasingly concerned with the global impact of environmental issues and this has been reflected in the development of her work over the last few years. Sea charts have become her symbol of navigating our way forward, plotting a course through these troubled, uncharted waters. https://www.instagram.com/philippabentley She worked for 4 years as an art educator at the Auckland Art Gallery - New Zealand's largest and finest gallery - designing and delivering visual arts programmes to primary, secondary and special needs children, as well as Professional Development courses for teachers.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 07 Apr 2022 | Erika Pearce - Multi disciplinary Artist | 01:21:45 | |
Erika Pearce is a multi-disciplinary artist born in Auckland Aotearoa NZ and now based in the beautiful Bay of Islands. She is well known for her large scale murals, vibrant artwork and strong female portraits. Her mural artwork can be found throughout New Zealand, from Northland to Bluff, as well as in Fiji, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and the USA. Erika is a dedicated ocean conservationist and is deeply motivated to inspire communities to care for and protect their coastlines and surrounding waters. The creation of her large scale ocean murals has a really positive impact by opening up conversations with people of all ages. She is inspired by plants, animals, the ocean and our human connection to the natural world. When she is not painting, she can be found out in the garden tending her dahlias, raiding the veggie patch or hanging out with her ducks. Hear about Erika's varied art practice, the amazing process of creating a large scale mural, Erika's philosophies on working and living intuitively and living your best life, her passion for dressing up and the Burning Man festival and soo much more! https://www.facebook.com/erikapearceartist
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Apr 2022 | Annemarie Hope-Cross - Photographic Artist | 01:12:09 | |
EPISODE 39: Photographic artist Annemarie Hope-Cross was born in Wellington NZ, grew up in Auckland and has lived in Alexandra, Central Otago, since 2008. Annemarie uses three historic processes that date back 180 years to early pioneering photography techniques, some of which are referred to as camera-less photography. Her mousetrap camera is set up outside in her back garden. It takes six to eight hours to create the images and a lot of hoping the weather does not change in the meantime. Annemarie works intuitively; aware, but not restrained by those who have gone before. She makes images to comment, to appreciate our world and to satisfy her heart and mind. She shares her work hoping that the images she makes will speak to others. In August 2017 Annemarie was diagnosed with a rare triple negative, aggressive form of breast cancer at the age of 49. She wants to tell people ''the positive stories of breast cancer', of ploughing through, taking on challenge and accepting the changes cancer can bring." As Annemarie and her husband Eric Schusser are both photographers they are in the unique position of being able to work together and put on paper the journey many go through as sufferers and carers dealing with cancer.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Apr 2022 | Eric Schusser - Photographer | 01:03:40 | |
Eric Schusser is a photographer from Central Otago in New Zealand. He has a diverse style and portfolio that includes social documentary, abstract works and fine art imagery. His work is often project based and he's fascinated by the power of text and photo together.
Eric's photographic practice is expanding and he is developing an interest in the abstract beauty to be found in urban spaces and to appreciate people more and the importance of telling stories. Eric is intrigued by photo books and has published 4 books, 2 of which are collaborative works with his wife Annemarie Hope- Cross, exploring her journey with breast cancer and his role as caregiver. He wants his viewer to make an emotional intimate connection to an image, project or photo story where something resonates with their life experience, their humanity. This intimate, emotional style reflects his involvement over thirteen years as both a search and rescue volunteer and thirty plus years as a volunteer frontline ambulance officer/ EMT. You can see images of Eric's beautiful photographs on our blog which is on our website https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-eric-schusser Eric has some truly moving messages for sufferers and carers going through cancer and how creativity and collaboration has helped him and his wife Annemarie through the tough times, as well as a super interesting story about his creative journey and practice. You can hear Annemarie's story on our previous episode, episode 39.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 28 Apr 2022 | Toipoto - Creative Career Mentoring, with Dina Jezdic | 00:33:51 | |
Toipoto (which means Closer Together in Te Reo Maori)) is a free mentoring programme for the creative sector in Auckland NZ. Developed from The Big Idea's popular Mentoring in the Arts format, Toipoto has been expertly designed for those starting out or looking to build momentum in their creative journey, who are driven to build a sustainable and rewarding career in the arts. Toipoto helps you connect with the people and pulse of the arts sector and gives you the tools and tips you need to thrive. It doesn’t matter what your creative background is - visual artist, performance artist, event planner, producer, game developer, musician or the countless other disciplines the arts sector embraces - Toipoto has mentors with real-life knowledge and experience to help make your career sustainable and rewarding. You can learn more about this amazing creative mentoring programme and potential opportunity at thebigidea.nz/toipoto Ko koe tēnā ko au tēnei kīwai o te Kete You take that handle and I'll take this handle of the kete. Working together we will succeed.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 05 May 2022 | Gae Webster - Multi Disciplinary Artist | 01:27:39 | |
Gae Webster is a multi-disciplinary artist from Auckland in Aotearoa NZ. She works in paint, print, paper, fibre, glass, sculpture and contemporary jewellery from her studio in Pukekohe. Gae's works are all a narration of her views and responses to life – the telling of the story is the focus across all the mediums that she likes to create in and all of her disciplines connect and relate to each other. I talk to Gae in her studio about her incredibly varied practice and all the different media and processes she uses. She speaks of her joy of teaching 4 days a week from her studio, her desire to keep her work accessible, her views on the languages of her different disciplines and how they 'speak' to each other, her strong connection to the Hauraki Gulf, curating her own exhibitions and her love of learning and developing her creative skills. https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-gae-webster
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 12 May 2022 | Kate Hursthouse - Designer, Painter, Entrepreneur | 01:10:44 | |
Kate Hursthouse is a New Zealand artist, illustrator, creative entrepreneur and mother of one living in Te Atatū Peninsula, Aotearoa NZ. She is on a mission to help women find their own place of joy and calm through colour and creativity. Kate has a background in architecture and design and has been running her creative business since 2014. Her work has taken a number of forms over the years, from contemporary artworks, calligraphy and commercial illustrations to an illustrated children’s book, colourful abstract paintings and large scale hand-painted murals. Kate is currently working on The Colourful World of Kate, a suite of online art courses brought to you from inside Kate's studio, into the sanctuary she has within her studio walls which is full of colour and play. Kate believes Art and colour is therapeutic and good for the soul and creating has helped her through some of the most challenging years of her life. 2022 also saw Kate dive into the whole new world of podcasting. The Creative Mother Podcast features interviews with creative women from a range of professions, who are also mothers. Artists, designers, musicians, film makers, fashion designers and other creative Mums talk to Kate about the impact of motherhood on their creativity and business. I'm really enjoying this podcast and I think you will too! https://www.katehursthouse.com/blogs/the-creative-mother-podcast Kate talks about the development of her small creative business and all the things she's learnt as a business owner; her development from architecture to design and illustration through to her current abstract painting practice; how she got to be the host of her very own podcast and her philosophies on how changes in circumstances are there to feed change to your perspective and to keep you learning.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 May 2022 | Sarah Barton-Hills - Painter and Photographer | 01:18:30 | |
Sarah Barton-Hills is a painter and photographer based in Auckland, New Zealand. As a girl, Sarah was drawn to pattern, colour & texture. She constantly drew, sculpted, photographed, sewed and created with fabric to express her deep fascination with these elements, inspired by her NZ bush clad Waitakere surroundings. Through her career in fashion and textile design, retail, visual merchandising & interiors she has honed her eye for detail, layout, design & colour. As her children have become more independent, Sarah has returned to her love of art, primarily embracing her painting and photography practices. Sarah's Still Life, Portrait and Landscape paintings are rich and gorgeous and full of joy. Her appreciation for nature, texture, colour & light are revealed in her vibrant tactile pieces. In this episode we discuss how beautiful as well as traumatic experiences have informed her creative perspective on life and how she managed to finally devote herself to a full time art practice. I loved talking to Sarah and I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing her touching story.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 02 Jun 2022 | Helen Dean - Abstract Painter | 01:01:47 | |
Helen Dean is an artist based in Titirangi, Auckland. Her abstract paintings begin with colour and are created through many layers of paint to build up a surface that is full of life, showing glimpses of what’s underneath, combining gestural brushwork, playful shapes and subtle glazing. https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-helen-dean Helen explores a range of different marks and techniques, some gestural, some more controlled and the paintings slowly take form. Avoiding a formula, each painting develops in its own way as she aims for a balance between light and shade, loose and controlled. Helen obtained her BA (Hons) Fine Art in painting in the UK in 1995 but only returned to painting in 2015. Since then she has had a regular painting practice and has sent her work to collectors around the world. We talk about Helen's time at a Fine Art College in England in her early twenties that turned out to be quite a negative experience, putting her off painting for many years and how she finally returned to painting 7 years ago. She explains how it feels to finally be painting and creating again and speaks so passionately about her painting practice and process, including an amazing collaboration with NZ Fashion designer Juliette Hogan. It was so lovely to hear Helen's story and I'm so happy her beautiful paintings are back in the world!
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 26 May 2022 | Kell Sunshine - Lettering artist, Muralist & Illustrator | 01:15:31 | |
Kell Sunshine, a.k.a Kelly Spencer, is a lettering artist, muralist & illustrator from Gisborne with a big love for Mother Earth. Her creative style is characterised by bright and retro-fresh colour palettes and curvaceous forms, meticulously hand crafted lettering, and illustrative elements of flora and fauna. “I consider it a privilege to be able to use my creativity to amplify the voice of Mother Earth, with my personal and client work often serving as a platform to promote love & respect for our natural environment.” says Kelly Kelly’s portfolio of 12 years in the industry includes murals/street art, illustration (editorial, promotional, books), sign painting, apparel graphics, festival & gig branding, installation, identity design and more. She has collaborated with clients such as Trade Me, Red Bull, Whittakers Chocolate, Boon Street Art, PangeaSeed Foundation, Bell Tea, Ministry for Environment, Garage Project, Good Buzz Kombucha, Rhythm & Vines, Department of Conservation, Creative HQ and Framingham Wines Kelly does not engage in conversation before consuming coffee in the mornings but is henceforth a social creature. Things that make her happy include: Her pup, sunshine, seedlings, the sound of tropical rain, scuba diving, and TRAVEL. Kelly shares her journey from fashion design through to graphic design, illustration and large scale mural making, some of the collaborations and inspiring projects she's been involved in and her passion for typography, sunshine and all things retro.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 09 Jun 2022 | Shane Hansen - Artist, Designer of Graphics, Furniture and Fashion | 01:37:54 | |
Shane Hansen is an artist, a designer of graphics, furniture and fashion, a loving husband and doting Dad to two boys. Born in New Zealand in the 1970s, he is of Maori (Tainui, Ngaati Mahanga, Ngaati Hine), Chinese, Danish and Scottish descent. Shane is the benefactor of a life lived long and well in Aotearoa. The country is in his blood, in his heart and in his art. Shane’s creations spring from the characters, creatures, moods, memories and moments lying deep within the country he calls home. His artistic world is one of bold colours, modern Māori motifs, optimism and clarity inspired by his multi-cultural heritage and an admiration for pop-art, strong graphics and a profound appreciation of the landscapes that surround him. As well as depicting the various shapes and tones of Aotearoa, Shane’s works also represent ideas about who he is, where he comes from and how he fits into the country he grew up in. Shane describes his work aptly: “it’s therapy, kai for the mind and soul”. His work has become a channel for an on-going examination of his multi-cultural heritage and he is determined to continue pushing the parameters of what he can express and achieve through it. Shane speaks generously of how he manages his mental health through his art and the way he lives, his varied design and art making practice, his passion for giving back and yes, his stint on NZ TV as the host of Design Junkies. It made my morning meeting Shane today and I'm sure you'll find his story inspiring.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 16 Jun 2022 | Fraser Williamson - Illustrator and Painter | 01:11:25 | |
Fraser Williamson a.k.a. ‘Fraz’ has had a love of art since he was a young boy and has been creating incredibly distinguishable paintings and illustrations for 35 years.
Fraser sees himself as a magpie picking up ideas and styles anywhere from Mesopotamian bas reliefs to underground comics.The ocean, family beach life, time spent in Tonga and Spain are constantly reflected in his work. Fraser creates wondrous narrative scenes, some of which he doesn’t understand himself his art. http://www.redshark.co.nz/ We had a really fun chat on a blustery Muriwai day about his wild dreams that end up making appearances in his work, the way he sits in a cafe and collects ideas from a random magazine, snippets of conversation or passers by while he's drinking his coffee, his dream of writing and illustrating his own books and his amazing narrative painting process. Amongst many other things! I loved meeting the fabulous Fraser and I'm sure you'll enjoy and relate to many aspects of his fascinating story.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 20 Jul 2022 | Coral Noel Yang - Multi-disciplinary Artist | 01:14:24 | |
Coral Noel Yang is a Waitakere-Auckland based, Taiwanese born, multidisciplinary artist who specialises in expressive figurative and abstract paintings with oil and acrylic. Her passion for Aotearoa nature, her Chinese/Japanese heritage, and living and working across the US, Europe and Asia inform her works.
Growing up under the tutelage of her mother, a premier artist in Taiwan, Coral is rooted in the Asian water-ink tradition and is inspired by the kinaesthetic experience, gestural mark-making and intuitive expression in the painting process. Coral endeavours to bring narrative storytelling from her film background to create works that transport the audience to a world of possibilities and imagination. I had a lovely lovely chat to Coral about her incredible film making career and how it informs her art practice, how she navigated grief and stress after losing her beloved brother. how she overcame her fear of failure and need for success and how she found her truest passion through painting.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 25 Jul 2022 | Lucy Melville - Painter, Business Coach, Creative Entrepreneur | 01:00:02 | |
Lucy Melville is a painter, creative entrepreneur, business coach and Mum based in Mt Maunganui. Lucy’s work centres around energetic geometric shapes with strong, vibrant colour. Her latest work features some of the most stunning birds found on earth combined with shape and contrasting colour to reflect their spiritual meaning. As well as managing a busy full time art practice Lucy is on a mission to help artists learn the skills to share and sell their art with confidence, combining the key business skills she learnt in her 15 year corporate career and experience from building her own art business over the last 5 years. Her UNLEASH YOUR ART membership programme, 1-1 business coaching and artist courses are designed to support artists to learn the skills to enable them to share and sell their art with confidence, feel good about what they do and connect with other like minded people. This episode will be especially interesting for artists who are looking for support managing the business side of their art practice. Lucy and I have a great chat about how her 15 year corporate career has informed her approach to her art practice and creative business, how a head injury changed her attitude to her life and work, the ways geometric shape and form inspire her so much and her amazing mentoring programme she has developed for artists.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 27 Jul 2022 | Jim Wheeler - Veteran Sculptor | 01:23:14 | |
Jim Wheeler is a veteran NZ sculptor living in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. Jim generally works in cast metals such as bronze, aluminium and iron but also uses concrete, ceramics, plastics, wood, stone and fabric- whatever is appropriate to express his ideas. His current work is a blend of botany, biology, and beauty. His interest in plants and how plant communities evolve informs his sculptural practice. Jim has been exhibiting sculpture and drawings since 1979 with eight solo exhibitions and many group shows here and overseas, and is work is held in Museums and galleries in NZ and around the world. In 1989 he became a full time sculptor. I loved meeting Jim and his wife Bunny today and welcoming them back to Muriwai, the beach that Jim came to on his very first day in NZ 41 years ago! I loved meeting Jim and his wife Bunny today and welcoming them back to Muriwai, the beach that Jim came to on his very first day in NZ 41 years ago! Jim speaks passionately about his 43 year career as a sculptor, the incredibly involved process of bronze sculpture and his fascination for the mange mange fern, the Puriri leaf and the Tanekaha and how the NZ forest and all that lies within inspires so much of his work.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 12 Aug 2022 | BLANK INSPIRATION: Pre Framed Canvases | 00:13:06 | |
This is episode 52 and the first of a new series of shorter format podcast episodes that will be sprinkled through our artist interviews and are devoted to highlighting a creative business from Aotearoa NZ who provide a great service or product I think you would love. This week I'm talking to the Founder of Blank Inspiration, Hadleigh Vernall. Hadleigh AKA Hads talks us through the range of awesome pre framed, primed cotton/linen canvases, available through his Blank online store.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 Aug 2022 | Lucy Rice - Abstract Painter | 01:06:40 | |
Lucy is a full time artist living in the small seaside town of Snells Beach, an hour North of Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband & 3 young children. She studied Photography and Art at Elam School of Fine Art in Auckland NZ and spent 8 years running her own photography business (Lucy Rice Photography) before launching her painting career in early 2019. Lucy works with acrylics & mixed media to create intuitive abstract pieces with glorious soft pastel and earthy tones. Her paintings play with the idea of physical & emotional landscapes as one. She is interested in the way colour balances each other on a painting & the healing properties of colour in a room. Natural earth elements, forms & metaphysics play a huge part in her work
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 02 Sep 2022 | ARTFULL - An Online Gallery Platform | 00:33:24 | |
Artfull is an online gallery platform that bridges the gap between artists, galleries and art collectors in Aotearoa NZ. https://www.artfull.co.nz/ On Artfull you can discover original artworks from established and emerging Aotearoa New Zealand artists, connect with the story behind each piece, engage with art, culture and design and buy and collect New Zealand art - all in one place. Artfull was founded by two passionate art lovers, Jessica Agoston Cleary and John Barnett, who believe that a life full of art is a meaningful, joyful, soulful, beautiful life. I could't agree more! ARTFULL is more than selling art. It's also about the people and passion behind it. Today I'm speaking with the co-founder, managing director, curator and editor of Artfull - Jessica Agoston Cleary.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Sep 2022 | Rachael Mayne - Painter | 01:05:20 | |
Rachael Mayne is an artist with a passion for wild flower fields, gardens and all things floral, living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Rachael juggles a career as a clinical psychologist and a professional artist, as well as being the mother of 2 young children. Rachael mainly paints impressionistic and abstract pieces and draws inspiration from the colours and forms surrounding us in nature. She loves to experiment with new colour palettes, as demonstrated in her vibrant abstract pieces. Rachael is also fascinated by the use of light, layers, and texture, and how this can be used to portray depth. In this episode we discuss how she manages her clinical psychology practice and her art practice, how one of her 3 second reels on Instagram went viral with 7 million views which created 30,000 more followers, her love of colour and light and the experience of approaching an art gallery with her work for the very first time.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 20 Sep 2022 | Josh Lancaster - Painter | 02:01:07 | |
Welcome to Episode 56. This week I'm talking to Josh Lancaster. Josh paints the places and buildings New Zealanders know and love. "I do this by trying to capture the essence of a familiar place" says Josh " be it someone’s dairy, beach, view, flat, island, road, takeaway shop, family bach or simply just the memory of one. These are the places we cherish - the iconic moments that make up who we are. They are an agent for fond memories, stories, feelings. Collectively we love these places for what they remind us of – they connect us." In 2015 Josh made the decision to leave a highly successful career in advertising to follow his dream of being an artist and is now a full time painter living in the Hawkes Bay with his 3 sons Lennox, Archie and Spike. We have a great (long!) chat about the intricacies of a creative career in advertising, how he made the challenging shift to becoming a full time artist, the NZ artists who inspire him, his connection to places, buildings, text and branding and why he doesn't like to add people to his paintings. https://www.facebook.com/joshlancasterpaintings
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 27 Sep 2022 | Valerie Auersperg (Valerism) - Illustrator, Painter | 01:03:52 | |
Valerie Auersperg, also known as Valerism and I Am Valerism, is an Austrian artist living in New Zealand. She creates acrylic paintings and digital drawings depicting pop-surreal scenes in a colourful, dream-like manner. Her work brings a smile and sense of wonder to the viewer. Valerie explores the world inside and around herself, pairing the expected with the unusual. She focuses on themes such as memory (real and perceived), pop culture and mental health. Her work is a whimsical commentary on how our inner journeys, moods and situations are something that connects us. Valerie is a self-taught artist who has worked in fashion, animation and advertising. Art has always been her passion and side hustle and finally she took the leap to become a full-time artist in 2020. We have a really fun insightful chat about how Valerie processes her pregnancy through her work, the potentials of NFTs, the reasons why some of her characters are masked and how she uses symbolism and narratives to express herself. Like her work, this episode will make you smile I'm sure. Enjoy!
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 30 Sep 2022 | Elliot Collins - Interdisciplinary Artist | 01:18:51 | |
Elliot is a text based artist from Tāmaki Makaurau, currently living in Taranaki, who works in an interdisciplinary way. He incorporates painting, language, photography, installation and sculpture to discuss ideas of time, memory and ways we interpret our environment. Elliot is interested in the art that can inform our lives and can be used as a filter or divining tool to see the world we inhabit with greater clarity and purpose. I so enjoyed meeting Elliot and chatting to him in my studio. We discuss his amazing art career of nearly 20 years, how he works and connects ideas as an interdisciplinary artist, how he comes up with the words for his paintings and what they mean to him and his thoughts on exhibiting and selling his work.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 05 Oct 2022 | Glen Colechin - Sculptor | 01:17:27 | |
Glen is a sculptor born and raised in the UK and now a NZ resident living in Napier. His contemporary sculptures are made from recycled materials, off-cuts from native timbers, recycled copper, brass and natural elements like stone and wood. Being an innovative craftsman fits comfortably with Glen Colechin’s engineering background. With a past career in product design and production engineering, he has a sound foundation with the skills to drive his creative core. He has recently transitioned to a full-time artist and focuses his creative energy on fulfilling his passion and connecting to his very loyal fan base. Glen is an awesome guy with a great accent who is very passionate about what he does. We talk about his deep down need to design and create, how found materials inspire him and often form the starting point for his work, how popular his work has become almost overnight and how he endures depression and uses art to help him control it.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 11 Oct 2022 | Lauren Kitts - Sculptor | 01:10:36 | |
Lauren Kitts is a sculptor living in the Tasman area at the top of the South Island who works mostly in stone but also in bronze and wood. Lauren has gained international recognition as a professional sculptor over the last 30 years. She exhibits on a regular basis and now has her own sculpture gallery in the Tasman area on her 13 acre property. Her inspiration is the natural world where form and all its complexities abound. She explores the connection between the material world and the “unseen” and is concerned with the nature of uncertainty and man made climate change, which is expressed in many of her new works. Lauren has a fascinating practice and I really loved hearing her story. We talk about her deep connection with stone and her passion for form, how she sources some of the stone she uses from a local river and Takaka Mountain, her stone carving process, the tools she uses and the endless source of inspiration she gets from positive and negative form.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 03 Nov 2022 | Tiffany Singh - Social Practice Artist | 01:14:12 | |
Tiffany Singh is a social practice artist, specialising in socially engaged art outcomes. Her practice explores relationships & engagement between arts, culture, health & well-being. She was born in Aotearoa New Zealand of Indian and Pacific decent and is currently living in London UK. Tiffany's work positions the arts as a vital contributor to health and well-being by utilising a fine art framework. Her interest in cultural preservation combined with an integrated social discourse has seen her use the arts as a vehicle for education, outreach & empowerment. https://tiffanysingh.com/ Tiffany talks about her priority to make work that facilitates others people to be seen and heard, how she highlights and empowers marginalised communities, how her buddhism beliefs and culture inform her practice and the ways she uses colour, space, materiality, sound and smell to connect and communicate. You can see process videos about the works we talk about in this episode on our blog
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 01 Dec 2022 | Grace Thresher - Artist, Exhibition Coordinator, Marketing Creative. | 01:04:09 | |
Grace Thresher is an artist, exhibition coordinator and marketing creative based in Port Waikato, New Zealand. She uses a variety of media in her work; black pen, photographic manipulation, photography, collage and paint, inspired by nature, and things around her. Each mark is a testament to patience, detail, accuracy and precision. Aiming to create intricacies and dimensionalities, creations the viewer can get lost in. Grace expresses the movement and feeling of nature’s ever evolving, breathing, changing splendour through her work. Her practice is driven by a love of line, shape and colour in aquatic and terrestrial life, an exploration of the patterns and shapes of the living world. We have a great chat about Grace's time at Elam School of Fine Art straight out of high school, how she kick started her career after uni in a number of artistic fields, the art exhibitions she has set up, curated and marketed and her very first solo show this year.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 10 Nov 2022 | Scott Lawrie - Gallerist | 01:46:21 | |
Scott Lawrie is an art lover, writer, entrepreneur and the owner and director of the Scott Lawrie Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Scott Lawrie Gallery aims to connect hearts and minds when it comes to encountering and experiencing contemporary art. They proudly show a range of emerging, mid-career and Internationally-renowned artists from around the world, with a focus on New Zealand, Australia, and the wider Moana region.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 15 Dec 2022 | Virginia Woods-Jack: Photographic Artist | 01:19:54 | |
Virginia Woods-Jack is a British-born photographic artist and curator currently living and working in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is also the founder/curator of Women in Photography NZ & AU. Virginia's art practice explores notions of connection to place, materiality and memory to consider relationships between the human and more-than-human worlds. By doing so, she aims to understand how memory informs the way people interact with the natural environment to highlight the importance of care in navigating the climate crisis. https://www.virginiawoodsjack.com/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 17 Nov 2022 | Jessica Gurnsey - Painter | 01:00:52 | |
Jessica Gurnsey is an 18 year old artist from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland currently based in Pōneke Wellington. In 2022 Jess became the youngest ever recipient of the NZ Adam Portraiture Award with her self portrait Lady Day. Her paintings have also been recognised through the National Youth Art Awards where she was the overall winner in 2021 and the winner of her category in 2022, the Kumeu Arts Awards 2022 where she won her category and just recently it has been announced that her painting Shady at Midnight has been chosen to be part of the Wellington Regional Arts Review.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 24 Nov 2022 | Deborah Crowe - Visual Artist | 01:26:53 | |
Deborah Crowe is a visual artist working in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her practice involves building 2D and 3D environments that explore architectural, spatial and environmental characteristics. The work often queries perceptions of space, place, human's impact on the environment, systems of containing the body and language frameworks. Deborah's practice acknowledges its origins in woven construction and a strong interest in drawing, particularly collage. Her training as a weaver forms an overarching conceptual frame and the notion of weaving is embedded throughout the construction of imagery, fabrication of sculptural objects, installations and her approach to research. 2022 marks Crowe’s 40th year of exhibiting. Her practice has been shown in a variety of art and design contexts across and between disciplines. Exhibitions and projects have included textiles, works for the body, fashion design, object, drawing, digital print, photography, public art, sculpture, sound and installation. It was such a pleasure to meet Deborah. She talks about her tertiary teaching career, her business Crowe Creative Art Services through which she delivers workshops for artists, mentoring and art consulting, her love of connecting with people and community and her stunningly varied art practice and process.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 08 Dec 2022 | Logan Moffat - Painter | 01:24:12 | |
Logan Moffat is a painter who graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts with a BFA Honours in 2018. Since then he has been painting full time from his little studio in Pukekohe, in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Capturing the portraits of people through highly detailed oil paintings at uni began his interest and exploration of painting. These early studies of people have since evolved into paintings that attempt to communicate the portrait within, provoking thought with the viewer through their interaction of the large scale and often unconventional shaped canvases to offer the viewer a moment of pause and introspection away from the distractions and cacophony of everyday. In 2018 he received The Adam Portraiture Award for his painting “Elam” (at that time the youngest recipient to receive this prestigious prize) and since then he has had three solo shows and a number of group shows in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland and Beijing. We have a wonderful conversation about his inspirational painting practice, his fascination for the portrait and how he can play with it, his interest in virtual and augmented realities, how and why he creates irregularly shaped canvases and frames for some of his work and how he found being a fine art student at Elam School of Fine Arts.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 22 Dec 2022 | Stephen Templer - Visual Artist, Illustrator | 01:15:20 | |
Stephen Templer is an artist and illustrator previously from Wellington and now living in Kumeu, in the north west of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. His art practice includes street art, murals, graphic design, prop and concept design, illustration for children's books and community art and festival projects. His work has elements of humour and tells playful stories, connecting people to form shared worlds where they feel safe and free to express themselves. Steve's paintings and illustrations offer a delicious escape into your own imagination with works that are like adventures with strong figurative hooks to take the imagination of the viewer on a personal voyage of discovery through old world mysticism and early nautical expeditions. I loved meeting Steve today. We talk about his amazing art and illustration practice and how he is so compelled to tell stories. He shares his passion for tinkering, building things, historical clockwork technology, all things Havana, festivals and above all how he loves to create work that makes people smile and bring joy to the world. https://cargocollective.com/templer
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 05 Jan 2023 | Olivia Asher - 2nd Year Student at Elam School of Fine Arts | 00:57:41 | |
Olivia Asher is an emerging multidisciplinary artist currently studying at Auckland University's Elam School of Fine Arts. In this episode Olivia shares her experiences as a second year student at Elam School of Fine Arts. We talk about how the school is set up, the application process, the papers and electives offered in different semesters, the recording and assessment systems, the critiques, what she finds inspiring and challenging about studying at Elam and what she her goals are for the future. Olivia's art practice currently focuses on the process of making rather than the resolved image, exploring her own vulnerability she allows her materials to dictate their outcome. Her subject matter blurs between whimsical and melancholy, often creating abstracted and figurative windows into her serene and flamboyant world.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 12 Jan 2023 | Sarah Oostendorp - Emerging Artist | 01:23:41 | |
Sarah Oostendorp is a contemporary emerging artist from Southland Aotearoa and currently living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Her art practice focuses on the state of mind whilst in the midst of creating labour-intensive drawings of repeated circular movements using paint. Viewers are provoked to create their own narrative in the drawing, as figures, landscapes and textures begin to appear amongst the circles. Sarah talks from the heart about how her unusual upbringing in a small rural town in Southland and her parents (who are outsider artists) have influenced the way she works and the work she creates, an "out of this world" experience she had in her early twenties that has shaped her as a person and an artist, her fascination for drawing circles, and how her practice is essential in helping her deal with change, her emotions and her general well being. Sarah's story is incredible and I have so much respect for her practice and her positive mindset. https://sarahoostendorpart.wixsite.com/website
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 Jan 2023 | Bonco - Visual Artist | 01:14:48 | |
Bonco, aka Paul Nathan, is a visual artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He predominantly paints with oil on linen and sometimes makes sculpture and textiles. Bonco explores the language of geometric abstraction, signs and symbols and is interested in discovering the spiritual, through an investigation of the modernist grid and its variations. In this episode we discuss the varied career Bonco had in the UK and America before studying at Elam School of Fine Arts and committing to a painting practice in 2017, the metaphors he uses in his work, how he feels his work doesn't really belong in Aotearoa and his overarching determination to do some good in the world.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 16 Mar 2023 | Rebecca Hazard - Emerging Artist | 01:03:06 | |
Rebecca Hazard is a young emerging artist currently based in Tãmaki Makaurau Auckland, working primarily with oil paints. Rebecca's current work references raw meat to investigate our tangibility within existence and her own social concerns, offering the viewer a moment of mindfulness and philosophical reflection. Rebecca talks about her decision not to attend an art school after leaving school; her expectation of and drive to becoming a practising artist from the age of 19; how reading philosophy, researching and writing influence her practice; the different ways viewers see and respond to her work; and what drives her to make the work she makes.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 23 Mar 2023 | Sefton Rani - Maker | 01:07:16 | |
Sefton Rani works out of Piha, a coastal settlement west of Auckland. He describes himself as a self taught maker who uses paint as his material of choice to create modern Pacific art. Paint skins are collaged or simply allowed to float as a sculptural object. He encourages the apparent ageing of his work surfaces to show the lineage and journey of both the materials and of the migrant Pacific people whose artistic traditions strongly influence his work. In this episode we talk about how the February 2023 cyclone has affected Sefton's studio and how this event may influence his next body of work; how he sees his work as “industrial tapa” which is influenced by the marks, patterns, motifs and forms of traditional tapa, carving, tattoo, weaving and tivaevae; the value he places on community within his art practice; his goals to be represented in galleries around the world and the lenses that have impacted his work. https://www.seftonrani.com/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 30 Mar 2023 | Helen Ollivier - Painter | 01:00:24 | |
Helen Ollivier is a painter living in West Auckland. She graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1997 and since then has had 6 solo exhibitions, participated in group shows and been included in several NZ art publications.
Her latest works are landscapes with a strong compositional element. She is interested in rhythm and movement and the contrasts of texture, colour and light. Her work has a dream-like quality, combining a unique sense of movement and stillness. Helen and I talk about how she came to be represented by a dealer gallery in her second year at Elam School of Fine Arts not long after leaving high school and how amazingly she is still connected to this gallery 25 years later. She speaks openly about prioritising her art practice, imposter syndrome, self doubt and the joy she has found rediscovering her art practice after a 5 year hiatus.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 06 Apr 2023 | Richard Penn - Artist | 01:21:12 | |
Richard Penn is a South African artist living and working in Auckland, Aotearoa.
He works across various media, including painting, drawing, sculpture and animation, exploring the relationship between visual and conceptual abstraction. More recently Richard has worked exclusively with clay and ceramics and in 2022 he was the recipient of The Premier NZ Portage Ceramic Award In this episode we discuss his upcoming exhibition in May at Public Record and a fascinating collaborative exhibition he is curating at Depot Artspace in October, his journey from SA to NZ and how he has found his community here, And we meet the glorious Artu Peatoo, a collaborative persona between Richard and his wife Robyn Penn, who is also an artist.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Apr 2023 | Neal Palmer - Painter | 01:26:08 | |
UK born painter Neal Palmer immigrated to New Zealand in 1998 and has been painting full time ever since. Through the exploration of the New Zealand environment he has discovered subjects that evoke strong emotional responses such as Harakeke (NZ flax). He is inspired by the natural forms, composition, spaces and shapes, as well as nostalgic references his botannical subjects provide. Neal blends visual languages within his practice, exploring how the languages of colour, texture, pattern and abstract forms can inform and cross-reference each other. He likes to develop work that uses the illusion of a photographic ‘depth of field’ to allow images to slip in and out of pictorialism and abstraction through shifting the viewer’s conscious reactions to colour, composition, and form. In this episode we have a lovely conversation about how Neal found himself in NZ and how his new environment informed his art practice. He shares his gilding and painting processes and we talk about his latest artist residency and body of work created at Auckland Botanic Gardens. In the last 25 years Neal has had 27 solo or joint shows. We talk about his solo exhibition Thorny Issues, which was created in response to the Covid pandemic and lockdowns. https://nealpalmer.co.nz/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 Apr 2023 | Aimée Ralfini - Artist, Design Director, Founder of Art Ache | 01:21:14 | |
Auckland based Aimée Ralfini is an artist, design director and the founder of Art Ache. As an artist Aimée works in the digital space, collaborating with other artists to create “campaigns” of their work. Art Ache believes art is the most potent form of communication and artists are the litmus paper of society. It aims to make art and culture part of the everyday conversation and aims to assist intellectual and creative development, for the betterment of the local community and national identity. In this episode we talk about: how she loves to poke the bear; how and why she founded Art Ache; Aimée's techniques for drawing people into the Auckland art scene and engaging with art; her marketing, writing, presenting, promoting and curating approaches; how she handles the trolls and her art activation campaigns throughout Aotearoa. https://www.instagram.com/aimee_ralfini
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 04 May 2023 | Sean Hill - Emerging Artist | 01:17:00 | |
Sean Hill is a Kiwi Samoan emerging visual artist from Auckland, currently based in New Plymouth. His art practice is influenced by graffiti as well as his heritage, everyday life and the natural environment and includes painting outdoors, graphic design, installation, paintings and prints on clothing. As Gallerist Scott Lawrie says " Sean Hill is one of those rare discoveries - an emerging artist who was ‘doing his own thing’ while inventing a new visual language at the same time." In this episode Sean shares his experience studying visual arts for 4 years at AUT and how he felt he didn't find his style until well after his uni days. We talk about the elements within his abstract paintings and what they represent, how he feels about showing his work in group shows, his connections with the amazing Bradley Lane Project, Auckland's longest running street art festival in Glen Innes, Tāmaki, and we discuss the amazing 8m long painting he applied directly to the wall of the Scott Lawrie Gallery and what he gained from that experience.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 11 May 2023 | Neville Parker - Gallerist and Artist | 01:06:42 | |
Neville Parker has been a full time sculptor and illustrator since 1995 and he opened his first art gallery in 1996. Since then he has had 7 more distinctly different galleries including 1 in Auckland, 2 in Marlborough and 4 in the Nelson/Tasman region. He has represented more than 400 artists from a variety of disciplines in Aotearoa. His most recent Gallery, Church House Gallery in Motueka, opened in April this year. Neville is interested in helping our creative community members with a desire for a sustainable career in the visual arts to not just survive but to thrive. He is the host of the ARTWONK podcast - an art marketing show for visual artists and crafts people that unravels the problems and pitfalls of bringing products to market. We have a super interesting chat about how Neville went from the corporate world to becoming an artist and opening his first art gallery in Lorne Street, central Auckland initially as a way to show his work. He talks about how he has benefitted from artist communities and mentors, building relationships, as well as working collaboratively and holistically. We talk about his approach to the art market, his opinion of craft art verses fine art and his recommendations to artists for approaching a Gallery with their work.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 May 2023 | Janet Hafoka - Photographic Artist | 00:54:53 | |
Janet Hafoka is a visual artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, working primarily in the medium of photography. Her art practice focuses on transience and time passing. Her current work explores both the uncertainty and beauty in the short lived. The centuries old fascination with the ‘golden hour’ is referenced, known as the brief period after sunrise and before sunset when the sun casts a golden light. With decaying leaves and seed pods illuminated, falling and in flight, her current images seek to breathe life into nature past its prime. Through this process her work highlights value where existence is temporary. It also questions how we depict and remember that which is no longer. Janet shares her experience returning to her passion for the arts and completing a degree in visual arts in her early 40s. We discuss how she discovered her love of photography, how light, skies, movement and decay influence her work and her magpie qualities and love of collecting things. https://www.instagram.com/janethafoka
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 25 May 2023 | Dagmar Dyck - Interdisciplinary Artist | 01:38:45 | |
Dagmar Dyck is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, art educator and social justice advocate. She is a New Zealander of Tongan and German descent, living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Dagmar graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 1995 and was the first woman of Tongan descent to do so. She has spent the last 30 years regularly exhibiting nationally and internationally with her works being held in significant public and private collections in New Zealand. Her prints and paintings are inspired by her cultural heritage and explore the textile practices of Tonga. We talk about her experiences and views of high school art education and the current state of art education in NZ. She speaks of the communities she is connected to, how Pacifica artists have had more impact on the NZ art scene in the last 20 years and how these artists inspire her and influence her practice. She shares how her identity is a central part of her practice and we have a great discussion about her ideas around the use of cultural symbols in art and cultural appropriation.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 02 Jun 2023 | Marcus Hipa - Visual Artist | 01:17:46 | |
Marcus Hipa is a Niuean artist born and raised in Alofi, Niue Island, currently living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa NZ. Drawing, painting and carving are some of the mediums he utilises to explore and share insights of his people's history and culture. Marcus moved to Aotearoa New Zealand at age 17, attending the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, completing both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His work celebrates the values, traditions, progress and sense of community and sheds light on social and political issues affecting the Pacific people in the Pacific region and in Aotearoa. We talk about Marcus's experience at Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland University at age 18 not long after moving to Aotearoa from Niue. He discusses the gestural, intuitive, graphic, lineal and figurative aspects of his work and the ways he enjoys to make. He dives deep into 3 of his artworks created in 2022: Petals Adrift; Heroes Scrape Coconuts and Smoke Signals.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 13 Jun 2023 | Gavin Chai - Emerging Artist, Painter | 01:11:36 | |
Gavin Chai, born in 1997 in Malaysia, is a figurative painter and artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He specialises in the traditional technique of oil painting on wooden panels, linen and canvases and paints the world through a subtle introverted gaze. He captures everyday contemporary experiences through his careful composition and clever treatment of colour, light, and shadow. His world is idyllic yet often bound by loneliness, and colourful yet often tinged with a certain sadness and anxiety. We talk about how his sense of belonging and home is often recreated in his paintings, perhaps as a reaction to moving countries from Malaysia to NZ at the age of 14. He shares insights into his partly autobiographical Interior series which depicts everyday domestic life and his Strange Paradise series which has more of a dreamlike surreal feel. We talk about the way he sometimes makes his own paint using powdered pigments and linseed oil, how he has thought of himself as an artist since he was a boy, his perception of dealer gallerist and artist relationships and he speaks about his upcoming solo show at Föenander Galleries in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and some of the major works in his show. https://www.gavinchai.com/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 22 Jun 2023 | Sam Mitchell - Visual Artist | 01:47:08 | |
Sam Mitchell is a visual artist based in the north west of Auckland, well known for her artworks painted in acrylic on perspex in reverse and watercolour paintings. A sassy and subversive bricolage of rescued materials, painting media and eccentric imagery are utilised by Sam to explore the potency of pictures. This is a fascinating look into an amazing artist's life and work. There are lots of little gems and interesting perspectives in this episode which I'm sure you will take away and think more about. We have a wonderfully long chat covering everything from Sam's early work in art administration, her experiences at Hungry Creek and Elam Art Schools, her fascinating painting on perspex process, her watercolour and ceramic painting parts of her art practice, her 7 residencies and the value she places upon these kind of opportunities. We discuss her opinion of entering art awards, her view of the current art world in Aotearoa, her views on her work and process being used in many NZ secondary schools as an artist model and how she thinks her work reflects her personality. And so much more! www.sammitchellartist.com
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 29 Jun 2023 | Matt Payne - Landscape Painter | 01:18:44 | |
Matt Payne is a landscape painter living on the North Shore, in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Much of Matt’s work is inspired by a love of New Zealand’s landscapes and coastlines, which is reflected in dramatic compositions and depicted with vivid colour and extraordinary attention to detail. He has a fascination with the relationship between colour, light and form and how these are perceived by the eye. Matt's career began in high level sportsmanship where he represented New Zealand in Waterpolo at Commonwealth and World Championship level, complemented with a degree in Sport and Recreation. Straight after this degree he went on to study visual arts at Whitecliffe College of Fine Arts in Tāmaki Makaurau. He has been working full time as an artist ever since. In the episode we have a great chat about his journey from high achieving sportsman to full time artist, his connection to the sea, tramping and the outdoors and how that translates in his paintings, his painting style and process and the laborious screen printing process he sometimes uses in his practice. He discusses how commissions make up 50% of his practice and how he approaches each commission. https://www.instagram.com/matt_payne_artist/ https://www.parnellgallery.co.nz/artists/matt-payne/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 06 Jul 2023 | Mandy Rodger - Contemporary Abstract Artist | 01:13:56 | |
Mandy Rodger is a contemporary abstract artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Mandy's first career was in law and in 2014 she began studying painting and drawing at Browne School of Art. Since 2017 her art practice has been her main focus and she hasn't looked back.. Mandy's abstract paintings are characterised by fluid moves and sweeping energy flows made up of spontaneous dynamic gestures. She is motivated by the way painting allows her intuition to come to the forefront of logic. She intertwines embodied subjectivity, emotions and senses with intentional paint application. She explores colour, space and the materiality of the paint itself. We discuss why and how she ended up moving away from law into making art, how entering art awards and school art shows have helped her develop her career and build her audience and her beautiful gestural painting process. Mandy speaks fondly about her positive experience studying visual arts part time over 4 years at Browne School of Art in Auckland which kick started her artist career, her latest independent group show at Allpress Studios and how she approaches the business side of her practice. https://www.mandyrodger.co.nz/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 13 Jul 2023 | Frankie Meaden - Textile Artist | 01:09:18 | |
Frankie Meaden is a textile artist and painter from Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. She makes giant embroidery artwork from recycled materials. Frankie’s art is almost always botanical, with her large-scale sculptural pieces challenging the scale at which embroidery is usually seen. Frankie tells the story of the rich biodiversity of our world using colourful rope and recycled street banners in a way that is impactful, beautiful and sustainable. We talk about how Frankie came to work on such a large scale, how she sources the recycled materials she uses and the joys and the challenges of creating a large scale public installation. We talk about her process of making these beautiful pieces in her studio, how she connected with her 2 Auckland galleries and her dreams for her business Beautifully Frank.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Jul 2023 | Linda Va'aelua - Visual Artist | Designer | 01:29:26 | |
Linda Va’aelua is a full time visual artist and designer of Samoan Scottish heritage. She grew up in the West Auckland suburb of Te Atatu South and is based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Linda straddles the worlds of digital graphic design and fine arts. Her aim is always to bring unique perspectives to the creative landscape. Her recent work explores her identity and mixed heritage through abstract maunga forms and malu patterns. Linda strives to provoke emotions and challenge conventional perspectives. Each piece she creates is an invitation for the audience to delve into a world where the norm begs to be understood then challenged. From abstract compositions that explore the depths of human emotions to intricate digital collages that merge analog and thought, her artwork tells stories that resonate with diverse audiences within Pasifika and beyond. We have an inspiring chat about how Linda studied design after leaving school and became an art director for a magazine at the young age of 25 and how years later she started painting and created a virtual show of the first works she produced, marking the beginning of her full time art practice. Linda talks about her incredibly busy, successful last 2 years where she has had 3 solo shows and more than 12 group shows, written and designed a book and curated a show and is now working on a joint show with her sister Alison - all at the same time as being a dedicated mum to 4 children. https://www.instagram.com/lindavaaeluaartist/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 29 Jul 2023 | Elliot Love - Contemporary Artist | 01:45:38 | |
Elliot Love is a contemporary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. His hyper realistic paintingsdepict cars from the 80's and 90's era set within a city's still and lifeless urban environment. Elliot works in oil on canvas, often on an unusually small scale. Many of the cars he paints are reaching the end of their lifespan - several of the cars he has painted no longer exist. With this in mind, Elliot looks to convey not just a moment in time, but the passing of an era. Elliot talks about how he gave up art at school in year 13 and went on to study PE at Uni for one year before realising this wasn't the direction he wanted to go. Viewing NZ artist Tim Wilson's gallery in Queenstown 5 years ago at the age of 20 was a pivotal moment for Elliot and a major catalyst in his decision to become a full time professional artist, which he has been ever since. He shares how he relies on instinct when choosing cars and urban scenes to paint, how he organises his compositions, what he chooses to leave out or add and what he loves to capture. He reflects on how he best uses his time, how he feels about social media and how he stays present. When asked of his dreams for his future he simply says "the next painting session is the most important thing in my practice."
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 04 Aug 2023 | Jasmine Kroeze - Artist and Textile Designer | 01:18:57 | |
Jasmine Kroeze is an an artist and textile designer living in Papamoa near Mt Maunganui. With a background in the fashion and textile design industry, Jasmine fell into the art world through painting large scale murals as a passion project and now she applies the same creative process to her original paintings and digital artworks. Jaz enjoys working with commercial clients and interior and product designers and she has collaborated with many well known companies such as Kathmandu and Bolt of Cloth. Her designs have been printed on stationery and textiles, installed in private homes and commercial interiors and painted on large scale exterior murals. This is an inspirational story about a motivated, passionate woman who has created a highly successful creative business as well as a beautiful art practice. We talk about the many ongoing projects she is involved with from licensing her work and writing and designing an Ebook about artists' overcoming creative block - to her Etsy Interior Mock Ups store and her reels on Instagram showing examples of ways to encourage play in your creative practice. We talk about how Jaz manages her social media presence so expertly and how as a self confessed introvert she is so comfortable with videoing herself and creating perosnal content for her loyal audience. Both Jaz and I buzzed about our chat for some time afterwards and I'm sure you'll feel the same after listening.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 10 Aug 2023 | Sean Beldon - Visual Artist | 02:05:20 | |
Sean Beldon is a South African born, Auckland-based artist best known for his large New Zealand landscape paintings. His style is mostly painterly with a modernist feel. For more than a decade, Sean has been photographing and painting landscapes from the far north to the deep south of Aotearoa. He finds his inspiration on road trips throughout the country and only paints places he has been. Even though his compositions will be quite abstract at times, the scene always originate with what he sees through the camera’s viewfinder – his primary canvas - and every painting has a story to tell. Sean is a wonderful storyteller. In this episode he talks from the heart about his ancestry and how that connects to his current work, the story behind his use of and connection to clay oxen and how he incorporates them into his art practice. He describes his painting style and how he doesn't think of himself as an abstract artist despite his work being quite abstract. He speaks of his appreciation of colour, how he makes his own colours, his incredible attention to tonal qualities and how he sees colour almost as a form of communication.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 25 Aug 2023 | Evan Woodruffe - Abstract Artist | 01:32:43 | |
Abstract artist Evan Woodruffe lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He is a well known, much loved figure in the NZ art world. Evan is an artist with many threads to his practice. Most of his time is spent making work for exhibitions, projects, and commissions. He's also the “product specialist” for Gordon Harris, running workshops and writing editorial for their art stores. He is one of six Global Brand Ambassadors for both Schmincke Artist Colours and da Vinci Artist Brushes in Germany. He teaches at Browne School of Art in Auckland and he is an active advocate for the visual arts, a collector, awards judge, fabric lover and writer. In this episode we talk about his parents' art store Studio Art Supplies in Takapuna, Auckland, which they started in 1973 and how this has influenced the work he does now. He shares how he began his adult life as a musician then later decided to study fine art, completing a BA in fine art at AUT and then switching to another art school Elam School of Fine Arts to complete his MFA, and how this changed his art practice. We discuss what makes a good abstract painting, what he wants his paintings to do to the viewer, why he loves to paint big and how he builds a painting starting with collage using fabrics from his favourite NZ menswear tailor Strangely Normal (who also make all the gorgeous shirts he wears) and sometimes finishing with found materials (such as fur from the vintage throw on his bed.) He talks about his work as a brand ambassador and educator and he gives us a lovely insight into his and his partner Jeannie's growing art collection.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 01 Sep 2023 | Fleur Woods - Contemporary Fibre Artist | 01:37:53 | |
Fleur Woods is a contemporary fibre artist based in the beautiful rural village of Upper Moutere (near Nelson, New Zealand) She is surrounded by vineyards, hop farms, orchards and country gardens - it makes sense that her work is largely inspired by nature. Fleur describes her style of her work as contemporary stitched paintings. Coming to stitch as a mixed media artist she has taught herself a variety of embroidery techniques which generally don't follow traditional embroidery but beautifully serve the kind of mark making she loves to create. From so called "Nana craft" to discovering your "creative soul". Fleur talks in this episode about her love of nature, connecting people, encouraging creativity and inspiring others. She shares how she came to be a full time artist starting with mixed media and paint, how she discovered embroidery through her love of mark making, how vintage fabrics resonated so much with her but she was never sure why until later in her practice. She talks how connected she feels with past generations of women and how she feels stitching is part of her DNA, part of her "maker genes". We chat about her entrepreneurial approach to her business and art practice which includes creating and selling beautiful personally assembled kits and textile treasure packs, teaching workshops around NZ and in Australia and building a hugely engaged community and audience across the world through social media. AND she tells us about her most recent exciting project and new baby, her own book The Untamed Thread, which is out next month.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 16 Sep 2023 | Matthew Browne - Abstract Artist and Founder/Director of Browne School of Art | 01:56:08 | |
Matthew Browne is an abstract painter living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Born in London UK, he relocated to New Zealand in 1991. Matthew's striking geometric paintings feature sharp lines with bold, experimental colour palettes. His process starts in exploring formal relationships in colour and form and develops greater complexity as the work progresses. He has been making and showing paintings and sculptures for more than 40 years.
We have a wonderful chat and I Ioved welcoming Matthew into my studio at Muriwai. Matthew talks about how he wants to make paintings that have an untroubled aspect to them in response to the crazy cacophony of everyday life, and for people to feel a moment of solace when viewing and experiencing his work. He shares how his work and process shifted from more figurative, externally motivated paintings over the years to abstract and more internally driven expressions. We discuss his yearning for a sense of balance, order and stillness which comes about in his current paintings through the relationships of colour. He uncovers the mysteries behind his painting titles, why he recoils when people describe his work as hard edged, why form and shape is so important to him in his work and why he loves to paint on linen and sometimes leave it exposed as the first point of reaction, the bouncing off point.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 27 Sep 2023 | Toby Raine - Contemporary Artist | 01:16:32 | |
Toby Raine is a contemporary artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. He has a distinctive approach to his work, moving large quantities of oil paint across the surface of a canvas with confident strokes, creating expressive, emotive, gestural paintings. Toby spent eleven years studying at Elam School of Fine Art in Auckland, beginning in 2006 when he was 23-years-old. Over the next decade he would go on to complete a degree, then a masters, then a doctorate in Fine Arts. In this episode Toby talks about how he chooses his subjects, how he achieves the delicate balance between representation and abstraction and how his paintings reflect his personality. We discuss his journey to being represented by dealer galleries in Australia as well as in NZ, why he doesn't like his paintings to be described as portraits and how he communicates with the viewer through his titles.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 05 Oct 2023 | Julie and Michael Freeman - Hyperrealist Pastel Artists | 01:26:44 | |
Julie and Michael Freeman are award winning hyperrealistic pastel artists living in Auckland NZ. Julie is currently creating work with the intent of realism beyond the photograph. Her subject matter is varied, from coastal and nautical to the natural fauna and flora of NZ, but if asked she would say she has an affinity with painting animals. Michael’s subjects range from his current series of still life paintings featuring iconic New Zealand toys and objects, through to landscapes featuring old weathered sheds, barns, railway carriages, windows and doors, old locks, and farm animals (mainly cows) – all inspired by his photographic trips along New Zealand's roads with his lovely wife Julie. It was such a pleasure to meet Julie and Michael on a gorgeous Muriwai day. We discuss the similarities and differences between their practices and creative process, the ins and outs of sharing a studio space and teaching together as a couple and the different ways they like to work. They talk about how they have built and connect to their audience on an international level and how the competitions they enter and pastel societies they belong to contribute so much to their success and artistic careers. They both demystify the pastel process and make really interesting comment about how hyper realist artists and pastel artists are viewed by some within the hierarchy of the art world.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 12 Oct 2023 | Tanya Blong - Contemporary Artist | 00:58:16 | |
Tanya Blong was our very first guest on the Creative Matters podcast and lucky for us she is back 96 episodes later to talk about her artistic journey since March 2021 and how her practice has developed and evolved. In this episode we start by talking about the Creative Matters podcast, how it has evolved over the last 2 and a half years since I first interviewed Tanya in episode 1 and my goals for the podcast going forward. Tanya talks about her upcoming solo show State of Leisure at Allpress Studio in Tāmaki Makaurau which opens on November 2nd and runs until December 1st. She shares her ideas around leisure and being idle, the inspiration for her titles, how music she's listening to or what she's reading can influence the narratives that develop in her paintings. She describes her approach to colour and the 'haloing' process in her paintings and how she almost wants to "halo the halo" and we discuss ways Tanya has got through creative block and grown the business side of her art practice.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 23 Nov 2023 | Andrew J. Steel - Contemporary Artist | 01:05:39 | |
Andrew J. Steel is a New Zealand contemporary artist with a passion for story telling. Over his career he has worked across the mediums of public art, private interiors, fine artwork, letterpress, land, body, photography and digital works. "An artists role is to live a remarkable life and report back on it in their work." says Andrew. Andrew makes art to learn more about people & the world, then he retells these stories in his work to offer perspective and peace - both for himself and for others seeking comfort through the arts. In this episode we talk about a traumatic event in Andrew's childhood that has had an impact on how he lives his life and his art practice. We discuss the collaborative way he worked for the first part of his career and the route he took from skateboarding, graffiti and street art to full time artist with a science degree thrown in. Andrew shares his beautiful process of working with clients to come up with stories for him to creatively respond to, his fascination for hieroglyphics and the art of story telling and how he developed such an entrepreneurial approach to his art career.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 30 Nov 2023 | Sofia Athineou - Glass Artist | 01:24:02 | |
Sofia Athineou is a full-time artist of Greek heritage, based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her practice is mainly in glass, a medium she sees as having many sensual and optical qualities. Surrounded by the dramatic bush of Auckland’s west coast Waitakere Ranges, it’s easy to see the inspiration behind Sofia Athineou’s incredible glass sculptures. These pieces represent vitality through light, texture and colour and appear to blend into the ever-changing landscape. Elemental forces such as wind, fire and water and the constant movement and natural patterns of these elements are captured in her sculptures. Sofia talks about how she adjusted to NZ life when she immigrated here at the age of 23 from Greece, how she became a full time artist after raising her children, the work she has exhibited at sculpture shows around Aotearoa NZ, the challenges she faces of living on a single artist income, pricing her work and the many hats she has to wear to keep the money coming in. She takes us step by step through her glass casting process using open cast moulds and explains why she prefers not to polish her work.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 07 Dec 2023 | Jamie Chapman - Painter | 01:05:38 | |
Jamie Chapman is a painter based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. He was born in the United Kingdom and immigrated with his family to New Zealand when he was 2 years old, settling and growing up in Whangarei. Jamie talks about his figurative oil paintings and how they have evolved over the years into different 'series' of portrait works. He shares how he likes to "shift it up" and challenge himself to loosen up in his painting process, partly because he doesn't like to get bored and partly because he enjoys exploring new ideas and techniques. He loves to surprise himself and the viewers of his work and the he likes the idea that people coming to his shows might be wondering what they will see from him this time. Jamie is passionate about paint as a medium and the process of painting. He takes us through his different painting approaches and talks about the magic he feels when leaving his own paint marks in his work. We discuss his side hustle business The Picture Hanger where he curates and hangs work for galleries and private clients, which he finds inspiring and a good way to get out of the studio and interact with other art lovers. Jamie shows his work at Foenander Gallery in Auckland and Boyd Dunlop Gallery in Napier. https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-jamie-chapman
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Dec 2023 | Angela Rowe - Artist, Writer, Curator, Mentor | 01:23:46 | |
Angela Rowe is an artist, writer, curator and mentor based in Whangārei. Her creative practice includes storytelling across performance, installation, photography, drawing, and textile works. Angela is interested in the future of arts in Aotearoa and how to create a more sustainable arts industry. She founded Creative Practice, a collaborative mentoring program designed to empower artists and creatives with a focus on resilience and community support. I loved hearing stories about Angela's grandparents and how they have influenced her and her practice. Angela talks about her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Whitecliffe in 2004, why she returned 15 years later to complete her Masters, and her final installation and performance show 'I used to find dead insects in your pockets' . We talk about her Selfie series of works first created in lockdown and still ongoing, where she shifts the photographic image of herself to pencil on repurposed hand died cloth and then embeds the image and line with black thread. We have such a wonderful chat about the real, sometimes challenging, life of an artist: applying for funding; maintaining multiple income streams; creating work that you're passionate about but might not be able to be sold easily; selling work without being represented by a gallery; the merits of entering art awards and so much more. This is a great listen with many tips and opportunities for artists.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Dec 2023 | Sierra Roberts - Artist | 01:31:35 | |
Sierra Roberts is an artist from Wānaka, in the South Island of New Zealand. She creates bold, statement portraits exploring perceptions of beauty and the female experience. Her travels through Australia, Asia, South, Central and Northern America have strongly influenced her art, inspiring her to share and celebrate the beauty she has experienced, challenging her work beyond traditional portraiture. We talk about Sierra's experience studying fine arts in Utah and at Whitecliffe in Auckland, how she eventually decided to leave before completing her full degree and why she didn't pick up a paintbrush for the next 4 years. We discuss a pivotal moment in Mexico that triggered her creativity and passion for art, how she found her artistic groove again in 2018 and how she went on to become a full time painter in 2019. Sierra shares her approach to marketing and social media and how 75% of her 2023 sales were through Instagram. She shares the ideas behind her Frida, Taonga and Coming Home collections, why some of her portraits have their mouths cut off or are painted from the back without seeing the face, how many of her paintings are based around herself in some way and the ways she expresses a sense of belonging and place through her paintings.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Jan 2024 | Misery - Painter, Sculptor, Mural Artist | 01:31:12 | |
Tanja McMillan, a.k.a Misery, is an Australian born painter, sculptor, photographer and mural artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her creative reach is extensive, ranging from highly crafted fine art paintings and wall art to animation and fashion. Tanja’s work, under the name Misery, graces streets and galleries in Aotearoa NZ and around the world. She has exhibited in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Melbourne, Taiwan, Berlin, Los Angeles, California, New York, Hawai'i and Paris and has collaborated with New Zealand and international designers and brands such as Blunt, Casio Baby-G, Telecom, Serato and Anna Sui of New York. In this episode we hear about how Tanja entered the graffiti world as a teenager, how she connected with her grafitti crew TMD and how her artist name Misery came about. Tanja talks about her collaborations with brands and gives some great advice on how to get yourself out there, share ideas and show the world what you do. Tanja dives deep into Miseryland. She shares how the characters and worlds she creates develop and what (or who) they represent and why she often personifies plants and objects in her work. She tells a wonderful story about the making of and responses to her 2 bronze sculptures in Karangahape Road. We chat about how deadlines work for her, a week in the life of Misery and how she juggles motherhood and her creative brain. https://www.instagram.com/miseryland/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Jan 2024 | Joshua Davison - Contemporary Artist | 01:33:43 | |
Joshua Davison is a contemporary artist from Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, with a diverse body of work in both realism portraiture and sculptural painting. Josh is a self taught artist who has developed personal techniques which he uses throughout his impasto and sculptural paintings such as a methodical palette knife technique, layering MDF like a topographical map, making moulds and piping modelling paste. Joshua talks about how he strives for originality and how experimenting with different media and techniques, stretching his own canvases, making his own frames and making the tools he uses contributes to finding his own unique style. We have a very candid conversation about dropping out of Elam Art School after one year and how he still went on to become a full time successful artist. We talk about pricing and the big prices his work is commanding and his so called 'failure' at his first Art in the Park event and what he learnt from that. He shares parts of his unique painting process and his connection to realism, surrealism and portraiture as well as nature. Josh has some great tips and perspectives as a young emerging artist. I'm sure you'll find his story very inspiring. https://www.instagram.com/j.davison
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 28 Jan 2024 | Oliver Cain - Multidisciplinary Visual Artist | 01:34:11 | |
Oliver Cain is an English born artist who emigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2013. His work covers a wide range of topics and materials and takes many forms from ceramics to sculpture to installation and painting. His artworks push the boundaries between conceptualism and post-pop art. As a proud member of the queer community, Oliver uses his work to examine, question and criticise the relationships between gender, (homo) sexuality, and society's misconceptions about these themes. His work initiates a conversation between avant-garde artistic production and human perceptions about queer sexuality. Ollie and I have such an inspiring, honest chat in this episode. He reflects on how he dealt with being gay growing up in the UK, how he navigated through this time and how the decision in his second year at Unitec to express his queer identity through his art gave his work 'wings' and 'heart'. He's passionate about creating work that engages and questions people, making people stop, engage, react and think. We talk in depth about a number of his provocative and possibly confronting works, his fascinating project where he placed a banana in urinals at international galleries and how he has used toilets and other everyday objects as vessels for communicating ideas and telling stories. He comments on the challenges of being an artist in New Zealand and why he has decided to move back to Europe. This episode is like no other and a fascinating insight into conceptual art and the life and work of Oliver Cain. https://www.instagram.com/olivercainartist
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 04 Feb 2024 | Naomi Azoulay - Contemporary Collage Artist | 01:12:17 | |
Naomi Azoulay is a middle-eastern-born, Auckland-based award-winning portrait and mixed media collage artist. Naomi creates captivating, bold, intimate and vibrant mixed media collages and oil paintings. She aims to tackle social justice issues, decolonise the art space and expand the definition of beauty. She is passionate about exploring the female gaze and probing traditional gender roles. With over three decades of experience in education, Naomi has also earned a reputation as an innovative and dynamic art educator. Naomi talks about her childhood in Israel, why she came to emigrate to Aotearoa 22 years ago and how the Israel-Hamas War of today has affected her. We chat about how she discovered the art of collage, when she came to have the confidence to call herself as an artist and why she thinks collage is such a great medium. We dive deep into some of her collages and paintings and why she likes to portray women in all of her work, how she manages and promotes the 2 sides to her art practice and the amazing work she does in community art education. And she has some great perspectives on being creative, learning new art skills, buying local, the merits and magic of intuitive collage, supporting her community and applying for funding - to name a few! https://www.instagram.com/naomi_azoulay_collage/
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 11 Feb 2024 | Esther Bunning - Contemporary Photographic Artist | 01:07:37 | |
Esther is a photographic artist living in Greytown in the Wairarapa. She has had a long successful photographic career firstly in wedding photography then in project and portrait photography. Her personal fine art photographic practice has become her main focus since 2020. At her core Esther loves to illuminate others and give them their opportunity to shine. She is passionate about giving people a voice and is interested in the emotion and story behind a work. It's important to her to balance this with her desire to create, experiment and explore, and to be curious - in a less conventional way. Esther and I talk about how and why she loves to work with people, her wedding photography days and how this career shaped her skills, techniques and influenced her future photographic practice. She shares her experimental creative process and some of the tricks, techniques and tools she uses for achieving such unique photographs. We explore some of her other collections and the meaning behind the work she does.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 18 Feb 2024 | Tawhai Rickard - Contemporary Maori Artist | 00:58:22 | |
Tawhai Rickard is a contemporary New Zealand Maori artist born in Gisborne, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, of Ngati Porou decent. He is influenced by the epic history of his country Aotearoa, New Zealand and its historical interrelationship between Māori and Pakeha to the present day. His work reflects the social, historical and cultural landscapes of Aotearoa - Korerō, commentary, history and stories about our journey as New Zealand. In this episode Tawhai talks about his journey from growing up in Tairāwhiti, Gisborne, rarely seeing artwork representing his Maori culture, to becoming an artist himself. He reflects back on his first experiences drawing and how some of those ideas have been carried through to his art practice today and how he creates work to honour his Maori culture, to lift it up and to make as much noise visually as he can. Encouraging people to stop and take notice. We discuss his interest in pop art, music, TV and movies, British and NZ pop culture, figurative paintings from his ancestorial wharenui or house and our bicultural foundations and how these things create fuel for his art practice.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 25 Feb 2024 | Tony Ogle - Screen Printer, Painter | 01:24:32 | |
Tony Ogle is known as one of New Zealand’s leading screen printers. He currently lives in Tairāwhiti, Gisborne. Next month in March Tony celebrates a prolific art career of more than 30 years with a retrospective solo exhibition at Parnell Gallery in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, showing more than 60 of his original paintings that have rarely been seen in their original state. Tony digs deep into his fascinating life story and art practice. He talks about how his grandmother inspired him as a youngster and the long summer days he spent exploring the NZ coastline and the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland with his family, sparking his curiosity and imagination and consequently influencing his art practice. We discuss how he got into screen printing, what he loves about this form of printmaking, his screen printing process and how it has allowed him to work full time as an artist for so long and make such a name for himself. Tony also tells a few awesome stories about the old villa he used to flat in on Takapuna Beach that later became the Lakehouse Arts Centre and his involvement in creating the Lakehouse Trust to retain the house for the future.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 03 Mar 2024 | Faleata Ualesi - Emerging Contemporary Samoan Artist | 01:04:41 | |
Faleata Ualesi is an emerging contemporary Samoan Artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. His current work is built around motifs shown through grids and pacific patterns. I loved meeting Faleata and welcoming him to my studio (and black taro patch) at Muriwai Beach. In this episode we talk about Faleata's teaching career, how he manages his art practice around his job, and how he feels having a full time job in a way takes away the pressure to sell his artwork, allowing him to focus on experimenting and exploring and trying new techniques and media. Faleata is a proud South Aucklander raised in Ōtara. He has participated in the South Versed annual group shows for the last 2 years and will again in 2024. Faleata talks passionately about his work inspired by siapo, tapa cloth and Samoan tattoo and how he is currently experimenting with "breaking free out of the box" using more open curved lines, texture, colour and pattern. We discuss his use of acrylic pens, his commission work, his drawings and paintings, his light boxes and the beautiful installation tribute to his parents in the Auckland CBD.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 10 Mar 2024 | Michael McHugh - Visual Artist | 01:03:33 | |
Artist Michael McHugh is New Zealand born and resides in Sydney Australia. For more than three decades, he has been exploring the vast potential of colour, composition and abstract form with an inquisitive emphasis on the natural world. McHugh believes constant drawing and collaging to be fundamental to his painting process. This foundation enables him to fully explore composition and vigorously push boundaries with colour, pattern and technique. I had a lovely chat with Michael. We talk about his career in advertising and media and how he juggles life as Editor in Chief of the Mindfood magazine which he and his wife founded in 2008 with his art practice and how working in publishing influences his art practice and the way he works. We discuss his initial lack of confidence in his own art and how the passing of his beloved mother became a catalyst for developing his art practice further. He shares the story of his first opportunity to show his work and how to his surprise the show sold out within 20 minutes. This marked the beginning of his very successful career as an artist. We hear all about his painting and drawing process and he shares some of the tools, tricks and techniques he likes to use. Michael talks about his current solo show entitled CHROMA at Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney, which is on now and runs until the end of March 2024.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 17 Mar 2024 | Jae Frew - Contemporary portrait photographer | 01:06:46 | |
Jae Frew is a contemporary portrait photographer previously based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland and now living in Mahurangi. Jae's commercial career spans over 30 years and the highly respected and sought-after photographer lists prime ministers, heads of state, TV personalities, corporate CEO’s, film and television actors, and prominent sports people among his subjects. With time and space to pursue his own photographic projects during the 2020 / 2021 COVID lockdowns, Jae began exploring a more personal side to his practice and Manu Kōingo – Birds of Yearning was formed. A concept that had been pressing on his mind for many years – to create a series of works that speaks to and engages with the interests of his youth while raising awareness of Aotearoa's fragile and diminishing bird life. We talk about Jae's commercial photography and some of the amazing New Zealanders he has photographed such as Jacinda Adern, Sir Edmund Hillary and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. We go deep into Manu Kōingo - Birds of Yearning, how he developed this more personal side of his photographic practice and the shows he's had since, why he likes to construct the native wood frames for each of his works. He talks about his upcoming solo show at Parnell Gallery which opens on April 4th in Auckland and runs til April 21st 2024.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 31 Mar 2024 | Raymond Sagapolutele - Contemporary photographer | 01:55:02 | |
Raymond Sagapolutele is an Aotearoa NZ-born Sāmoan artist and academic living in Manurewa in Auckland. His photographic practice focuses on his lived experiences, his heritage and his cultural ties to the history of and the lands within the Pacific. In his hands, the camera gains a voice and connects to the cherished Samoan tradition of storytelling. As Raymond says, his camera has been there when he has laughed with friends, it's been there when he has cried with family and it's been there when he has sought inspiration, clarification and resolution. Raymond is a natural orator and storyteller. This episode is a wonderful account of not only his life as an artist and his art practice but how he sees himself as a Samoan born in Aotearoa, the importance of aiga - family, ways he has honoured his parents and siblings through his art. He speaks of the concept of the 'va' and how that is represented in his work and he unpacks a number of his photographic works and series in fascinating detail. I learnt a lot from this talanoa, this conversation with Raymond today and really appreciate his honesty, insights and perspectives. As I know you will too.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Mar 2024 | James Emery - Emerging Artist | 01:25:52 | |
Auckland based artist James Emery has always had a keen interest in art and art history, particularly NZ art from the 1950s and 60s and the American abstract expressionists. Majoring in art history at Auckland Uni James worked within the art industry for many years before developing his own practice only 2 years ago. This month he celebrates his first solo show at The Grey Place in Grey Lynn, Auckland, which opens March 26th 2024. This chat was highly motivating and interesting for me and honestly made me feel so keen to get back into my own painting practice. We talk about NZ art and artists and discover a mutual admiration for a number of abstract artists. James talks about how his natural eye for good aesthetics influenced his early career buying and selling art, decorative arts and jewellery. We discuss how James started his painting practice after years of observing, researching and thinking; how paint and process drives him, how he strives to create a new approach or technique in painting that could leave some kind of legacy and how he is never short of ideas, just time. James talks about how circuit boards as objects and metaphors first inspired him to create his series "Incommunicado". We discuss his latest series for his upcoming solo show Tension and Attitude and he shares his innovative painting process, tools and techniques.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 07 Apr 2024 | Dominique Marriott - Contemporary Artist | 01:32:57 | |
This episode is kindly supported by Turua Gallery Dominique Marriott is a Waikato-based artist living near Raglan on the west coast. She specialises in life drawing and is well known for her minimalistic nude paintings created with sumi ink and calligraphy brushes. Dominique works in a bold and uninhibited way to capture the essence of the human form. Her work reflects a deep appreciation for simplicity, energy, and the intrinsic beauty of the body. Guided by the principles of Zen, Dominique approaches her artistic practice as a form of active meditation and self medication. This is another gorgeous, honest conversation. We had a beautiful time together in my studio at Muriwai Beach.. Dominique talks about why and how she got into life drawing after studying fine arts at Uni and what she loves about this art form.We talk about her unique process of creating multiple drawings in each sitting, why she likes to leave negative space in her drawings, how she chooses which drawings to add to her collection and which ones to discard and why life drawing is so good for her well being and her ADHD brain. Dom shares her life drawing commission process, why she believes every artist should use life drawing as part of their practice, her amazing life drawing performances and how she has become so comfortable with this process after initially being fearful of painting in front of others.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 15 Apr 2024 | Alison Gilmour - Contemporary Painter | 01:10:44 | |
Alison Gilmour is a painter from Auckland, New Zealand. She grew up in Devonport, a coastal suburb in Auckland, which has instilled a deep love of the sea inspiring her to paint it in its many forms. She is also well known for her beautiful floral and still life paintings. Alison captures the endless beauty of her environment with delicate brushwork – creating images which have a photo-realistic quality and hues which reflect the clarity, light and richness of the South Pacific. In this episode Alison tells the great story of meeting Tim Wilson, one of New Zealand’s most successful landscape artists and often referred to as the 'Master of Light'. She talks about how she came to be mentored by Tim two years later, how he got her into painting with oils and how she was eventually invited to exhibit in his acclaimed gallery in Queenstown, the Tim Wilson Gallery. Through this connection Alison increased her global profile, commanded bigger prices for her work and gained confidence in herself as a fine artist. We discuss her 40 year career in graphic design and how it has informed her art practice and parts of her process. We have an interesting conversation about realism and the unique elements she brings to her realistic paintings and she shares parts of her process such as how she adds layers and why she sometimes likes to paint upside down. We talk about a pop up gallery she created with a friend and her plan to allow herself a few months to purely experiment and play with a view to possibly bringing some new techniques and ideas to her practice.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 22 Apr 2024 | Tim Christie - Multi disciplinary digital artist | 01:39:51 | |
Tim Christie is a designer and artist currently based in Wellington New Zealand. His innovative, fashion-forward artistic style has been described as a modern synthesis of op art, pop art, street art and geometric expressionism. Over the last two years he has extended his collection to include light boxes, large original acrylic paintings and illuminated weavings, enjoying playing with the space or ‘void’ between abstract and representational art. Tim shares his inspirational story from graphic designer to successful artist and some of the stories in between! He talks about how he first came up with the idea for digital artworks while holidaying in Scotland, how he gained momentum early on with sell out shows and a huge amount of interest from collectors, how he came to exhibit internationally and how he now manages a very busy art practice and artistic business. Tim unpacks his varied digital and painting art practice and shares his fascinating creative process. He talks about another of his artistic ventures this time with his wife Katie, Yogallery - a hybrid world of art and yoga contained in a large light filled space in central Wellington.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 28 Apr 2024 | Sally Bulling - Contemporary Artist | 01:28:12 | |
Sally Bulling is a contemporary New Zealand painter living in Queenstown. Invoking a sense of energy, Sally Bulling's abstract works are created with physical movements, sweeping marks, dripping flicks and elaborate pours. Her love of colour, light and reflection is captured in her beautiful paintings. After a successful career in the fashion and fine art industry she returned to her love of painting in 2020 and now works full time on her art practice. I loved hanging out with Sally in my Muriwai studio. What a gorgeous woman! We share a love of sparkles and colour and I found our chat very inspiring as I'm sure you will too. Sally talks about her career in art consultancy and shares some great tips for approaching galleries, choosing a gallery for your work, the advantages of being represented by a gallery and what galleries look for in an artist. She talks about how she got back in to painting in 2020, how she came to use mirrors as a canvas and stickers as a medium and how her first work sold in a gallery within 3 hours - marking the beginning of a very successful artistic career. We chat about her process from sourcing and cutting mirrors, selecting and layering paint to tinting and applying epoxy resin, adding gilding to the edges of her work and her technical approach to colour. Sally has a solo show at Parnell Gallery coming up - A Pansy for your Thoughts - 14 - 28 May. Preview: Tuesday 14 May, 5.30-7pm.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 05 May 2024 | Robyn Fleet - Emerging Artist | 01:21:51 | |
Robyn Fleet is a painter from the Hawkes Bay. Her paintings capture the essence of human experiences and our deep connections to the environment. Robyn is obsessed with the materiality of paint itself and all its possibilities. A common thread in Robyn's work is 'the human condition' suggesting avenues of emotion and thought, the human experience through sensations of materiality and tactility. We discuss the Ruahine Ranges landscape series which help to tell the story of an accident her father had in 1955 in the ranges which has had a big impact on Robyn. Robyn talks about her jury member portrait series and where these characters come from, her deep connection to land, people and animals (especially her cats and her gorgeous lab/retriever cross Fred), how she likes to paint and why she is drawn to dark moody landscapes. She shares how caregiving gives her insight and often informs her practice Robyn has a solo show coming up at the Frame Workshop and Gallery 9th May - 25th May 2024, with an opening event on May 9th from 4pm - 6pm.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 13 May 2024 | Brother Theo - with Charles Tongue | 00:43:19 | |
In this episode I'm chatting to Charles Tongue, the founder and CEO of Brother Theo - a platform dedicated to career coaching and legacy planning, tailored specifically for artists. Brother Theo provides a range of perspectives to help artists plan and grow their career as well as their legacy. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your career to the next level, Brother Theo helps you achieve your goals and reach your full potential as an artist. Charles talks about the Studio of Contemporary Art Gallery which his mother founded and he went on to buy and then run for 15 years, his experiences in the art industry in Aotearoa NZ and what he has learnt. He shares what information artists should collect and how to put it all together, archiving and cataloging artworks, creating processes and outsourcing, approaching galleries and pricing work. And so much more! You can learn more out Brother Theo and the services they provide at brotheo.com
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 19 May 2024 | Nic Dempster - Visual Artist | 01:21:04 | |
Dunedin based artist Nic Dempster has been part of the city’s art scene for over twenty years. His bold colourful geometric style has developed out of contemporary landscape work and reflects his love for architecture and design. His works play with ideas of urbanisation, our infatuation with property and the great kiwi quarter acre dream. It was such a pleasure meeting Nic. We talk about how he went from studying history at Uni and gaining a masters degree to full time artist. He shares how he approaches the composition of his work, how he fills a space and the mathematical formula he uses to construct the shapes and form of his paintings. We discuss his colour palettes and use of shades and tints, his signature black outlines and what drew him to this style, how he orders his process, how his work has evolved over the years and where he can see his work heading in the future. This is a lovely chat I know you'll enjoy. Nic also very generously shares his personal surrogacy journey, which I'm sure you'll appreciate as much as I did.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 May 2024 | POPUP virtual platform - with Naomi Azoulay | 00:19:38 | |
POPUP is a versatile platform for artists, organisations, and venues in Aotearoa to produce their own online experiences. Born out of years of online event production, POPUP allows users to effortlessly create and manage their online events. The platform's immersive virtual spaces facilitate serendipitous encounters and meaningful interactions. From customisable environments to interactive features such as video chat and spatialised sound, POPUP empowers users to curate memorable experiences tailored to their unique visions. Additionally, the platform prioritises ease of use, ensuring everyone can participate fully in the digital realm. Artist Naomi Azoulay, who I spoke to on the podcast in episode 106, talks about this amazing virtual resource for artists, what it offers, how it works, who could use it and why and how she can help you set up your very own virtual meeting, exhibition, event, interview, or party (fully funded until the end of July). I'm already working on my own virtual space for the podcast, with the help of Naomi, and I can't wait to see what we can do with this exciting way of communicating and sharing the work we do.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 26 May 2024 | Clinton Christian - Visual artist | 01:35:12 | |
Clinton Christian (aka Clint© or CC'd) is an award winning contemporary New Zealand artist based in Hamilton New Zealand.
His graphic style, themes and mediums reflect his personality - fun, bright, shiny and often nostalgic with a love of all things 70s and 80s. Clint initially gained a big following with his animal pop portrait series ‘Animal Instinct’ during 2020/21 and he has recently developed a new collection of work ‘Retrovision’ that dives into his youthful nostalgic memories of the 1970’s -80’s. Clint loves making people smile and is super passionate about what he does. In this episode we talk about Clint's journey from architectural designer to full time artist and how well received his work has been right from when he started painting only 6 years ago. He talks about a pivotal light bulb moment in 2018 after a tough year when he decided to leave his job and start creating, even though he initially didn't know what form this would take. We discuss how he once thought he wasn't 'creative' because he would draw what he sees and didn't feel he had his own ideas - ideas is defintely not something he is short of today! Clint has a very entrepreneurial approach to his art career. He talks about some of his tricks and techniques he has for promoting and selling his work, connecting with artists and gallerists and building a loyal following. He unpacks his painting and sculptural practice and goes into great depth about his process, from sourcing and using resin and how he builds his pieces to the way he transfers the text in his Title Deeds series and his favourite paints to use. Such a good listen!
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 02 Jun 2024 | Belinda Griffiths - Conceptual figurative artist | 01:51:06 | |
Belinda Griffiths is a conceptual figurative artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Her work lies within the disciplines of painting and printmaking and explores the expressive power of the gestural mark. When coupled with depictions of the human form, this tension between mark and form has the potential to dig deeper and communicate something of the human experience that becomes instinctive and visceral. Belinda's work is an ongoing exploration of that potential. In this episode we talk about how she came to emigrate from South Africa to New Zealand at the age of 18, how she started her career in design and then made the switch to full time artist. We discuss how she discovered printmaking and what she loves about monotypes, why she likes to create monotypes as well as paintings and her printmaking process. We talk about the different residencies Belinda has done and how they have influenced her work, how she knows when a work is finished and successful, how she manages the push and pull between marks and form. And how she sees her process as a metaphor for her work and why she doesn't like to share all parts of her process.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 09 Jun 2024 | Zoë Nash: Multi-disciplinary artist | 01:40:21 | |
Zoë Nash is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Her brightly coloured, abstract works explore a slow and mindful accumulation of repeated and highly detailed mark making. Reflecting her love of nature, Zoë’s works increasingly draw on selected plant and flower motifs as inspiration. Frequently initiated by things seen, things spoken, or things remembered, narrative and nostalgia are also used to trigger personal connection with viewers. After taking some art classes with Zoë at Browne School of Art, it was a real privilege to talk to her and get to know her and her practice a little better. Zoë speaks about the 'round about way' she came to design and the fine arts arena and her challenging time completing a masters degree in fine arts without having an art practice at the time, and how she didn't make art for 4 years after this experience. We discuss her identity crisis at the age of 30 as a British born woman who had lived in NZ for as long as she'd lived in the UK and how this translated into her fine arts study, which focused on identity, the use of autobiography and the role of female narratives. Zoë talks about how renting her own art studio finally kick started her art practice again and why her work became so connected to nature. She shares the ideas behind the presence of dots and repeated marks in her work and how that can be therapeutic and sometimes reflects her own personal stories. AND Zoë has the best list yet of artists and reasons why they have inspired her and informed her practice.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 16 Jun 2024 | Tim Jones: Contemporary painter | 01:16:17 | |
Tim Jones is a contemporary painter born in the UK and living in Matakana New Zealand. He creates bold abstract paintings through the use of strong gestural mark making. Driven by inquiry, and with evocative reference to the natural environment, colour and painterly form are intertwined and steeped in rhythm and movement. Tim talks about how he has always liked to draw and paint and also take photographs and how his background travelling extensively, diving and working on super yachts has ultimately informed his art practice. He shares his intuitive painting process, the worlds he creates in his work and what they mean to him. We talk about NFT scams and the merits and downsides of social media, how his identity has been stolen more than once on Instagram and the difficulty he has had resolving this issue. He shares how he sometimes experiences imposter syndrome as a self taught artist and how he deals with that. We discuss Tim's current solo show Quo Vadis at Parnell Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland and we explore some of the works within the exhibition. Quo Vadis is on now and runs until June 25th 2024.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 20 Jun 2024 | Rachael Errington - Visual artist | 01:07:59 | |
Rachael Errington is a visual artist living, working and exhibiting in both New Zealand and Australia. She has been showing her paintings professionally for over 20 years, and has had 40 major solo exhibitions to date. Rachael grew up living in the middle of an English wood, where she and her brother spent most of their time making dens and treehouses. It is undoubtedly this experience that created her fascination with painting trees. Her work is inspired by colours in nature and the way light filters through flora, creating emotive connections for the viewer, encouraging them to ‘feel’ something that is peaceful, wistful and calming. It was such a pleasure meeting the wonderfully vivacious Rachael. Her positive outlook on life and her approach to her art business and painting practice is really inspiring. She has some great tips for artists and valuable insights for us all after experiencing a traumatic health event in 2020. Rachel goes into fascinating depth about her painting practice: how she paints her entire canvas black before starting a painting; how her underpainting becomes a simple landscape with a light point which are beautiful in themselves; how she creates the sculptural elements in her trees; how she adds in the light rays and mists at the end and why she loves to paint big. You can see her current solo show Memoirs from Nature on now at Art Bay Gallery in Queenstown, running from June 19th - July 3rd 2024.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 23 Jun 2024 | Yvonne Abercrombie - Contemporary artist | 01:18:50 | |
Yvonne Abercrombie is a contemporary artist living in Helensville just north of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Applying the figure to an abstract landscape is where Yvonne’s practice is situated. Yvonne combines personal narratives and imagination with an exploration and development of the painting process. It was so lovely for me to speak to someone I know quite well and a friend and discover so much about her work.In this episode Yvonne talks about her love of traditional hearty cooking and how that translates into her paintings and how she handles paint, and her love for dressing well and accessorising and how that contrasts with the use of colour in her work. We talk about how painting realistically felt disappointing to Yvonne, how she finally found her identity and ways to express her personal stories in a less realistic form during her masters degree and how she transitioned from studying painting at uni to managing her own painting practice and earning power. Yvonne describes her work as abstract figuration paintings - personal or reimagined narratives but not necessarily expressed in the traditional way, that develop organically. Largely about the human condition, existence, who and what we are. She shares why she likes to paint the naked form, exposing rawness and vulnerability and symbolising the narrative. Yvonne goes into great detail about her painting process, which is fascinating, and her yearning and drive to create something she has never seen before. We discuss how she landed into community art spaces, how working in these diverse artistic environments contributes to her art practice and the benefits she sees in community art galleries. Yvonne is showing her latest work in a joint show entitled Reimagined by the Muse, which opens this week on June 25th and runs until July 10th 2024, at The Frame Workshop and Gallery in Herne Bay Auckland.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 30 Jun 2024 | Natalie Holland - Textile artist | 01:16:33 | |
Natalie Holland is a textile artist from Wellington. She produces bright and colourful punch needle pieces that feature motifs and patterns used in hiapo (Niuean tapa cloth), linking to her Niuean heritage. Her works are made using 100% NZ wool and feature botanical and geometric elements in a wide range of often unexpected colour combinations. Natalie’s work enables her to reflect on the important women in her life and the impact the history of women’s making, sewing and crafting has had on her own creative development. The results are beautifully crafted and contemporary works that pay homage to the traditional design language of her Niuean heritage as well as to generations of women to whom making has been a fundamental part of everyday life. I absolutely adored talking to Natalie.We talk about how her hiapo inspired art has helped her to connect with her Niuean heritage and learn more about Nuie. It was only 2 years ago that Natalie started her art practice and in time started calling herself an artist. She explains how she started creating her punch needle works, what she has learnt over this time, how research has informed her developing practice, the goals she set for herself in her first year of making, how she put herself out there and her early success selling her work. We discuss the challenges of pricing work as a 'new' artist and the support she has sourced to help build her art career. Natalie goes into fascinating depth about punch needle stitches, framing, fabric, wool, lacing at the back of the work and how she comes up with her designs.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 07 Jul 2024 | Pam Wildbore - Contemporary artist | 01:12:13 | |
Pam Wildbore is a contemporary artist from Hastings now living in Napier. Pam is a resin and acrylic artist who began her art practice only 4 years ago. Since then she has had 7 solo shows, participated twice at the NZ Art Show with a sellout show of her work in 2023, and is currently preparing for at Art in the Park 2024. We have such a great chat covering topics from the creativity of hairdressing and my softball fears in high school to how Pam first got her work out there and then found herself exhibiting at the NZ Art Show only 3 years later. Pam unpacks everything resin: the products she likes to use; the discoveries she has made along the way using this medium; how she adds opaque and transparent pigments; her techniques for painting with resin and how she adds layers and finishing touches to her paintings. We also talk about things like pricing, marketing, imposter syndrome, her love of colour, her different collections and what she wants to say through her beautiful paintings - including the cheeky coded messages in her code collection works. Pam's story as a reasonably new practising artist is inspiring and she has many helpful insights into starting a career.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 14 Jul 2024 | Jamie Adamson - Sculptor | 01:10:47 | |
Jamie Adamson is a sculptor based in East Auckland. He works in a range of materials including rimu, pine, oak, pohutukawa, maple, walnut and steel. The timber pieces utilise steam bending techniques; while the steel works involve meticulous welding to create seamless forms. With a background in boat building, design and business, Jamie now works full time on his sculptural art practice. In this episode Jamie shares how and why he started making sculptures in 2013, the success of his first solo show at Railway Street Gallery + Studios, some random positive feedback he received from a guy who turned out to be no other than artist Billy Apple and how he went on to have more sell out solo shows early in his art career. He speaks about how he manages showing his work with 5 galleries across Aotearoa plus commissions and art shows such as Art in the Park and why he still likes to exhibit at some of the school art shows. Although he admits he finds talking about his work difficult, when he starts speaking about his fascinating process with both wood and steel he gets on a roll. His passion and drive is really evident and infectious. I really enjoyed chatting to Jamie. Ngā mihi nui, thank you so much to Turua Gallery for kindly sponsoring this episode https://turuagallery.co.nz DUALITY Jamie Adamson & Georgina Hoby Scutt 26 July - 7 August 2024 Opening night from 5pm, Friday 26 July “Duality" unites the wonderful warm tones of both Georgina’s painted landscapes & still life with Jamie’s wood wall sculptures.
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||
| 21 Jul 2024 | Georgina Hoby Scutt - Contemporary Painter | 01:14:21 | |
Georgina is a painter living in Nelson in Te Waipounamu, the South Island of NZ. Informed by her print & pattern textile design background, Georgie develops distinctive, warm and earthy colour palettes and paints with broad expressive brushstrokes. Her work is primarily semi-abstracted landscapes, still lifes and portraits. I loved meeting Georgie. We have a cool chat about how she came to be a full time painter 8 years ago, how being a self taught artist makes her feel and what she would like to learn more about and connect with to help further inform her practice. We discuss her approach to paint and painting, how she developed her own style and what it represents to her. She shares her process and tells us how she selects a composition for her still life paintings and how she responds to the environment inspired by walking in nature but not necessarily representing exactly what she sees. We talk about her use of colour and simplified, strong shapes, how she likes to have a number of artworks on the go so they can inform and 'talk' to each other in some way, what she is still learning about the colour blue and what she wants to convey through her work. Ngā mihi nui, thank you so much to Turua Gallery for generously sponsoring this episode https://turuagallery.co.nz I'm so looking forward to seeing her work at her joint show coming up later this month: Opening night from 5pm, Friday 26 July
See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog | |||