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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.comGet in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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. Support the Show.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.  https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-tim-christieGet in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-alison-gilmourhttps://www.instagram.com/alisongilmour_artist/Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

This episode is kindly supported by Turua GalleryDominique 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. Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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. Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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. Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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/https://www.instagram.com/naomi_azoulay_art/Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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/olivercainartistGet in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.davisonGet in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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/Get in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043

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.https://www.creativematters.co.nz/post/creative-matters-with-sierra-robertsGet in touch with Mandy with a quick text messageSupport the Show.Support the Show.Ngā mihi, thanks for listening!Learn more about the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast You can follow us for updates on https://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/ Please rate and review our show to help others find us https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/creative-matters/id1561034043