Some of our Artists for 2026

Dennis Chippindale is this year’s Art in the Park guest artist. He is well known for his live sketching, producing portraits that capture the character and mood of people around him. In a cafe, on the bus, wherever - he sees a   face that intrigues him, takes out his sketch pad and water-soluble pencils and draws. He does at least one drawing every day, posting 30 every month on his dennychups Instagram page (he has 8,500+ followers). Visitors to Art in the Park will be able to see him in action.

Indulging in sketching and watercolour painting is a pleasurable counterpoint to Dennis’s demanding professional life as Director and Principal of a Christchurch architectural company.

Gary spent 45 years working as an architect in Greymouth honing basic drawing skills taught at Grey High School and Auckland university.

Retirement 12 years ago gave the time to develop those skills, and learn the basics of water colour. A week long course with John Lovett in Queensland gave him the confidence to experiment with the watercolour medium, introducing ink, charcoals, gouache and gesso. Encouragement and critiques from his wife Rae has helped along the way.

The challenge was to record structures in a more loose and colourful way, and produce pen and watercolours of buildings and landscapes as an alternative to photographs.

While travelling Gary realised he had the skill to draw structures and landscapes quickly and loosely, using a 40 year old watercolour travel set and quality Moleskin art diaries. Gary noticed that art exhibitions were devoid of paintings of historic and heritage structures, many of which are disappearing from our landscapes and towns. This has been a focus to date.
He has enjoyed ‘playing’ with watercolour, experimenting with different techniques and finishes to create mood and an emotive response.

"My creative practice involves research, processing and un-processing. My interest is to do with who we are, how we intertwine and weave our way through the complexity of relationships with ourselves, each other, objects and the world around us. Reality and unreality collide or sometimes land more softly and melt in these interactions.

The joy I feel when painting is immense. I work mainly in oil, though once again I like to delve into the mixing of possibilities, in this case adding and exploring other mediums when put into close proximity."

RANA is a Wanaka based artist who creates unique artworks out of old postage stamps.  Every piece she creates is made from real, unaltered stamps.  Her skill lies in creating beautiful colour shading using only the colours of the stamps she has to hand.  She believes that the use of stamps adds real history to her work – every stamp tells a story in itself.

Born and raised in Greymouth, I’ve been drawing and painting since I was a wee fella. Initially, it was cartoons and comic strips, and as a teenager, fantasy art. Early influences were Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, among many others. 

After studying Art and Design in Christchurch I returned to the West Coast in 2003. Since 2010 I’ve been working as a tattooist, recently allocating more time to landscape painting and rediscovering my love of sci-fi and fantasy art.

Chris has exhibited at Art in the Park since its inception. His speciality is highly detailed pen and ink paintings of people, animals, houses, and vehicles of all kinds.  Chris has a wide range of art interests include cartooning, calligraphy, logo design, photography, bone carving and driftwood sculpture. Over the years, his illustrations have been published in a variety of books, including children's’ stories and homestay guides.

All the prints for sale here are on German stock paper, printed by Microfilm Digital Print Christchurch. Larger or smaller prints are available on paper or on stretched canvas.

Originally from the UK, Emma has now made Reefton her home. Not only is the beauty of this area, and the creative community, a big draw to her but also the amazing local trails. Emma has a passion for ultra-marathon running and also hold a few world records for endurance events. When she’s not being creative you’ll find her in the wilderness. Emma’s art is a mixture of detailed pencil drawings and bright, bold paintings. She takes inspiration from the natural environment and colour combinations she finds on her explorations. Please take your time enjoying her work.

Sue Currie is a Christchurch born artist with a background in graphic design & illustration. She paints watercolours, acrylics, oils and pastel in a colourful and contemporary style sourcing her subjects from plein air sketches and photographs from travel around the South Island. A passion for painting has extended over 5 decades, exhibiting in art galleries, art societies and art shows mainly in the South Island. Paintings have been sold and are in collections in many overseas countries as well as New Zealand. She is the recipient of numerous awards. Sue comments- “ A love for nature and the joy of painting endless subjects that it may present ” www.suecurrie.co.nz

​Using fabric - both hand dyed and painted and assorted commercial fabrics and hand stitching, I explore the local landscapes - it's various forms and colors - and the flowers in my back garden.

Over the last year or so my focus has changed from celebrating the West Coast with predominantly fabric to minimal fabric use with stitch interpreting our skies, Franz Josef glacier ice and our trees.

I am enjoying the slow pace and quiet moments hand brings.

My work can be seen at my home studio in Hokitika - 170 Gibson Quay or on Facebook or Instagram janetgawnart.

​Sarah Godfrey is an established landscape artist and has a fine arts degree from the Dunedin School of Art.  Painting became her specialization.  “I concentrate on colour, texture and mood in my paintings, and I try to capture the feeling of a place rather than trying to create a realistic scene.  I am drawn by strong contrasts in nature to the dramatic effects of light and shadows that accentuate contours."

Eli Berland is our youngest artist  and this will be his second year of exhibiting  He has accompanied hi parents to art shows all over New Zealand so he might as well show off some of his skills too!

Eli experiments across a wide range of media and his parents have encouraged him to learn techniques in drawing, painting, printing, dyeing and sculpture.

Carver Marlene Trounson has turned her dream of working with greenstone into an actuality – and a passion.  She had, for many years, worked with natural gemstones and pearls to create distinctive fashion jewelry. Ten years ago she enrolled for the Diploma in Jade and Hardstone Carving at Tai Poutini Polytech. “I started full of excitement, but within days was asking myself what on earth I’d got myself into,” she chuckles. “I hadn’t touched carving tools before, and it was definitely more complex and challenging than I had anticipated.”

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But she persevered, graduated, and now creates a wide range of beautiful carvings - traditional pendants and earrings as well intricate sculptured works including flowers and delicate leaves. While 90% of her work is with greenstone, she also works with other gemstones and agates sourced from overseas.

Marlene has been exhibiting at Art in the Park since 2009.

Donna has been a regular at Art in the Park since its inception. Her Corrie Iron Art is well loved all around the South Island of New Zealand and she never seems to run out of inspiration! 

Lorna is an artist, based in Greymouth. She paints mostly in both oils, acrylics and water colours.. but is always learning new tricks!

Hello Art Lovers, my name is Shirely Louise Day and I create unique collages using a wide range of flowers, leaves, paints and mixed media.

I’m completely self-taught and through much trial and error have arrived at a place where I believe my work will delight and bring smiles to my viewers.

All of my work incorporates flora grown, picked and pressed by the artist. I live in Christchurch and regularly display my work at various markets that concentrate on supporting creators and makers.

The Daft, Mysterious Woman

Margaret Mary Fabiola Wallace started back with 'New Beginnings’ Visual Art recently. She had a long sabbatical break from painting. Now she has a new approach to art, looser, freer and more experimenting. She is expressive, loves colour and texture. Her art now is based on memories packed with love, emotions, mood, texture and our beautiful planet we live on. She has fresh ideas and no boundaries now. Also known recently as 'The Daft Woman’ according to a recent post. Margaret Mary is inspired by her environment and the beautiful wild West Coast beaches.

She is a West Coaster and ex-pupil of St Mary's. Some of her upbringing reflects in her art work, richness of colour, lights and darks. These days she finds inspiration closer to home, “from my garden”.  Her house acts as a whole new outlook, “I don't have to go far, there are spontaneous views from my windows and never ending inspirations”.

Karin Werner        b. Oxford,1963

 I have drawn and painted all my life and am largely self taught.   I use mainly oils, water colours,  pastels and pencil. 

 My subjects are often landscapes, horses and other animals, vehicles,

 particularly motorcycle engines, although I also do more interpretive work,

and acrylic pour/swipes.

I live in Amberley and am a member of Arts Canterbury, the Rangiora, Ashburton, and Otago Art Societies, and exhibit mainly through their exhibitions.

My paintings have been awarded People’s Choice, Merit and Premier Awards

 at art exhibitions and competitions throughout the South Island.

More of my art can be viewed on my website  www.karinwerner.co.nz 

and on my face book page  @ SOUTHISLANDARTIST

I started painting for the first time a few years ago, having never done it before Art and painting for me has been like discovering magic. I cannot imagine a day without painting. I now see the world and everything in it in a new way. I see beauty shadows light and colour I hadn't noticed before. 

My wish is that my art can bring to others not only pleasure but helps them to also see how amazing our earth and nature is.

Greymouth’s Bob McQuarrie is well recognised around the Coast for his functional stoneware – beautifully shaped bowls, coffee mugs, cups and platters from his busy potter’s wheel, and freeform tiles, small animal and bird ceramics.

His ceramic garden-art towers were a hit at last year’s Art in the Garden in Flaxmere, Canterbury. “As it’s in October it forces me to be busy over winter,” he says.

Bob uses only local clays from various sources, which sometimes can be straight out of the ground but usually need to worked to remove stones, sand or roots. He achieves vibrant decorative effects by creating his own glazes, often from differently coloured recycled glass. His kiln is fired by dry pine from trees he planted on his Karoro hill property many years ago. Wood ash provides unique glaze effects. “It’s a lot of effort but it’s good to have a hobby you love that also brings in a bit of money.”

Having cut and carved gemstones of all kinds since 11 years of age and trained in carving under Ian Boustridge among others, Amhairghen Faithliaig (Avirin) now runs Woven Stone Jade in Greymouth: a small jade and hard stone carving company specialising in high-quality, one-off jewellery and sculptural pieces. "Quality work, or not at all" is his company's motto; and he takes that motto seriously. He stocks works in local pounamu (nephrite and bowenite) and some foreign nephrite jades, aotea, local rhodonite, aroha stone, Guatemalan blue jadeite and occasionally even whalebone.

Rachelle McKellar-Basset lives and works on the beautiful West Coast of the South Island. She is inspired by the wild coastline and exquisite driftwood crafted and shaped by the sea. Incorporating beach stones she creates whimsical works that sometimes include a saying or quote to inspire, encourage or just make you smile.

She worked for many years as a Visual arts teacher in Auckland but now feels home is on the coast. Preserving and caring for the natural environment is close to her heart. With her husband she runs an eco campsite on their rural property, practicing permaculture and breeding free range chickens and organic lamb.

Rachelle is a graduate of the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Visual Arts, 2005. She was awarded the Toss Wollaston scholarship in her first year of study.

I started painting for a short period while living in Australia.  After moving to Nelson in late 2009 I joined Art Group Nelson, the Collective at Art@203 (now Wall to Wall Art, Bridge Street, Nelson) and the Nelson Suter Art Society.  Works have found homes in USA, Switzerland, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.

I am self-taught and have developed my current style from experiences of growing up in Northland, living amongst Kauri trees in Titirangi, Auckland.  While living in Australia for 13 years I travelled to the outback and coastal areas and have been inspired by the amazing colours of the vast landscape, trees and wildlife. 

To achieve my works I begin by applying texture or collage and the work evolves from the shapes and marks that are formed.   Then the fun begins by applying colour with Acrylic paint, inks and other effects.  The vertical line is a continuing theme in my paintings.

franciesix@gmail.com

021 042 8844

Wall to Wall Art, 112 Bridge Street,Nelson

I am a self-taught North Canterbury based artist whose art journey began in 2019. A new-found passion for painting led to a return to study in 2020. I enrolled at Oxford Area School and studied Year 13 Art as an adult student. I chose the genre Portraiture and loved the challenge this presented in capturing expression. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning environment; I love the joy of discovery and the escape that my creative practice offers. 

I am ever inspired by the many moods of our New Zealand Landscape, endeavouring to capture highlights and shadows, conveying the grandeur of our mountains, the stillness reflected in our lakes and the vast colour palette of nature.

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Social Media:      Facebook – Donna Coster – Artist

                              Instagram – donna.coster.art

I’m Trish a dairy farmer from the West Coast with a love of gardening and art.

I have dabbled in many art forms over the years from painting acrylics, watercolours and oil, Sewing clothing and quilts, Sculptures stone, clay and Paverpol.

While I still enjoy all of these, I really found my niche with Paverpol.

I first came across Paverpol when I ordered a kit from a magazine 15 years ago, from there I did a class with the NZ trainer & importer in nelson, then in 2009 I trained to become a certified Paverpol instructor, I have been teaching workshops ever since.

Paverpol is a fabric hardener that allows the artist to create sculptures suitable for outdoors using recycled natural materials such as old t-shits, muslin, towels, curtains etc.

You will always find projects on the go in my small studio workshop. And thanks to my Husband & daughters I now have a small Gallery that is open by appointment.

Trish Silcock – Paverpol Instructor