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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Getting to know one another.
Here's your opportunity to get to know more about your fellow members and their art. If you'd like to participate, contact our VP: Karin.
Q&A with Sonja Walker (July 2025)
1. What is your name? Sonja Walker. 2. Where are you originally from? A small fishing and artist town called Kirkcudbright in south west Scotland. 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? Since 2023. 4. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? I’ve always been into art but I didn’t think it was a proper career path when I was at school. I’ve always regretted that, so in 2021 I finally decided to study art and enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts and Media course at NMIT. I graduated last year. 5. What medium do you use? I mostly use oil. 6. Where do you make your art? At the moment, I have taken over the dining room, which is not ideal for the rest of the family! 7. What is your style of art? I’m in somewhat of a shift in style at the moment. Realism has been my grounding but I find myself moving towards abstraction. I would say realistic abstraction if that is even a thing! 8. What is your approach to making art? Photography is a major part of my process. I capture the thing that catches my attention in a photograph, then I paint from that. 9. When do you know a piece is finished? Sometimes it’s when I feel anything I add starts to make it worse. Sometimes it’s when I can’t look at it anymore. Very rarely, it’s when I’m happy with it. 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? I am interested in the unnoticed and the everyday - the mundane. 11. Who are your favourite artists? Oh I have so many! Lucian Freud, Giorgio Morandi, Uta Barth, Peter Dreher, Andy Warhol. I could go on. 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? I love emerald green, especially for clothes! But in paint, I love a touch of alizarin crimson. 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? The sea. I have always lived near the sea. I couldn’t live anywhere else. But I do love the mountains too…as long as I live near the sea! I don’t often paint either though. 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? It’s all an indulgence! 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? Collage. I’d really like to use my own photographs and create collaged images to use them as reference images for painting. 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? I have donated quite a few works which have been auctioned for fundraisers and sold that way but haven’t officially sold any where I have personally benefited. I do have a website which I am working on but is not functional yet. It will be www.sonja.co.nz. 17. What is art for you ? Art is a part of me. It’s how I express myself best. It’s a form of meditation for me too.
Q&A with Karin Gembus (June 2025)
1. What is your name? Karin Gembus 2. Where are you originally from? Originally originally, Minneapolis, Minnesota! But I spent high school in St. Louis, Missouri, and lived the longest in San Francisco, California, before moving to South America and then New Zealand. 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? Almost three years 4. How did you get into art? My parents were big into hitting the major art museums when we lived in Europe in the ‘70s. My dad has always dabbled with paints as a hobby, and both he and my mum would often have nice art books on display in the lounge. In San Francisco, I did various collage artwork for music albums and inserts. I got more serious about my own practice about 10 years ago. 5. What medium do you use? My go-to is acrylics for their quick drying time, but I’m working more and more with oils for their transparency. 6. Where do you make your art? I’m fortunate to have a wee home studio overlooking the garden. It has four glass walls and lets in tonnes of natural light. 7. What is your style of art? I enjoy depicting slightly awkward abstracted female figures. I like colour a lot and have an interest in harnessing its power. 8. What is your approach to making art? I have two distinct approaches, depending on my end vision: 1) I start with a pretty good idea of where I want certain elements, mainly figures, and then I determine colour and shapes to accompany them; 2) I start entirely open to the practice of painting and focus only on applying paint, scraping it off, applying more paint, etc., and then something might emerge and I bring it up to recognisability… or something emerges and I ignore it and keep the image abstract. 9. When do you know a piece is finished? Such a hard question! When I like where a painting is, I’ll hang it on my walls for a couple weeks and see how I feel about it after a number of sleeps. I don’t sign a piece until I feel it’s finished. 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? I enjoy a good narrative. I like to portray women in nature, standing on a beach, watching the water. I like to capture what it feels like to paint, rather than paint what I’m directly seeing. 11. Who are your favourite artists? I love so very many artists! I like the works of Chantal Joffe. 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? My favourite colour changes all the time. Today it’s muddy orange. Ranunculus. Northern Cardinal and Keruru. 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Somewhere along and ocean or sea. 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? Definitely paints, both acrylics and oils. 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? I haven’t tried printmaking with woodcuts, but I’ve signed up for a course with Michel Tuffery later this year. 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? YES! I have sold, but I don’t have a website. 17. What is art for you? Art – especially art making – is a way for me to slow down. When I start painting, time takes on a different dimension, and I enter The Zone. It’s pretty exciting!
Q&A with Vanessa Griffin (May 2025)
1. What is your name? Vanessa Griffin 2. Where are you originally from? Born in Auckland & have lived in beautiful Nelson for over 44 years 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? Since February 2023 4. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? I did hand-painted rocks for art stores as a teenager and was very successful, vowing to take art up when time permitted. Over 45 years later, after the 2nd slip onto our property after Aug 2022 & May 2023, I took two weeks off work - it ended up two months as I took up the therapeutic form of acrylic fluid-art which relieved the stress. 5. What medium do you use? Mostly Acrylic paint on canvas - wanting to get into enamels, as the chemical reaction creates great pearls and cloud effects. 6. Where do you make your art? At home - under cover in our BBQ conservatory - and often take over the dining room table. I would eventually love to have a studio. 7. What is your style of art? Contemporary Abstract Fluid Art through to modern landscapes 8. What is your approach to making art? Being fearless and creating art by getting into a different zone, connecting to source and letting inspiration, colour & different techniques lead the way. Being flexible, spontaneous and going with the flow works best; that’s why I was attracted to Fluid Art. 9. When do you know a piece is finished? Once I am happy enough to offer it for sale, otherwise it will get tweaked until I’m satisfied. 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? I am inspired by the colours of Tasman Bay, including sunrises and sunsets, plus the change of season, as I live in Glenduan by the sea 11. Who are your favourite artists? Monet stands out. Tim Wilson is an amazing NZ Landscape Artist. Many in the field of acrylic flow art inspire me, like Lisa Marvin, Sarah Taylor, Waterfall Acrylics, etc. I have local Artists like Kathryn Furniss and Deborah Quaife's art pieces on my walls at home. 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? Colour excites me, especially - Green’s through to Turquoise. I love all flowers, as I have done Floral Design for over 15 years - I belong to the Isel Floral Circle. I’m fascinated by birds - our natives are my favourite 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Coastal/Sea 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? Paint, Floetrol & canvases. More frames to come. 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? Pearl pours and cloud pours - next on the agenda. 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? Yes, I have sold 20+ pieces in the last year, including on the first day of the National Tasman Art Awards, which was my first entry into an art exhibition. I am currently about to start building a website - I’m looking at Squarespace.com. Good suggestions would be welcomed. I wonder about Etsy & Shopify. Advice would be great as I am just starting out. 17. What is art for you? Therapeutic, meditative, a time vacuum and a happy space. Inspiration, beauty, & colour to share. "The power of imagination makes us infinite." John Muir 18. Would you also like to share your online pages? Currently I am using my personal facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.griffin.18 (feel free to friend me with “Art Group Nelson Member Request” in the subject line). My Pinterest page - https://nz.pinterest.com/griffin9100/original-art-by-vanessa-griffin (just started loading some pieces onto this site, if keen to view). Commissions welcomed.
Q&A with Jacquie Roberts (April 2025)
1. What is your name? Jacquie Roberts 2. Where are you originally from? Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? 10 years 4. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? As a child I drew pictures and coloured them and I have never stopped! 5. What medium do you use? Mostly water based – watercolours, acrylics, both dyes, paints and inks 6. Where do you make your art? I have a converted garage, carpeted with glass doors and windows. 7. What is your style of art? Semi abstract 8. What is your approach to making art? I love to draw and use colours. I wish I had been a florist, flowers have all the magic! 9. When do you know a piece is finished? When I am about to make a mess of it 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? Semi abstract forms, nature, colour always colour 11. Who are your favourite artists? Matisse, David Hockney, Elke Memmler 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? I love primary colours. Zinnias. Wood Peckers. 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Rivers, rocks, trees, but I am not a landscape artist. 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? At the moment acrylic inks 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? Pure abstract 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? I have sold through galleries and group exhibitions. No Website. 17. What is art for you ? I am a very “visual” person, creative. I love colour, form, music, films, it all gets me up in the morning.
Q&A with Jean Jackson (March 2025)
1. What is your name? Jean Jackson 2. Where are you originally from? Warwickshire, England 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? 19 years 4. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? The interest was always in me as far back as childhood. 5. What medium do you use? Oil, occasionally water colour 6. Where do you make your art? My garage is my studio, fitted out 7. What is your style of art? Realism 8. What is your approach to making art? Plan the beginning, forge ahead with the middle, sum up the end and adjust, sign 9. When do you know a piece is finished? I feel it, see it, and sign my name but are you ever really satisfied. 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? Landscapes, seascapes/nautical, still life 11. Who are your favourite artists? John Constable, Claude Monet 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? Blue, Rose Skylark 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Planet earth 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? Good bushes, paint, canvas 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? I admire other artists' curiosity, but oil satisfies my creative skills. 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? Yes: www.jeanjacksonart.com In the 30+ years I have been painting I have art in Europe, America, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, England and Vancouver. 17. What is art for you? To be able to transfer a subject or scene from brush to canvas......simply a gift.
Q&A with Jeanette Brough (February 2025)
1. What is your name? Jeanette Brough (aka Jet) 2. Where are you originally from? Masterton [my birthplace], via Sydney, The Snowy Mountains, Stradbroke Island, Lord Howe Island, The Southern Highlands NSW, Queenstown & Arrowtown. It’s been a wild ride! 3. How long have you been a member of AGN? One year 4. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? I have always had a creative vein. In my business life I expressed this in food presentation & floristry. In my own time I enjoyed working with found objects. Selling our business created the opportunity for me to explore new forms of expression, which I love. 5. What medium do you use? Acrylic, mixed media, coveted finds & in my travels, items eliciting a creative response 6. Where do you make your art? In my woman cave – Our garage 7. What is your style of art? Abstract 8. What is your approach to making art? I get inspiration from my travels. Recently in Taiwan I found some arresting tapa cloth. Mostly however, I just go for it. 9. When do you know a piece is finished? I am on a learning curve. I am trying to practice the mantra leave it alone, leave it alone. Sign-next please. 10. What themes are most important to you in your art? Colour and texture 11. Who are your favourite artists? Salvador Dali. In my school days I perceived him to be quite loony. Many years later I visited his museum in Figueres, Spain. I learnt that his artistic expression included but was not limited to sculpture, jewellery, ceramics, film & poetry. I reflected on the expression don’t judge a book by its cover. Frida Kahlo is another artist I admire. 12. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? Africans say living without yellow is like living without the sun. I love all flowers and perhaps should have been a florist. The avian world is filled with many extraordinary species. My favourite however is the hummingbird. 13. What is your favourite environment or landscape? My happy place is anywhere outdoors. On my bike in New Zealand or in my global wanderings I relish the new around every corner. 14. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? Recently, ink 15. What art form have you never tried but would like to? I am very much a novice but willing to try anything. We all have preconceived notions. Recently Jaquie would hear nothing of my protestations that I cannot draw. This is my new challenge. 16. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? Yes, I have enjoyed selling some of my art. I do not have a website. 17. What is art for you? “The purpose of Art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Pablo Picasso
Q&A with Robbie Burns (January 2025)
What is your name? Robbie Burns Where are you originally from? Gisborne How long have you been a member of AGN? 10 years In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? I always had an interest in art at school, but never did anything about it until 10 years ago. What medium do you use? I started drawing in graphite and coloured pencil, and now paint in oils. Where do you make your art? We have converted our master bedroom into a studio, where I paint and my wife embroiders. What is your style of art? Realism What is your approach to making art? Purely selfish. I create for my own enjoyment, if other people like it, then that’s a bonus. When do you know a piece is finished? When I sign it. With my style of painting, I think it’s easier to tell when it’s finished, rather than, say, an abstract piece. What themes are most important to you in your art? Nothing really, although I do like a still life using chiaroscuro lighting technique. Who are your favourite artists? There are numerous, but probably Caravaggio and Vermeer top the list. What is your favourite colour? Flower? Bird? My favourite colour is the one that looks like the one I’m trying to mix on my palette. Favourite bird is the Lyrebird. It can imitate any noise it hears. (If they could paint, they’d be very wealthy.) Don’t have a favourite flower. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Favourite environment is the one above ground - long may it last. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? I bought a tube of Rose Madder Genuine. Thank goodness I wasn’t painting the house! What art form have you never tried but would like to? No others, other than painting. It keeps me occupied. Have you sold any of your art? Do you have a website? Yes, and no What is art for you ? A challenge.
Q&A with Judith Gerritson (December 2024)
Where are you originally from? Cheshire, England How long have you been a member of AGN? Nine years. In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? From birth. What medium do you use? Oil, watercolour, pen & ink, pastels, mixed media. Where do you make your art? Garage or kitchen. What is your style of art? Impressionist style. What is your approach to making art? Illustrative. When do you know a piece is finished? Some time later… What themes are most important to you in your art? Telling a story or a place. Who are your favourite artists? Impressionists. What is your favourite colour? Blue. Flower? Geranium and freesia. Bird? Morepork, blue tit. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Vignette. What is your biggest indulgence in art materials? Oil pastels. What art form have you never tried but would like to? Ongoing mixed media. Have you sold any of your art? Yes. Do you have a website? No. What is art for you? A relentless pest.
Q&A with Barry Burrows (November 2024)
Where are you from originally? Rhodesia/Zimbabwe How long have you been a member of Art Group Nelson? I’ve been a member of AGN for about a year and a half How did you get into art? My mother really enjoyed painting. I caught the bug from her. I appreciate now that she was pretty good with landscapes and flowers. What medium(s) do you use in your practice? I often play with pencil on paper. Sometimes drawing natural objects like trees, shells or landscapes. Other times, it is abstracts playing with straight or curved lines, shading, perspective and depth of field. My colour paintings are done with egg tempera which is very unforgiving and time consuming. However it can produce very radiant colours and sculptural forms. Where do you make your art? I have a mini studio in the house with a bit of garden view. What is the style of your art? I have two almost opposite styles of art. I do some still life pictures from nature such as sea shells or flowers. In complete contrast, I go completely abstract. What is your approach to making art? I spend a lot of time browsing through art books and magazines and often visit galleries... When something really pulls me in, I try to work out the particular elements that caught and held my attention. Then I try to give it a go. I think it’s about creating an ambiance -- a treat for the eye and mind. When do you know that your piece of art is finished? Having overdone pieces too often, I have hopefully learnt to take a good break from the momentum near the end. A day or two even. That commonly turns out to be the finish line. What themes are most important to you in your art? My favourite themes include trees and shrubs and close landscapes. In abstract works it is mostly about playing with straight or curved lines to create rhythms and using textures and shading to give some depth of field. Who are your favourite famous artists (and do you have a favourite NZ artist)? My favourite NZ artists are Jane Evans (who was a neighbour), and Toss Woollaston. Other artists would be Durer, Monet and Paul Klee. What is your favourite colour, flower and/or bird? Colour: Rose Red (a Rowney color), Flower: Camelia, Bird: Tui. Beautiful black and white. So important for painting. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Upper Moutere and Japanese gardens in spring or autumn. What is your greatest indulgence in art supplies? Tubes of egg tempera paint. Very expensive! What kind of art, that you have never made, would you like to try making? I would like to try sculpture. Do you sell your art? Do you have a website? I haven’t sold a single piece of art!! And no I don’t have a website. What is art to you? Now that is very hard to explain. I think of music as a form of art. Think of a violinist who has composed, and played and recorded her music. Every violinist would have a unique composition, message, style, character, mood and more. She might be trying to please and impress an audience, or simply to please herself, or do both at once. In a few words, art to me is discovery, expression, pleasure and a kind of therapy.
Q&A with Tania Spitzmesser (September 2024)
Where are you from originally? South Africa How long have you been a member of Art Group Nelson? 18 months I think How did you get into art? I’ve been involved with art since I was a kid. I started as a dancer. In my early 20s I fell in love with calligraphy and watercolour and that started my visual art journey. What medium(s) do you use in your practice? Mixed media, basically anything that I can lay my hands on. Paint, pen, fabric, paper, seeds and beads, scraps, packaging, old book pages… Where do you make your art? I have a space in my bedroom What is the style of your art? Grungy mixed media What is your approach to making art? Having fun and taking myself on adventures. When do you know that your piece of art is finished? I'm not sure that I do. What themes are most important to you in your art? Colour palettes, emotions, landscapes, resilience and fragility. Who are your favourite famous artists (and do you have a favourite NZ artist)? Picasso, Hockney. My favourite NZ artist is Ann Robinson. What is your favourite colour, flower and/or bird? I love green, especially emerald green. My favourite flower is an iris. My favourite bird is a phoenix. What is your favourite environment or landscape? I love the desert. What is your greatest indulgence in art supplies? Anything I can eco dye with. What kind of art, that you have never made, would you like to try making? Hand built pottery. Do you sell your art? Do you have a website? Yes I do. I’ve just taken my website down. I prefer to deal with people in person. In five words or less, "Art to me is: freedom and adventure."
Q&A with Jo White (August 2024)
Where are you originally from? Auckland (mostly) How long have you been a member of AGN? At least 3 months now! In a sentence or two, how did you get into art? Both of my parents were full-time potters, and I trained as a graphic designer before working in advertising for many years. What medium/s do you use in your art practice? Watercolour usually, with the odd dip into alcohol inks. Where do you make your art? I have an attic studio/office looking out across the harbour to the Abel Tasman ranges. What is the style of your art? I try multiple styles, but I am 99% cat-centric. What is your approach to making art? It’s almost as good as a glass of wine at the end of the day. And way better than watching TV. When do you know that your piece of art is finished? When I look at it the next morning, and still like it. What themes are most important to you in your art? Cats. Cats. Cats. Who are your favourite famous artists (and do you have a favourite NZ artist)? Endre Penovac – a Serbian watercolour artist (who does amazing cats). No favourite NZ artist although many that I admire. What is your favourite colour, flower and/or bird? Pink (this week), sunflowers, tuis. What is your favourite environment or landscape? Forests. What is your greatest indulgence in art supplies? Daniel Smith watercolours (which can be eye wateringly expensive) What kind of art, that you have never made, would you like to try making? Linograph! Do you sell your art? Do you have a website? Yes, most of my work is commissioned. www.catopia.nz In five words or less: Art to me is my happy place