Member since Sunday 2nd Aug, 2015
I was born in Geelong Victoria, Australia in 1960 and moved to New Zealand in 2013
I started painting at a very young age copying my brightly coloured swap card collection. As a teenager I was given a set of oil paints and started painting landscapes, sunsets and birds.
In year 12 of high school I painted my first abstract. It was also the first painting I ever sold…it was purchased by the school.
In 1988 I enrolled in night classes at the Geelong Fine Art School. With the guidance of a wonderful teacher, artist Patricia Semmler, I developed a style of my own that is still constantly changing. I started painting things like surreal nudes held by huge hands. The human body and hands interest me because they can be positioned, twisted and distorted an endless number of ways. From there my work became more and more abstracted.
I have had five solo exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand as well as participating in about two dozen group exhibitions.
When I start a new work I have no idea how it will end up. For me this is what makes painting so exciting. I start painting and it just flows from me without having to plan too far ahead. Sometimes I look back at works I have done and wonder where they came from.
Recently I have been starting with a horizontal black line and frottage. From there circles begin to appear and then figures or flowers. It’s like each painting has a life of its own.
Over the years I have sold dozens of paintings. I had a period of more than ten years during which I didn’t paint at all, except for a commission for a 9’ x 12’painting, but in 2013, thanks to my wonderful partner, I was able to give up my 9 - 5 office job to follow my dream of being a full time artist. My website is www.artbybirgitt.com
