Claire Broughton- New Zealand Flax

sarah

Claire Broughton- New Zealand Flax

$650

Phormium tenax

I found my passion for watercolour painting quite late on in life when I was aged 40.  I have always loved playing with colour and as a child always had packs of crayons, felt tips, paints and pastels in my school satchel and after school would be found colouring-in and painting, not that I was any good! Later in life I collected books on watercolour painting and my real journey with art started.

I have admired watercolour paintings for years and always wanted to have a go myself but had no formal training and did not really know where to start.  I was given some watercolours as a birthday gift, picked some pansies out of the garden and started sketching.  I was not very good and my attempts at watercolour were messy, but with practice and time I discovered the magical qualities of how the paints flow and blend, I was hooked!  I found the process of learning very therapeutic.

In 2007 we moved to New Zealand from the UK and in 2012 was lucky enough to get a place on a workshop with Susan Tustain-Harrison, a New Zealand artist, who helped me find the next level with my painting and whose encouragement was invaluable.

In 2016 I completed a certificate in Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration course through the University of Newcastle, Australia.  This really provided an excellent understanding of drawing, especially botanical drawing which in turn has helped me to achieve realistic watercolour paintings.

I am a member of the Botanical Artist of Society New Zealand and a Friend of the Auckland Botanical Gardens.  These memberships have opened a doorway to enable me to take part in exhibitions. 

I have taken part in and sold my work at:

  • 2018 – The Botanical Art Society of New Zealand Botanica, 2018 at the Akaroa Art Gallery, Akoroa, New Zealand.
  • 2019 – The Friends of The Gardens Art Group In Memory of Banks & Solander, 2019 at the Auckland Botanical Gardens, New Zealand.
  • 2019 – The Botanical Art society of New Zealand Chamber Botanica, 2019 at The Gallery, Rangiora, Nr Christchurch, New Zealand 22 September – 31 October 2019.
  • 2020 – Featured in The New Zealand Artist Magazine, March/April 2020 edition
  • 2020 – The Botanical Art Society New Zealand The Big Show of Little Botanical Works 2020, Auckland Botanical Gardens 01 August to 30 October 2020 (with some interruption due to lockdown).
  • 2020 to date – The Sanctuary Mountain, Maungatautari, Nr Cambridge, New Zealand where some of the profits go towards the upkeep of this sacred place.

Size: 530mm x 350mm

Medium: Watercolour

Status: For Sale

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