Exhibitions

Current exhibition: Luke Mitchell: 6th December 2025 to 17 January 2026

Luke Mitchell (Te Atiawa and Ngati Tama) was born in Te Waipounamu South Island and grew up in Te Tauihu Top of the South. After completing a BA in politics at University of Canterbury he moved to Tamaki Makaurau, then Te Whanganui-a-Tara, followed by Melbourne and on to London (for 19 years). He now lives in Māpua. He works as a banker in the daytime and shares a home with partner Cindy and numerous pets and wild animals.

Luke paints abstract and figurative works inspired by nature, landscapes, buildings, people and maps. “I’m interested in painting multiple layers which represent to me both the physical interactions of paint and light as well as the influences of personal experience, imagination and memory, economic, cultural and social factors which make us who we are and inform our perceptions and inner being.”

Since 2019, Luke has held three solo exhibitions, a joint exhibition, and contributed to group exhibitions in London, Venice, Milan, and Aotearoa. His most recent solo exhibition, “Journeys in Psychic Landscapes,” was presented at Refinery Art Space in Whakatū Nelson in 2022. Luke is a member of Te Ohu Weka, contributing to recent editions of the Te Ataarangi Maramataka Matariki fundraising calendar. Luke is also a member of the Nelson Suter Art Society. In 2025, two of Luke’s works were featured in the Tasman National Art Awards.

Instagram:  @lukonium.arts. Email: lukonium.arts@gmail.com.                       http://www.lukonium.com. Telephone: +64 21 1477 546

Past exhibition: Jenny Ferrier 23rd October-6th December 2025

Jenny Ferrier is an accomplished water colour artist based in Ruby Bay.
She started her art journey studying art history at Auckland University and later interior design in England. In Hong Kong in 1997 she met Stephen Thomas, a renowned water colour artist and teacher, and enrolled in his program. Jenny completed a Diploma of Art and Creativity (2020-2023) with Wellington’s art school, The Learning Connection.
She has exhibited in Hong Kong, Thailand and Nelson. Jenny finds inspiration from the natural world especially the sea, lakes, mountains and forests, and strives for tonal contrast and harmonious colour stories. Her goal is positive immersion in her art journey.

Contact:jennyferrier64@gmail.com Phone: 021 134 1326
Instagram: jenny_ferrier

Past exhibition: Ron Oliver. Local Watercolour and Pastel Artist. Artist Statement:

Ron Oliver has been painting for about 30 years, both in the UK and New Zealand. He dabbled with water colour as a medium in his earlier works.  However, following a workshop given by a well known British pastelist  Jane Lampard, he developed a great interest in working in soft pastels.  He has furthered this interest over many years, particularly since living in New Zealand, as a member of Pastel Artists of New Zealand.  He has entered works in many local and national exhibitions and been commended for his work.

More recently Ron has returned to his passion of painting in the magical but challenging medium of watercolours.  In exploring this medium further, he has focused on using vibrant and clean colours in a variety of animal and landscape images.

Ron hopes that you will enjoy visiting this exhibition and seeing some examples of his works.

He can be contacted on 021 039 5260 or ron.oliver@me.com for further information or to purchase any of his works.

Past exhibition until 30 August: Nicole Russell. Artist Statement:
The inspiration for most of my paintings comes from what I see and experience around me.  For several years my family and I were living on a sailboat in the Chesapeake Bay, USA, before sailing to the Mediterranean, and finally to New Zealand via the Panama Canal.  During this time I had no studio available and painted mainly outside (en plein air), focusing on seascapes, water reflections, birds and other wildlife, but also people, street scenes and architecture.  Although I now have a studio, plein air painting is still my passion and I try to paint outside the studio regularly.
In my studio I create works that show a story and action.  Often those works connect to wildlife or scenes in the local community.  It’s a bonus when I can include a sense of humour.
Watercolours and oils are my favourite media.  I enjoy watercolours because of their transparency and fluidity.  Watercolours have a mind of their own and it gives me great pleasure to see what the colour does on paper and how it complements the subject.  Oil paints I choose for their texture and luminosity.  It depends on the subject and the idea of the final painting which makes me decide which medium I appreciate more in each case.  When painting plein air (outdoors) I usually prefer to paint in oils.
I studied art in the USA and New Zealand with a strong focus on drawing and watercolour painting.  My studio is based in Ruby Bay and I teach various art classes in the Nelson/Tasman region.  My work is permanently on display at Wall to Wall Art Gallery, Nelson, and can be seen at various other art exhibitions. http://www.nicolerussellart.com/
 +64 (0) 22 378 6099                                                               
FB @ Nicole Russell Fine Arts                                                   Nicole@NicoleRussellArt.com

Past Exhibition: Barry Robertson 7 June to 19 July Artist and Environmental Scientist (PhD Zoology) 151 Awa Awa Rd, Upper Moutere, Tasman 7173 T: 0275 417 935 E: bazrober@gmail.com My artwork is primarily autobiographical, shaped by places I’ve visited and how I remember them through my imagination. These memories emerge as filtered versions of reality—dreamlike, simplified, and deeply personal. My worldview has been strongly influenced by my upbringing, where freedom, creativity, self-responsibility, and respect for Māori culture were encouraged. I was raised with a love of books, sea life, birds, and even the beauty found in dumps. Alongside this was an almost constant need to create—an impulse both nurtured and challenged by the physical limits of chronic fatigue syndrome and the constraints of academic life. These influences have led me to favour calmness, clarity, and simplicity in my work. I often express strong inner guidance through symbolic elements—such as large, clothed bird figures—that reflect themes of love and quiet strength. In my world, buildings, animals, birds, mountains, and water are rendered not in intricate detail, but as their essential forms—stripped back to their “bones,” yet still warm, connected, and supportive of one another. My art is, at heart, a visual dialogue with the essence of myself. I am excited to have this opportunity to share these with you and look forward to any of your feedback.

Past Exhibition: Amelia Valle
Until the 7th June Amelia Valle was born in Portugal. She lived in Mozambique and later moved to South Africa with her husband. She has been painting for over twenty years, firstly in watercolour, before she fell in love with the glossy and rich qualities of oil paintings which she has been enjoying for the past eight years.
She likes to use a variety of tools, often painting with her fingers and hands, which is perhaps her trademark. Her paintings of flowers, old walls, still life forms and textures reflect her Mediterranean upbringings.
She gets her inspiration from looking at the world around her and finding beauty in unusual places and designs. Celebrating the beauty of the world helps her
reconnect with nature.
Her work has been sold in exhibitions in South Africa as well as New Zealand.
She now resides in Tasman.

Past Exhibition (July/August 2024)

This was our beautiful July/August Exhibition by Joyce and Richard Bullock.  

Joyce says that her husband Richard had started painting prior to leaving Palmerston North in 2006. Their neighbour, well known Mapua artist Beth Meikle, along with two or three others joined up to paint in Beth’s garage each week. Richard was happy to join them one morning each week.

Anything, she said, for him to escape the renovations at their house!!
The numbers grew too big for the garage so it was decided to move to the Bill Marris room in the local hall. The painting group continues to meet every Thursday from 9 till noon. Richard continued to paint for a couple of years, whilst Joyce joined in for a year. As a raw beginner she always appreciated the helpful advice contributed by able artists. She notes that the notice in the Coastal News reads and quote;”help each other in a social environment.”

Joyce’s three flower paintings, and Richard’s “Fyfeshire Rock” and the “Sailing Ship Arrives” are for sale at $150 each. The cash will go towards their grand-daughter’s fund to attend Outward Bound.

Joyce is a volunteer at Mapua Community Library, and can be contacted at Phone 027 528 1374