Artists taking on Katikati’s Unsung heroes in mural contest
Those painting heroes of lockdown come from around NZ and Australia
The New Zealand Mural Contest is online this year and the theme is celebrating unsung heroes in 2020. The heroes — who helped the Katikati community during the 2020 lockdown — will be painted from April 19-23 by artists from across New Zealand and Australia. This week Katikati Advertiser is profiling the artists who are taking up the challenge, and next week we’ll let you know more about those local heroes.
Andrea Green Tauranga
Andrea lives in Welcome Bay, Tauranga.
This is Andrea’s first time competing in the mural contest, but not the first time she has shared her talent with Katikati as Andrea held an exhibition in the Carlton Gallery in 2020.
Andrea is painting the portrait of Sue Spriggens.
Andrea is interested in expressing people and places, so gets a real buzz when the opportunity comes along to draw while she is out and about. She loves meeting people and being invigorated by crowds watching her as her drawings develop.
Much of Andrea’s artwork is sold in galleries and at exhibitions, both in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand.
Dan O’Brien Tauranga
Dan was originally from the United Kingdom, now living in New Zealand and Tauranga for the last 14 years.
Dan comes from an artistic family, his talent for portraiture only
emerged when he retired, giving him more time to devote to his drawing and painting.
Dan also works in clay, creating sculptured heads. Studying the unique facial features has complemented his skill in producing painted likeness. Dan loves the challenge of accepting a commission. He feels that by listening too and learning about the subject, it makes a huge difference to the final outcome.
Over the last 14 years, numerous clients and their families have enjoyed Dan’s artwork and have looked upon it as a fond tribute to the subject.
This is Dan’s first time competing in the mural contest.
Dan is painting the portrait of Patrick Dunn.
Kerry Nicholson Queensland
Kerry is no stranger to Katikati.
This will be his fourth time. He first entered in 2011 and again in 2015.
In 2017, painting with his son Jack, they won the New Zealand Mural Contest. Kerry has also won the Spirit of Katikati Award twice, in 2015 and 2017.
Based in Queensland, Australia, Kerry is a sign writer by trade, he is also the founder of Nicholson Art Company, that specialises in producing murals, landscapes and portraits.
He has also competed in numerous art festivals and competitions over the years very successfully, Kerry has won a number of awards and numerous people’s choice awards. He recently won the 2021 Rochester Mural Festival.
Kerry is painting the portrait of Kristin Crockett.
Lorraine Tyler Wellington
This is Lorraine’s second time entering the contest, she was excited to be part of the 2019 contest.
Lorraine was born and raised in Whanganui, moving to Michigan when she was aged 11. Later on she studied biology at the university there, before returning home to study art.
She is now based in Lower Hutt. She sees herself as an emerging artist, working primarily in 2D. Her artwork often combines bold, detail patterning, and local inspiration with strong dynamism.
Lorraine is painting the portrait of Brendan Gibbs.
Shane Walker Tauranga
Shane is a very familiar face to Katikati, and the New Zealand Mural Contest. This will also be his fourth appearance. Shane won the
New Zealand Mural contest in 2015, with his mural titled Jurassic Park. This mural was recreated on the shop front in Jocelyn St.
Shane is a self-taught artist, based in the Bay of Plenty. His work ranges from large scale murals to small canvas. His work can be seen throughout the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel. Shane has painted and repainted a number of the murals in Katikati Open Air Art’s art collection.
Shane also has a strong passion for portraiture work which was very evident in his last two mural contest entries.
Shane has also been very successful having won numerous art awards, both in New Zealand and overseas art competitions.
One of his highlights was winning the prestigious Sheffield Mural Contest that is held in Tasmania, Australia in 2019. Shane is painting the portrait of Anna Menendez.
This is Michelle’s first time entering the mural contest.
She has been painting fulltime since 2016, holding her first solo exhibition a year later.
The act of creating is something that is very dear to her heart, and with her strong connection to her heritage, Michelle’s art work is often inspired by people she knows.
This allows her to capture the emotion and enables her the ability to tell a story in her artwork.
Michelle has been very busy in the Western Bay art scene over the last few years, a volunteer and regular exhibitor at Tauranga’s Incubator Creative Hub, as well as working on a number of community art projects in and around Tauranga.
Michelle is painting the portrait of Chris Steel.
Steve Monk Bendigo
Steve is no stranger to Katikati, Steve and his partner Carole, will be remembered for the Three Princes mural in the 2019 mural contest. In 2019, Steve won the Spirit of Katikati Award.
Based in Bendigo, Australia, Steve is a very prolific award winning artist, who has produced numerous artworks on walls in homes and buildings all over Australia.
He has competed successfully in numerous art festivals and competitions over the years, having recently won the 2020 Rochester Mural Festival.
Steve is also a very successful sculptor, and has a distinctive style and uses various materials to create his sculptures.
Steve is painting the portrait of Allan Wainwright.
Wolf Girardin Wellington
This is Wolfe’s first time entering the mural contest. Wolfe was born in Canada, growing up both in the city and the countryside, where he learned to appreciate the environment exploring and camping. He was encouraged to draw as soon as he could pick up a pencil, a passion that has never waned.
Wolfe studied studio art at Concordia University, which included painting, drawing, film, performance and music. Wolfe doesn’t want to work solely in one discipline, his curiosity won’t allow him too.
He has travelled extensively, he has allowed himself to be influenced by other cultures and environments. Wolfe was an artist in residence in Barcelona and the Blue Mountains in Australia.
Wolfe has also had solo exhibitions in a number of galleries in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Zeke O’Dey Waihi
Zeke is a first timer to the contest, aged 17. He has been drawing for only a couple of years, using mainly graphite and charcoal mediums.
He has a passion for drawing portraits after completing a very successful year 12 art folio, based on a similar theme.
Zeke was inspired to enter the 2021 mural contest.
Zeke uses social media to promote his artwork. He has never entered an art competition before, so this event will be a challenge and great learning curve.
For Zeke, art is primarily a hobby at the moment, having just left Waihi College in 2021. Zeke is still undecided as what to purse as a career path.
Zeke is painting the portrait of Peter Mackay.