Upstairs Gallery

Painter

Tony Brown offers us all a vision of perseverance and triumph over turmoil. An enthusiasm to forge a better life is what fuels Tony's passion to create works that inspire powerful and emotive responses: "I want to reach out to people who are stuck". Tony's paintings, which are deeply inlaid with a locality and familiarity and in some cases, are intimately provocative, grapple with issues such as depression, adoption, loneliness and sobriety.

Tony's dark and raw works show an artist who interprets issues with an innate sense of compassion and individuality. Through a process of rehabilitation, Tony rediscovered art as a form of expression from childhood and values the emotions he is able to stir within viewers of his work.

Click here to visit Tony's website

Ellen is a mixed media artist.

She has participated in several exhibitions and charity art auctions both as artist and organizer.

Her background is in photography, graphic design and video.

“I enjoy using shapes and textures that sometimes incorporate ideas or effects I have experimented with on the computer.  I am also a video editor/multi media producer, so it is very satisfying, working with the physical and not the virtual aspects of a work to create some dimension and interest.”

Photographer

At the age of 11 Arne Loot already had a darkroom in a wardrobe of his parent’s home in Holland. Ever since photography has remained a lifelong interest for this man with multiple occupations - Sailor, Designer, Builder, Painter, Cook, Farmhand, Musician, Writer and Herpetologist ... you name it.

He arrived in New Zealand in 1952. His first job for 8 years was with the largest Portrait and Bridal Studios, becoming the Manager. Then 3 years with one of Auckland’s leading agencies where he invented his iconic bleach out technique with black and white prints before establishing himself as a freelance photographer for the rest of his life specialising in photographing works of art and antiques for galleries and contemporary artists.

Photographing Art, Antiques etc was a great passion...

•    35 years for Peter Webb galleries and auctioneers, including Sotheby's. 12 years with the Art New Zealand magazine, 3 years for the Auckland City Art Gallery.
•    Photography for galleries has included: New Vision, Dennis Cohn, The Mill, Barry Lett, R.K.S., John Leech, Dunbar Sloane, and Gow Lansford.
•    Privately for many artists including Friedensrich Hundertwasser.
•    Commercially for Air New Zealand, Watties, Tip Top, Eta and Winstone.
•    Photography for more than a dozen books including the very successful 'Gottfried Lindauer', 'Colin McCahon' and 'Jonathon White'.
•    Arne has exhibited in many venues, once simultaneously with the late Brian Brake. An exhibition of his private photography 'Then And Now' was held at the Upstairs Gallery in February-March 2006.

Internationally recognised for the quality of his work, he has received numerous awards including Kodak Photographer of the Year, RKO Film Studios, Golden Needle Award in Chicago, photographic design in Hong Kong and Golden Scoop in the USA.

A self taught artist who loves to experiment and play with colours, Chirstina McTaggart-Tie has been interested in art all her life.

She came to New Zealand in 1971 from Singapore and is now a  New Zealander. She has been involved in Arts and Crafts, taught Copper Art and makes her own greeting cards. In 2005 she resumed her love for Watercolours.

She is a member of the Titirangi Community Arts Council, Upstairs Gallery and has exhibited there in The Ethnicity Of The Waitakeres exhibition. She has also sold her work privately.

 

Rag Rug Weaver

“I have been a TCAC member since the  late 80's and am member of Handweavers and Spinners Guild. I am essentially a rag rug weaver, working from my studio at WoodBay on commissions and for exhibition. All my fabric is of the previously used, or the no longer wanted, variety. My addiction to fabric and colour is a passion, and my work is on walls and floors locally, nationally and internationally.”

Recent exhibitions include: Juxtaposition of Journeys and Junk Art at Upstairs Gallery, Fine Threads at Corban Estate Arts Centre and Smart Tarts and Social Butterflies at Signal Gallery.

Painter

Terry Prince is an artist living in Oratia. Growing up and living in West Auckland, he spent the best days of his childhood at Foster’s bay Huia, and as he became old enough to roam, the big surf beaches.

He finds the grand scale, shapes, and endless colour shifts of these places fascinating, and derives great joy from trying to capture them.

An ex student of Garth Tapper and Ralph Venables, he then worked for many years with his long time friend Ted Dutch.

His work is in private collections and galleries throughout New Caledonia, France, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

Carol Rewega is an emerging, self-taught artist. Her inspiration is nature - with a special affinity for trees. Born and raised in the semi-wilderness of Canada (avoiding bears & cougars whilst playing in her mountain forest backyard), then travelling to faraway places, she settled in Aotearoa and has now spent over 20 years in the 'wild west' of Waitakere. Going for a bush walk has never felt so wonderfully safe!

Working from the premise that a painting is not finished until she absolutely loves it, each piece of artwork has taken months to reach that level of completion. Applying multi-layers of paint with everything ftrom brushes to sponges to fingertips, Carol's goal is to make each painting a journey into nature itself - where one can enter into her artwork and enjoy it forever ...

Kiln Cast Glass Objectmaker

Essentially a self taught artist, my craft skills employed in object making have been garnered though community based art education programmes, supplemented by the generous sharing of knowledge that takes place within New Zealand's many small independent professional studios & workshops.
 
Art is a gift, a conduit to communicate across the barriers of race, language, culture and generation, a message of hope for humanity.   
 
Since early childhood I have had an unquenchable passion for the marine & freshwater environment, as an object maker the material qualities of glass with its 4th dimensional depths and distortions, provides an alluring hypnotic medium within which to explore this mysterious affliction.

Image: Helen Cossey

Bachelor Of Fine Arts

Tania Sunde has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. Tania is the owner of Art Point Gallery and Art Tutoring Studio in Point Chevalier. Art Point Gallery show cases Tania's creative talent and also specialises in nurturing art after school, to young students aged between 8 and 12.
 
Tania exhibits in Auckland and Wellington and her artwork is held in private collections worldwide.

Click here to view Tania's website.

Click here to view Tania's art profile at  www.thebigidea.co.nz