Creative Arts Napier bursting with talent

Martin Corke in his home studio with ‘River Rd View’ in oils

CAN is bursting at the seams with some wonderful exhibitions and creative workshops in-house for April. I hope you can pop in to visit our space – which is your space, as it belongs to our community.

Opening in our Small Gallery on Friday is the debut exhibition by Martin Corke, a series of rich oil paintings inspired by the Tukituki. A multiple finalist in the Adam Portraiture Award, winner of the 10-year anniversary Walker & Hall Art Award on Waiheke Island and selected for NZ’s Sotheby International Realty Art Review, Martin often takes inspiration from local landscapes to create his stunning paintings in oils on canvas. Tuki Tuki contains several works of Hawke’s Bay scenes that are now unrecognisable because of the cyclone, scenes beautifully captured and preserved as a lasting record of what was.

Young local artist Drew Ferguson’s work will be gracing our foyer from Saturday. Drew loves painting portraits with acrylics and has recently picked up watercolours. He is currently studying at Victoria University toward a BSC in marine biology, ecology and biodiversity, and painting whenever he gets the chance, luckily for us.

Drew Ferguson with his work at a previous show.

“Each piece I have chosen to exhibit follows the idea of beauty being within, crafted from the strength of people throughout experiences they have encountered and overcome. I thought it would be fitting to select these paintings with the recent devastation, the beauty seen in the strength of communities supporting each other,” Drew says.

Kim Cleverton is a regular and popular exhibiting artist at Creative Arts Napier. Kim has brought her new exhibition 20:20 Plus to our Workshop Gallery. Her stunning atmospheric paintings create moods and fascinate visitors. She is originally from Melbourne, having moved to Napier in 1977. Kim started painting in acrylics in 2019. Painting has become a passion and Kim has work in private collections in Canada, USA, Australia and all around New Zealand. “A continuation of my imagined landscapes and seascapes with the focus on the skies, some are easy to recognise as forms while with others I’ve gone very abstract in a soft way as I want the viewer to see what they see. It’s all open to interpretation. So, imagine what you want. Enjoy,” Kim says.

Napier artist Clayton Guthrie returns to Creative Arts Napier with his new exhibition Road Outta Here on our Mezzanine Gallery. Clayton’s new collection features new subjects and techniques he is exploring as his work takes us on a journey with a new direction. “This exhibition is about different themes to improve my work and get on the ‘Road Outta Here’. I am using mixed media such as pastels/acrylics/oils/charcoal/gesso and wax. I find the acrylics are quick to work with and bright in colour, I enjoy working with acrylics as it creates a different texture,” Clayton says.

CAN’s new After School Art Club with tutor Dallas Wilcox launching in Term 2 is set to be a varied and inspiring space. Her lesson and creative project plan for this term includes Monet-inspired pointillism, Andy Warhol gouache can paintings through to Georgia O’Keefe watercolours. The classes are mostly practical with short theory lessons and demonstrations to bring focus to the space each week. Ideal for young creatives aged 8–13, places are limited. Book at www.thecan.co.nz or contact Michelle bookings@thecan.co.nz with any questions.