Artist Chrissy Morrell showcases diverse works in upcoming exhibition

Gisborne artist Chrissy Morrell will have an exhibition at her Wainui home from this Saturday.

At the bottom of a garden in a brightly painted orange studio in Wainui, a collection of Chrissy Morrell’s artwork is ready to be displayed in her exhibition Four Seasons.

The prolific output, featuring a variety of landscapes and colourful abstracts in oil and gauche, is the result of dedicated painting time since she retired in 2022.

It also shows her versatility in terms of style and the handiwork of husband John in the meticulous framing.

“I get bored so like to keep evolving in terms of my style,” Morrell says. “I can be very focused, too, and work really hard, but then I mightn’t pick up a paint brush for a year.”

Morrell, who worked in administration at Gisborne Hospital for around 20 years, has always painted.

She has exhibited in Gisborne and Auckland and was part of the popular She Shed Tour (being held this year on November 10) for its first two years.

Her husband has erected large mesh frames in their Wainui garden on which to hang the works which will be open for the public to view on weekends from 12-4pm.

She is also thinking about selling her work through Instagram.

The exhibition features bold, colourful works - from a lemon-themed pastel and oil canvas inspired by the table at her daughter’s Italian wedding through to realistic landscapes.

Morrell seems equally at ease painting botanicals as she does abstracts, and there’s even a humorous collage in the exhibition.

Gisborne artist Chrissy Morrell with some of the works in her exhibition Four Seasons.

Four Seasons by Chrissy Morrell, from Saturday, October 26, 12-4pm, at 35 Murphy Rd, Wainui.