Appearing in print nationally was a confidence boost for Charmaine, especially considering she hadn't picked up a paintbrush in several months.
"When my work went on the Resene site, I didn't think much about it -- then I found out I was going to be in a magazine," she said.
"I had been feeling a bit unsure of myself -- I hadn't done any painting in about three months.
"When I found out, my husband said 'perhaps you should start up again'."
Charmaine took up art in her late adulthood -- following several career changes.
As a young woman, she and her first husband, David, moved to Balclutha, where they helped set up a Jehovah's Witness church.
The couple and their six children later moved to Te Awamutu and they began dairy farming, as well as running a gift shop.
Once her children were grown, Charmaine worked as a farming reporter for various publications, including The Dairy Exporter.
In the early 1990s, Charmaine, now widowed, relocated to Australia, where she and her brother ran an art gallery and shop in Maroochydore, on the Sunshine Coast.
Later, inspired by her late husband's journey with cancer, she trained as a nurse, working in aged and palliative care.
She moved to Wairarapa with her second husband, John, five years ago.
It was at the Maroochydore gallery that Charmaine first discovered painting -- deciding to "have a play" with the shop's art supplies.
There, she sold her first painting: easel, paints, brushes and all.
"I was working on a piece, when a customer came in -- and she said she wanted to buy everything for $300.
"She wanted to put it in her lounge, and make it look like it was her painting."
Charmaine continued to exhibit work on the Sunshine Coast, and has also exhibited through the Masterton Art Club.
She said she most enjoys abstract works -- "splashing" on the layers of colour, and watching unexpected shapes form.
"You never know what you're going to finish up with."
