Justine Hawksworth - Flight art exhibition at Matawhero Gallery Gisborne

Artist Justine Hawksworth at her exhibition at Gisborne's Matawhero Gallery called Flight - a reference to her appreciation of wine and love of native birds.

A new exhibition by Justine Hawksworth at Matawhero Gallery, aptly called Flight, is a reference to her appreciation of good wine and the native birds she loves to paint.

It was while enjoying a wine flight (glasses presented in a row for tasting) at the Matawhero cellar door that Justine first came up with the name of her new exhibition.

With her love of painting native birds and the connection with the winery, it seemed like the perfect name for her latest collection of artworks.

Justine is a fulltime artist who has become known for her realistic detailed paintings of iconic New Zealand flora and fauna, which she does on mixed media in acrylic and pencil. She often paints on maps or charts and also uses feathers.

The Matawhero Gallery exhibition includes paintings on the staves of wine barrels and on the barrel lids.

Of special significance are the paintings on two oars which were salvaged from her parent-in-law’s home after it was destroyed in the floods of 2023.

Iconic native flora and fauna like the tui here are often the source of inspiration for Justine's paintings.

“I have painted the ruru and the tūī as symbols of strength and wisdom - two characteristics shown by my husband’s elderly parents when they lost their home,” Justine says.

“I love native birds and I’m always watching for them. I’m thrilled we have so many tūī in the city now and at the bach there are kererū and bellbirds everywhere. I’m often inspired by bach life and love listening to the morepork at night.”

Justine’s school years were spent in Tauranga, where her passion for visual arts was nurtured by a very artistic mother, as well as an encouraging art teacher at Tauranga Girls’ College.

She completed a fine arts degree at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland and, after some years teaching secondary school students, has been painting full-time since 2001 at her Auckland studio.

She and her husband now split their time between their home in Mt Eden and Wainui Beach, with plans to be based in Gisborne fulltime in future.

Justine has a dedicated art room at her home in Auckland but is happy working on the kitchen table at her Gisborne place, and is never short of inspiration in either location.

Represented by Black Door Gallery in Parnell and Next Door Gallery in Birkenhead gallery, this is Justine’s first exhibition in Gisborne.