Antonio Lombardi
“Antonio Lombardi” is the nom-de-plume of Peter Knowles who is well known for his pop art paintings and replicas ( see listing above). Peter Knowles explains “Some time ago I thought I’d like to try out something different from my usual Pop Art reproductions - something more classic, with a bit more gravitas than my usual Warhol or Lichtenstein rock’n’roll replicas. I felt that Chagall or Klimt reproductions and similar works needed a different persona to replicate them.” He chose his nom-de-plume to add a Continental flavour. “My fantasy is of Antonio Lombardi as a penniless but eccentric Italian artist living in his tiny studio in the small village of Carmignano, just outside Florence, barely able to afford much more on a daily basis than a meal of pasta, an espresso, the cheapest of Chianti and of course the obligatory Natzionali Italian cigarettes.
“Offering an original painting rather than just a screen-print gives the final result depth and texture and something as close as you’ll ever get to being able to own and enjoy the real thing.”
Featured Artist
Donna Massey
Donna is an established full-time, award-winning who lives and works in Riverhead. Her artworks are easily recognized for their vibrant crisp images and bold colours. Artist quality oil paint is her medium of choice because of the transparent/opaque qualities it offers. She uses only NZ made hand stretched canvases.
Donna’s paintings are made up of many layers which is why she may have as many as 14 artworks under way at any one time. Working on one canvas while others are drying maximizes her productivity without compromising her creativity.
Donna’s keenness for outdoors, and the ocean in particular, is why her adventures are a popular choice of subject matter.
She has caught a marlin, dived the Poor Knights Islands, been hunting on the Chatham Islands, done several parachute jumps and gone on white water rafting trips. Road trips are another popular pastime. "New Zealand has so many beautiful places to paint, but I also love discovering old shacks, fishing boats and the like. There is history and there are stories surrounding these things that bring them to life."
Donna has paintings in private and corporate collections throughout New Zealand and overseas including Hong Kong, Canada, USA, the Netherlands, Australia and Guernsey.
She has won many awards and has had work reproduced in calendars in 2011, 2012, 2013 and for 2014 (including cover pic).
She is represented by the Parnell Gallery, the Matakana Gallery & Design, the Aotea Gallery on Great Barrier Island, the Artel Gallery, Paraparaumu and the Majuba Gallery at Hamner springs.