Shirley Cresswell
Full-time Hamilton artist Shirley Cresswell came to painting after an extensive career as a registered nurse. It was her passion for art that saw her accompany a friend to a night school class in acrylics six years ago. Shirley went on to develop her own style and technique, painting photo-realism, that has won her awards and success at various exhibitions.
Shirley specialises in New Zealand coastal scenes and lake reflections, working to capture all the variations of natural light and shade. Her satisfaction comes from recreating a scene that people might otherwise not have noticed. For the last three years Shirley has been selected to have a single artist wall (SAW) at the NZ Art Show in Wellington.
Her work is currently exhibited at Art Matakana, the Tairua Little Gallery of Fine Art, Gallery Artisan in Hamilton, the Monterey Gallery in Auckland and the NZ Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington.
Group exhibitions include the National Plunket Exhibition in Timaru and the National Art Exhibition and Sale in Napier.
Her awards include runner-up at the 2009 Great Waikato Art Show and merit awards at the 2008 and 2009 Great Summer Art Exhibitions at Snells Beach. In 2012 she won first place in the exhibition’s professional category.
Featured Artist
Luke Hollis
Born in Auckland, Luke is a former Northcote College student and self-taught artist who has been painting professionally since 2004. In this short time he has received notable acclaim from art critics and the art community. Viewed as one of New Zealand’s young emerging artists, he was awarded the runner up price in the Molly Morpeth Canaday art awards. The following year he won both the first prize and the people’s choice award at the same art awards. This year he came second again. Luke also has five solo shows to his credit since 2006.
Luke currently exhibits with the Artists’ Room in Dunedin, the Exhibitions Gallery in Wellington and the Harissons Gallery and Gallery 59 both in Tauranga.