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Among the works in Estuary Art Centre’s annual Member’s Merit Awards exhibition, which starts this week, are pieces by Ōrewa artist Caitlin Johnston, inspired by the sea.
Caitlin grew up on the Coast, with a love of painting and surfing.
She was in Panama on a surfing trip when she first began fixing up broken surfboards and using them as a canvases for her art. When those works sold, she decided to continue making them, as well as works on wood, on her return to New Zealand.
Her work has proved so popular at local galleries, and a recent exhibition at the Viaduct Events Centre, that she has become a fulltime artist.
From a modest garage in a flat in Ōrewa, Caitlin couriers her pieces to buyers all over the world. A number of local commissions have also come her way.
Every day she spends walking by the sea or surfing when conditions are right.
“The ocean, and how we are drawn to it and connect with it as Kiwis is my inspiration,” she says.
Estuary Arts Centre’s annual Members Merit Awards will feature around 300 artworks by over 180 members. The judge is locally artist Ingrid Boot and there will be 11 merit awards on offer. The exhibition opens on Wednesday, July 31 and the awards will be presented at a function on August 2.
