Mark Whippy is a Kiwi-Fijian artist born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. Mark’s figurative and portrait art is inspired by observing the ordinary everyday people and scenes of his environment, hoping to capture their stories and characters, finding the beauty of every day life. 

Mark's style is a playful blend of realism and abstraction. His focus currently has been on the urban environment of Auckland City life.​ As well as being a practising artist, Mark has a passion for teaching art and helping others gain confidence and grow their skills. 

In this episode we talk about life drawing, teaching art, participating in art battles, Mark's experience studying fine art at Whitecliffe in Auckland, his experiences drawing people's portraits in public, Mark's painting process, entering art awards, neurodiversity and the ideas behind Mark's paintings. Mark talks about his introverted younger self and the ways he has gained confidence in himself and his practice over the years through his time at Whitecliffe Art School, participating in online art classes and stepping out of his comfort zone.

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Ben Kaye DBKAYE is an Auckland tattoo artist and the co-founder with his wife Madeline of the Roots Auckland Tattoo Convention.

Auckland is set to host its first-ever international tattoo convention in 2026 with the launch of the Roots Auckland Tattoo Convention, a weekend celebration of artistry, culture, and community taking place Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th March at The Cloud, 89 Quay Street, Auckland.

In a country like New Zealand, few art forms hold as much personal and cultural significance as tattooing. An expression of cultural, artistic and personal narrative, tattoos have transcended their origins to become a global phenomenon, celebrated and revered across diverse communities. The Roots Auckland Tattoo Convention is an exceptional tattoo convention designed to unite New Zealand and international artists, enthusiasts, and industry leaders in a shared celebration of ink and artistry.

In this episode I speak to Ben about his own creative journey and tattoo practice as well as the Roots Auckland Tattoo Convention, which is on at The Cloud for the very first time on the weekend of March 14th and 15th 2026, with plans to continue each year.

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Carol Bucknell is a Waiheke artist who has come from a successful career in journalism and garden design. She has been painting commissioned portraits and figurative works in oils for 20 years, and now produces more abstracted figurative works using oils and cold wax.

In January 2024 Carol and artist Sally Tagg held a joint exhibition at Waiheke Community Art Gallery. Later that year she was a finalist in the Walker and Hall Art Awards. In January 2026 she won the runner up prize at the Craigs Aspiring Art Awards in Wanaka.

 Carol has completed several specialist courses focusing on painting the figure in order to broaden a mostly self-taught practice. Working out of her Oneroa studio in Waiheke her paintings explore the relationship between contemporary digital processes and oil paint application on panels using cold wax medium.  Through the use of bold colour, texture, stencils and other media the resulting paintings take the figure beyond its traditional boundaries while retaining the artist’s obvious affection for the human form.   

In this chat we talk about Carol's journey from painting portraits to abstracted figurative works, the cold wax process, abstracting the figure, how she captures movement, her fascination with gesture, human poses and body language, inspiration for her paintings, why she likes to paint women, using the Procreate app in her process, the possibility of using text in her paintings and the influence of a career in journalism and landscape design in her work. And so much more. This is such a great episode I know you'll love as much as I loved meeting and talking to Carol.

Thank you nga mihi to Carol Bucknell for joining us on the podcast and for sharing your story with us.

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Lyndy Wilson is a contemporary New Zealand painter of Tainui descent. She grew up and still lives in the small town of Ngāruawāhia surrounded by the Waikato and Waipā rivers and the majestic Hakarimata ranges, a constant source of inspiration.

Her style can be described as diverse, eclectic and ever evolving which allows her the freedom to explore different subjects such as floral and botanical, abstract, landscape and more recently figurative.

Growing up in Ngaruawahia Lyndy was immersed in Maori culture. Annual regattas At Turangawaewae Marae were always a huge event for the town and a way to celebrate and show pride in their rich heritage.  Lyndy has early memories gathering flax with her Grandmother and sitting watching her great Aunties weave. Hangis at Christmas with the extended family were well loved  ..these early memories inform some of her figurative work. 

In this episode Lyndy talks about studying at The Learning Connexion art school in Wellington, how she manages painting three different genres in her art practice and what inspires each genre, the ways she processes her own emotions through her paintings, her fascination for "the dark side", what she does with her 'failed' paintings and the great story behind her finalist work for the National Contemporary Art Award "Tell Me You Like It Anyway". She opens up about self doubt and learning to handle that, building community, her experimenting Fridays and her tongue in cheek plan for starting up a "husbands of artists support group". 

Thank you to Lyndy for joining me on CC. And thank you as always to my faithful listeners and supporters .

Now on to my chat with Lyndy - enjoy.

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Helen Kerridge is a contemporary painter from the Hawkes Bay. 

Many of Helen’s paintings are set in sparse environments, with a minimal grouping of subjects exude a sense of stillness, contemplation, and a celebration of the beauty to be found in objects and the stories to be told.

Helen has been painting all her life, from as far back as she can remember. She started her photo realistic painting career in New Zealand and the US, touching up professional photographs before the days of Photoshop.

In this lovely episode which I know you'll love, we talk about how her 18 year teaching career in painting started, from community classes to her private painting classes which became hugely popular in the Hawkes Bay area, and how and why she came to full time painting only 3 years ago. She shares how teaching influenced her own painting practice, pushed her out of her comfort zone and kept her learning across genres. 

Helen shares her love of and connection with objects she includes in her paintings like the Crown Lynn Swan and how she likes to learn about the background and stories of these objects. She shares her love of the Old Masters of the 17th century and how they have influenced her work, and how she has created a 'point of difference' in her work with her use of simple compositions and mostly subdued tones, with the occasional addition of pattern. 

I just love the little anecdotal stories Helen tells in this episode. 

Helen talks us through her painting process, how she paints glass and the paints she uses, her colour and paint management, the thin layers of paint she applies, how she decides what to paint, her studio set up (which is not as organised as you'd imagine!), her poratit training she experienced in 2019 and why she prefers to use acrylic paint.

Helen talks enthusiastically about the loaded symbolism in her "The Devil Is In the Details" painting, which was made for a Hospice fundraiser and sold for $40,000, as well as the symbols and narratives in other works.

Nga mihi thank you to Helen Kerridge for sharing your incredible practice and career on Creative Connections. Your work is such a joy to view and it's been wonderful to learn more about your ideas, process and the connections you make. And a big thank you to you for tuning in. 

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Vicki Fox founded Quirky Fox art gallery in 2012. It is located in Hawera, a small town of 10,000 people south of New Plymouth.

Showcasing both established and emerging talents, Quirky Fox invites both New Zealand and international artists to be part of its carefully curated range; all international artists are exclusive to the gallery within New Zealand, while New Zealand artists are exclusive to the gallery within Taranaki. 

Quirky Fox aims to provide a home for artists working in new contemporary and representational styles and introduce their works to both a New Zealand and international audience. 

This episode is a great insight into how a person can get over challenges and use their strengths to create and work on something they are passionate about. Vicki Fox has lived her whole life with a speech impediment. As a child and young person she was teased and never felt she fitted in, even feeling like a "misfit" at times throughout her life. As she has got older she has come to the realisation that the things she was teased about are actually the really interesting, fun parts of her personality. 

 In this chat Vicki shares how she finds her artists and builds her network, what she looks for in an artist and her expectations and management of artists both in New Zealand and internationally. 

We discuss her advice to artists approaching her gallery, how she feels about artists experimenting and changing their style, why she is against AI, pricing work (her least favourite part of the business), the development of her newly renovated gallery space and her exhibition schedule. 

Thank you to Vicki for agreeing to have this chat with me, something I know she had reservations about. I think her story will inspire you.

At the moment Creative Connections does not receive formal funding. Some generous listeners have chosen to support us with a monthly donation of $3, $5, $8 or $10. If you would like to contribute in this way you can click this link to set up your donation. Easy as and you can cancel any time! Thank you so much, every cent is truly appreciated and ensures the continuation and development of the podcast.

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Scott Lawrie is a well known, much loved gallerist and writer who was based in NZ and is now living in Scotland. 

I absolutely loved catching up with Scott again a few months ago while I was living in Turkey. I last spoke to Scott on the podcast more than 3 years ago in episode 62.

Scott Lawrie Gallery began life in 2017 in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland and continues to thrive now in Edinburgh Scotland. As the gallery’s reputation grew the focus pivoted away from art as a business ontology, towards a more authentic, occasionally experimental, vessel for interesting ideas. 

The gallery has hosted over 200 exhibitions, showcasing work by over 140 artists from around the world.

Scott moved from Aotearoa NZ back to his home town of Edinburgh in Scotland in 2022.

In this episode we discuss everything from: giving up alcohol 4 years ago, taking a weight loss drug and how that has affected him, his view of the art world in Aotearoa and in Scotland; to capitalism and how it flattens culture, art for the working class, cultural vandalism, theories of collapse, the purpose of art fairs, funding in the arts and his love of critique.

If you haven't listened already to our first chat on the podcast, I recommend you listen to episode 62 before you settle in to this one. 

Nga mihi nui, thank you very much to the lovely Scott Lawrie for his encouragement and support of this podcast and for joining me again to update us on his life and views. 

And thank you for tuning in again in our first episode of 2026. I look forward to sharing more inspiring stories this year and connecting with my listeners and artists. Thanks so much for your support as well. 

I'm currently in the process of locking in artists for 2026 so please do get in touch if you know of an artist living in NZ who would make a great guest or if you are interested yourself. One of my goals for the podcast this year is to grow my audience and the variety of visual artists I speak to, so I'd be very grateful if you could share the podcast or episodes you've enjoyed with your friends or on your socials. 

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In this episode I speak with Mike and Linda Geers, the owners of Art By The Sea, an art gallery in Hurstmere Road Takapuna, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

This is a fabulous chat with 2 people who are very passionate about the visual arts in Aotearoa. Linda and Mike see themselves as conduits between artist and audience, as kaitiaki guardians of artists' work, making connections through art.

We talk about how they came to purchase Art By The Sea in 2001 when it was in Devonport, the early challenges they experienced and their move to new premises in Takapuna in 2021. Mike and Linda share how they choose an artist to represent, what they recommend to artists, how they like artists to approach them, what they look for in an artist's work, how and why they turn down some artists, what they expect from their artists and how they respond to their artists experimenting with new ideas. 

We discuss their yearly exhibition programme, supporting charities through group shows and the challenges of owning and running an art gallery, 

Linda and Mike generously share the rewards, honours and life changing moments they have experienced as gallerists who are deeply connected to their stable of artists, their collectors and their audience. There is so much great advice for artists in this chat which I'm sure you'll find valuable.

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Katie Leigh Stewart is a mixed media artist living in Wellington, Aotearoa NZ. 

Katie's paintings explore floral landscapes, portraiture, everyday life and nature. Her bright and bold palette as well as signature brush strokes gives viewers a moment to pause and find joy. 

In this episode Katie talks about her early nursing career and how she finally came to focus on her artist career as a new Mum. We explore her paintings which are mostly inspired by her life, everyday experiences and her love of gardening and nature. Katie talks us through the ways she captures the feeling of the moment she is responding to and the essence of her subject, her painting process and the ways she manages the different media she uses in her work including combining acrylic and oil paints. We talk about why she often likes to underpaint using a fluoro paint and her use of colour, her layering technique, the ways she introduces details, how she paints flesh, light and shadow and the tools and mediums she uses.

Katie shares her approach to sharing her work on social media, diversifying within her practice, experimentation, mark making, commissions and how she manages her days as a homeschooling mumma of 3 young girls.

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Natalie is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist born in Yorkshire, England, with a current focus on figurative oil paintings. Nat moved to New Zealand in 2016 in her early twenties.and is currently based in Auckland.

In this episode Natalie shares how creating likeness in a portrait has become a challenge too tempting not to take on as she's got older, becoming thirsty for something that felt more difficult and less forgiving. As a Mum of 2 boys, her sons have become treasured subjects that she never feels bored of capturing in her work.

Natalie explains what she gains from entering her paintings into NZ art awards and the success she has had, becoming a finalist and runner up in a number of awards such as the Parkin and Adam Portraiture prizes. 

We talk all about synesthesia (a word I stumbled on every time I said it in our chat!), what it is, how it presents for Natalie and the ways it influences her painting approach. Nat shares her techniques for capturing likeness in a face, painting flesh, the paints she likes to use and how she likes to apply them. And so much more. You're going to love this chat.

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