Artists explore beauty of the botanical world

12 Oct, 2022

Botanica, or botany, is the inspiration for the new exhibition at the Mangawhai Artists Gallery. Two artists, Michelle Kenner and Angelique Noll, exhibiting together for the first time, explore the beauty and precision of the botanical world.

“Flowers bring joy and happiness and are vital to the bees which mean they are vital to us all,” says Michelle.

Sharing her time between New Zealand and Australia, Michelle Kenner enjoys being inspired by the wild flora in New Zealand, especially the wild flowers on the side of the country roads, and particularly, Queen Anne’s Lace.

In Western Australia it is the banksia which fascinates her: “The banksia is quite impressive, always with partially burnt branches in the background as the proof of rejuvenation.”

Michelle’s interest in the art world began during her school years studying art and art history before focussing on clothes design at the Auckland Technical Institute. After travelling around the world and settling in Perth, Western Australia, she learned to paint oils on canvas in the traditional method. Now she paints in acrylic on canvas.

“I love painting in acrylic because I paint fast and as it dries so quickly, it allows many layers to build depth and different textures. I suppose my style is Impressionistic most of the time, though I like to try other styles occasionally.”

Michelle has exhibited in both solo and shared exhibitions in Australia. For the past 20 years she has been painting at the Fremantle Arts Centre. She has entered a portrait into the Archibald in Sydney and was a prize winner at the Kaipara Art Awards in 2019. Many of her artworks hang in children’s hospitals where she has donated paintings to “brighten dark times.”

Angelique Noll, also known as Angie, is an artist and writer. Angelique’s fine art journey started just five years ago.

“Initially I took some fun art classes, in many different media, because I had never done fine art before and had no experience, but I knew I wanted to learn. Gradually, I moved on from the fun, explorative classes to more serious ones designed for those who want to take their fine art skills further. It took me many years of playing around in different art styles to finally home in on what I wanted to create.”

Angie has developed a particular skill for creating realistic portraits of animals that have special places in people’s lives.

“I understand that it’s the living beings we share our lives with that hold the most meaning for us. This shared connection is the reason why I paint portraits,” says Angie.

But more recently it is the living beings of the botanical world that have captured Angie’s attention. In the Botanica exhibition she has applied her creative talent to celebrating their beauty and wonder, capturing the intricacy and the magic of plants from the garden.

n ‘Botanica’ is open from 10am to 3pm each day until midday on Wednesday October 26 at Mangawhai Artists Gallery, 45 Moir St.

Michelle Kenner is inspired by New Zealand’s wild flora. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Angelique Noll captures the colour and texture of magnolia. PHOTO/SUPPLIED