3 January 2024
Every year Wellington mixed media artist Kylie Law donates a piece of her work to charity. This year Harbour Hospice will benefit from the well-known artist’s generosity, with a floral piece entitled Lemon Foliage in this month’s Martakana Fine Art Exhibition. We speak to Kylie about her hospice connection.
In the weeks and months before Kylie’s husband’s Aunt Sylvia died she taught Kylie how to quilt using a sewing machine. Sylvia was under the care of the Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington at the time and Kylie recalls, “She was an absolute master and very keen to pass on her knowledge - and I was very happy to learn this skill.”
Through this special time together Kylie not only developed a love for floral fabrics which led to the incorporation of fabric into her mixed media artwork, she also saw the true value of hospice work in the community.
Sylvia is one of a number of Kylie’s close family and friends who have been cared for by the Mary Potter Hospice. “I understand the amazing work done by hospice and I actually have paintings hanging on the walls at the Mary Potter Hospice,” Kylie says. “I think it’s important to give back to the community if you can.”
At 51 Kylie was a late starter to painting, only taking it up fulltime three years ago. She started her career as a marketing and communications manager and says even though she loved the work, which was fast-paced and invigorating, it became difficult to continue once she and her husband started a family. Kylie began looking for alternatives.
“To be honest I didn’t consider painting at first,” Kylie reveals. “My intention was to stop working and spend six months at home while I thought about what to do next.”
But during that six months her husband was offered a fantastic job opportunity that would require Kylie to be more home-based with the children. “This suited me down to the ground!” Kylie says. “I had started painting for fun and selling a few pieces to friends here and there. Over time this developed, then all it took was a shift in mindset to go from being an at-home mum, dabbling in throwing paint around to ‘Artist’.”
Kylie says painting has become one of her greatest loves. Her home studio is her happy place. “And when I get the wobbles I spend more time in the studio. I get lost in the paint.”
She gravitates towards colour and florals, saying, “I love the organic shapes found in florals and nature. They show movement and expression.”
She also loves the beauty of nature, saying, “I am attracted to beautiful things, and I love painting florals through my eye – with an abstract lens. Colour is a major aspect of my work. I find colour very energising.”
The Martakana Fine Art Exhibition 2024 will be held at Matakana Primary School, Matakana from 18-21 January. Entry by donation.
Funds raised will go towards the care of hospice patients and their families and whānau in the Warkworth/Wellsford community.
