Artist's resume ranges from Bilbo to ballet

Rachel Walker has had a varied career including working at Stone Street Studios on the set of The Hobbit. Photo / Duncan Brown

Napier-born artist Rachel Walker has taken tea in Bilbo Baggins' kitchen and designed illustrations for the Royal New Zealand Ballet - all in a day's work.

Those are just a couple of highlights of a varied career which saw her return to Hawke's Bay for the summer, after a move home from Europe.

"I grew up on Napier Hill but I haven't lived here for more than a few months since I finished High School," she said. "I've been living and painting in rural France and London since last year.

"I'm plotting my next step - Hawke's Bay has a nice appeal for summer, especially, but I am finding it very quiet."

Attracted to drawing as a child, Ms Walker studied in Wellington, coming away with a design degree which led to graphic and textile design.

But it wasn't long before she moved into hand-drawn illustration.

"I'm much better with pen and ink than with computer - since then I've been painting more and more and bigger works, mostly in watercolour and inks."

Known for her stunning images of animals and flowers she also has a couple of landscapes to her name, including one of Wellington from up atop the hills and a recent commissioned painting of Te Mata Peak.

Ms Walker has spent the majority of her career as a self-employed artist, exhibiting in Wellington, Coromandel, Hamilton and now Quay Gallery in Ahuriri, as well as doing illustrations for school journals and other small design jobs.

Once employed at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, she worked on indoor sets for The Hobbit, built in huge sheds.

"I was painting and texturising the props, the flags, the buildings, the fake barrels of fish, all sorts. You know they actually built a fake lake indoors for 'Lake Town' - it was beautiful. So much attention to detail on everything, I had a coffee in Bilbo's kitchen, too."

Other projects included paintings for the Royal New Zealand Ballet's Sleeping Beauty, one of which was blown up and plastered on the side of a bus.

"The most exciting part of my job though, is when a painting just clicks and I nail it, and stand back to look at it with a reward whiskey."

For her latest project she is working as "chief faux-marble-painter" on the set of Elixir of Love, an opera to be staged in Hawke's Bay by Festival Opera during Tremains Art Deco weekend.

The unique opportunity came along thanks to Ms Walkers cousin, who was helping build the set.

"When it came to deciding how to paint the columns, he thought of me and introduced me to Jose and Anna when I arrived back in New Zealand last month - I did a little test piece of fake marble and sent that along as my 'interview'."

It was interesting to see how the set pieces came together and she hoped it might be the start of more set painting in this country: "It's nice to meet different creative and musical people it's also quite good for the arm muscles compared to watercolours at the desk."