He's about to begin pursuing a degree in architecture at Auckland University, but 18-year-old Stefan Burrows has already well and truly added his name to the list of talented Far North artists.
The Kaitaia teenager, entirely self-taught (apart from classes at Kaitaia College, where he consistently excelled), he had learned from trial and error.
He favoured acrylics - "I am quite impatient, and oils take too long to dry" - but has no particular favourite artist. In fact his knowledge of famous artists was actually quite limited.
"I've always wanted to do my own thing and discover my own ways," he said.
Stefan gained a reputation at college for artistic talent, and was called upon to design posters and the annual year book for his fellow students, but the youngster who had "always" been drawing as a child and began painting at 10, received one of his first commissions when he was 11, and was invited to paint a mural of New Zealand at Pompallier Catholic School. Since then he has sold many of his paintings to family and friends, most of them commissioned pieces of Far North landscapes, painted from photographs.
He donated one of those landscapes, of Cape Maria van Diemen, to Switzer Residential Care's dementia unit fundraising ball last year.
"I thought it was a great cause, and it was a way I could give back to my community," he said, adding that he had been pleasantly surprised to see it go for $1000.
Stefan said his mum, Paula Hofstede-Berghan, liked to claim that some of the talent came from her but his grandmother, Emily (Baba) Hofstede, had been a great painter in her day. Both she and Paula were his staunchest critics.
"They point out when the sky is too blue or the ocean is not looking quite right," he said.
Wherever it comes from, Paula is very proud of her son's talent.
"It's unbelievable really. He is completely self-taught and has such a natural talent. When he was a kid I was always buying him paint sets," she said.
Meanwhile, Stefan is recently returned from a trip around the South Island, funded by sales of his art, which he found very inspirational.
"I hope to live there one day," he said, but his immediate plans were to begin studying at Auckland University this year, having chosen architecture over fine arts. "I see it as a challenge, to incorporate art into architecture. My sister (Felice) has a Master's in Architecture too, so that has inspired me."
He was looking forward to living in Auckland, where he intended to frequent the city's art galleries and museums, and while he could not imagine life without painting he suspected that working fulltime as an artist would become boring.
"I don't like being too comfortable, but painting calms me down and keeps me semi-sane," he said.
"Always make yourself proud, because you're the only one that has to live with what you do."