Fine Arts Whanganui celebrates sixth birthday with award ceremony

Freya Wrigglesworth in front of her 'The One and Only' piece. Photo / Bevan Conley

Freya Wrigglesworth has spent the past three years completing one artwork a day, so submitting a portfolio for this year's Fine Arts Whanganui Young Artist competition was no problem at all.

Her work won the $1000 first prize and she now has the chance to hold a full exhibition at the Fine Arts Gallery next June.

The awards, held last Friday, coincided with Fine Arts' sixth birthday.

Award portfolios had to contain at least five completed pieces, although Wrigglesworth said "a few more than that" were in hers.

Her work ranges from portraits to landscapes and she said she had a particular affinity for birds.

"Daily drawing keeps my creativity flowing," Wrigglesworth said.

"It's also a great way to keep improving. I started out with felts and ink, and now here we are with watercolour, acrylics and crayons.

"I got right back into drawing in 2018, and since then I've actually got a whole drawer of books that are just piling up.

"I think I might need another drawer."

Her love of art began when she was a small child, Wrigglesworth said.

"I loved putting stuff on paper, and I had a pretty creative brain.

"Then school came along and my focus turned more to writing, which I also really love."

She starts every day by giving herself a theme or a "hint" to start an artwork from.

"It could even be just a letter. It's like "I'm sure there are lots of things that begin with M'."

As well as the portfolio, Wrigglesworth had to submit a work that was ready to hang on the wall at Fine Arts Whanganui.

She presented an acrylic version of a previous watercolour piece called The One and Only.

"It's iridescent as well, so it shines. That gives it a bit more of a pop," Wrigglesworth said.

"I painted it in one evening then looked at it and thought 'right, this can be moved to one side'. It's important for me to get the idea out fast, otherwise, I start to lose interest."

Wrigglesworth, 16, said she was enrolled in three art programmes at Whanganui High School.

"I'm loving it, although it can get a bit stressful.

"There are a few bits and pieces I need to do."

Jim Norris (left) and Kris Lott hang the work of fellow Fine Arts collective member Frances Sim Higgins. Photo / Bevan Conley

Jim Norris, who is part of the eight-strong Fine Arts collective, said it was Wrigglesworth's third entry into the annual awards.

"To be able to encourage a young artist who's so keen and enthusiastic is really rewarding.

"When the gallery first started, part of its mission statement was to encourage young artists in the Whanganui region.

"This is a continuation of that intention. It's been very successful, and we've found some wonderful artists along the way."

As the Young Artist competition wrapped up, another Fine Arts collective member was hanging her work for a brand new exhibition.

Frances Sim Higgins' body of work, What I Was Doing When I Should Have Been Weeding, features watercolour paintings of flowers and acrylic paintings of scenes from her garden.

"Garden painting has a long, long tradition, and some great artists have been a part of that," Higgins said.

"It's not just a funny little thing that old ladies do, if you know what I mean."

Higgins, who runs the Hen and Hound studio in Westmere, said "years and years of practice" had gone into her new exhibition.

"You always start off with a perfect painting in your head, but then there's the execution of it.

"Of course, it's never as perfect as you envisage. There's that human element in there."

Fine Arts Whanganui can be found at 17 Taupo Quay.