Donkervoort started the group about 10 years ago after moving from Tauranga.
“There was a huge art group up there, but I couldn’t find anywhere here where you could paint all day.
“So I got a room and four people, and away we went. We paint from 9.15am to 3.15pm every Thursday.
“We’ve got one person who comes from Turakina and another from Mangamahu. They aren’t just going to come for a couple of hours, are they?”
Members were all friends and there was more to the group than painting, she said.
“There are workshops, and we go out socially for coffees and art trips, just not on Thursdays. They are sacred.”
People with no art experience were welcome in the group - “just come along and have a go”.
“There’s a little scribble here and a little scribble there, they get their confidence up, and away they go.
“That’s the beauty of it. Everybody walks around and looks at what everyone else is doing. You get inspired.”
Donkervoort is self-taught and has been painting for a long time, with a focus on realism.
“But we all have a go at everything, and the doors are always open.”
The group’s 2026 calendar will be available for sale during the exhibition, and there will be a raffle.
River City Artists meet in the lower hall at Christ Church on Wicksteed St every Thursday.
The group will also exhibit at 7 Peakes Rd during Artists Open Studios in March.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
