Rebecca Smallridge
Peace (2020) mixed media on canvas 610x760mm
Rebecca is a multi disciplinary artist working from her home studio in Christchurch, Aotearoa. She is a mother and compulsive maker, inspired by New Zealand’s unique natural environment and driven by our stewardship towards nature.
Rebecca graduated from ARA with a Bachelor of Design in Visual Arts in 2009. In her final year of study, Rebecca achieved first prize in the Mortlock McCormack Law Art Awards and her work was selected to be part of the Will Cumming Memorial Collection at ARA campus. She is currently working towards a Masters in Media Arts (Visual). Rebecca has shown her work continuously throughout New Zealand since 2007. Her paintings, original woodblocks and ceramics are held in both private and public collections.
@rebecca_smallridge_Artist
Shared Lines: Pūtahitanga 2020
This abstract, watercolour painting I made for Pūtahitanga, is inspired by our braided rivers of Canterbury, Aotearoa.
As part of my current Masters project, I have chosen to experiment with paint application and abstraction. My intention is to convey the unseen mystical forces or spirit of a place, which you may sense when immersed in the natural world.
‘Vitality’ is part of a new series of paintings I have developed over the last year. My new work begins on the floor. I’ve employed a wet on wet watercolour technique where I drop ink and local pigments onto a flat surface and allow the media to expand and overlap into organic shapes. Shadows of leaf forms are layered and integrated with observational drawings of native botanical specimens.
Shared Lines: Wellington 2017 / Kaikōura 2019
Hope (2017) Watercolour on Paper
I have created this very personal artwork, especially for the Wellington Shared Lines Exhibition. Almost seven years on from the devastating earthquakes, my own health crisis and birth of my first child, the passing of time has allowed me to gain some welcome perspective.
Looking back, 2011 was a bit shit.
Never in my life had I been faced with so many new challenges all at once. I still feel emotional when I think back over it. However, the flip side was that the trauma and emotional pain I went through that year had a deeply transformative effect. It was like everything had been stripped back and I had the opportunity to start over again. I learnt how to build resistance and gratitude, acknowledging the good that comes out in people when it really matters.
Shared Lines: Christchurch / Sendai 2012 - 2013
Interdependency (2009) Relief print
New Zealand’s natural environment and its native flora and fauna is a continuous theme in my work. I am interested in the effects humans have on this unique environment, exploring both positive and negative, current and historical issues. I aim to produce thought-provoking works in a range of mediums including drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramics.