Born in the UK, Anna migrated to Aotearoa a few weeks after her 11th birthday.
Educated at Elam school of Fine Arts Anna has been a full time Artist since 2007 working as a muralist, children’s book illustrator and painter in her own right
Anna’s work is most known for her interpretation of New Zealand scenery, flora and fauna captured in the surreal (bordering on psychedelic) hyper-vivid application of colour
Anna grew up on the Whangaparaoa peninsula, hibiscus coast and now resides in Mangōnui, with her family
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I’m a big fan of the gorgeous little Tauhou (silver eye, waxeye)
I love how they travel in loud chirping flocks bouncing all over the place on the hunt for tiny bugs, sips of pollen and apparently their idea of a good time!
They always cheer me up. Tauhou is their Māori name and it translates to their naturalised status of being a “stranger” or “new arrival” which as a child migrant to Aotearoa I relate to. I adore that beautiful green-yellow that glows chartreuse, set against their rusty dusted bellies. They’re an absolute gem to paint.
So when the opportunity to create a pattern for Kaleo came up it seemed a perfect choice of bird to re-mix for textiles. I based this design from artworks made of a series of photographs from my feijoa tree visitors, Ive previously played with their positioning in a few compositions trying to find ways that capture best the joy I feel when surrounded by a mass of Tauhou. Turns out, the very nature of repeating pattern is absolutely the perfect vehicle to portray them in their happy cheeping flocks.
