Artwork by Andrew Collins
For over 30 years I have been transforming the homes of customers with paint. I am a painter and decorator and my knowledge of art and design gives me extra skill when helping them to choose colours that bring architectural features to life. As a young man, studying at high school, I was only interested in the arts and literature, particularly the history of art, but I was discouraged about a future career as an artist.
New Zealand is a small country that, being so far from Europe, had been out of touch with the great art history and vision of Europe and without this appreciation and with a limited market, real jobs for artists were scarce. In the 80’s travel for a young person was not as easy as it is today and without the means to study abroad, I settled for a vocation that would at least allow me to use paint!
Later, although by then I had a family, I decided this wasn’t enough. I returned to study at the age of 30 in 2000, completing a bachelor degree in Visual Art & Design. During this time, I gained further a real passion for the work of the Old Masters. …
