Please get in touch with the link below for all enquiries: OR
Visit Sonia’s garden art studio - by appointment only
Art Bureau Gallery - Mount Eden, Auckland, NZ
I am a New Zealand artist, specialising in oil-on-canvas seascapes and landscapes My work is sold through galleries, art shows around New Zealand, private commissions and from my own home art studio. This land which gives me a sense of home and belonging, and which has shaped our identity is a constant source of inspiration. My work comes from a sense of pre-history; untouched seascapes conveying isolation, capturing a sense of the familiar but not necessarily a specific place; and uninhabited landscapes, some with faint impressions of former human presence. Although still in the representational genre, by manipulating colour and perspective, I like to play with the emotions of the scene, essentially I wants my paintings to have their own voice.
Trees have always been a constant theme of my work, and my original series - Over the Edge, is influenced by the many coastal walks around New Zealand, especially of Northland beaches. I paint them from a birds-eye perspective, revealing a scene you cant always see, the experience of being suspended in space or hanging over the edge of a cliff. These altered elements give a sense of the abstract to otherwise recognisable imagery.
Another body of work was initially inspired by a poem by Herman Hesse “What trees can teach us about belonging and life”. My It’s the Journey series, reveals iconic trees, shaped by the elements, and anchored against stormy skies, struggling with the elements, which I use as a metaphor for the human condition. In contrast, my Still Waters series captures places of quiet contemplation, reflective waters, evening light, and misty, moody water. More recently, travels through Fiordland have enriched my creative journey and are inspiring a further series of work.
I live in Warkworth and have an Advanced level 7 Diploma of Art and Design (2013), majoring in painting.
Art Education
2013 Diploma (Level 7) of Art and Design, majoring in painting
2002 - 06 Diploma (level 6) of Art and Design, majoring in painting
Exhibitions, Shows and Awards
2025 Mahurangi Artist Network, Exhibition and Studio Trail — ArtinAugust Exhibition, Warkworth Hotel
2024 Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery, Art Salon 2024 - ArtinAugust Exhibition, Warkworth Hotel - Harbour Hospice Exhibition, Estuary Art Centre, Orewa - Mahurangi Artist Network, Exhibition and Studio Trail
2023 ArtinAugust Exhibition, Warkworth Hotel
2021 MAGS Artshow, Mount Albert Grammar School Art Show 2021
2019 MAGS Artshow, Mount Albert Grammar School Art Show 2019
2018 MAGS Artshow, Mount Albert Grammar School Art Show 2018 - NZ Flower & Garden Show, The Trusts Arena, Auckland
2017 Kohia Terrace School Art Exhibition, Mount Eden, Auckland
2016 Womens Centre Rodney Art Exhibition, The Woolshed, Matakana Country Park
- NZ Art Show, Wellington
2015 artMatakana Gallery, "Coast to Coast" Joint Exhibition
- artMatakana Gallery, “It’s the Journey” Joint Exhibition
2014 Estuary Arts Centre, “Coterie group, exhibition”
2013 Great Summer Art Exhibition, Snells Beach
- ArtMatakana Gallery, Group Exhibition,“The Creekers” Graduation Exhibition
- Top Graduating Student Award (Level 7 Diploma of Art and Design 2013)
- Warkworth Rotary Art Auction
2006 Top Graduating Student Award (Level 6, Diploma of Art and Design 2006)
- NorthArt Gallery, Group Exhibition,‘In a world of their own
2004 Finalist, Pumphouse NorthShore Art Awards, “Sources of Inspiration” exhibition
2002 - 06 Hungry Creek Art School, Group Student Exhibitions