A well established group for artists within the community.
An artist group in whanganui, new zealand
all are welcome
Join us on Thursdays at 243 Wicksteed Street
Come and paint with other River City Artists in one of the best facilities in town.
Learners, novices, hobbyists or professionals – All are welcome.
Membership – $30 per year.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us
About River City Artists
River City Artists is a non-affiliated group of artists who meet each Thursday to paint, enjoy each other’s company and learn from each other.
The group was started in 2016 by Val Donkervoort and now has over 20 like-minded members. As well as painting on a Thursday, we organise two or three workshops during the year, working on different styles and media. We also have some social outings –such as a restaurant meal or a trip to Palmerston North to visit art supply shops.
The aim of the group is for artists to have a space where they can work on a regular basis in a relaxed environment with other like-minded people. We have people at all levels in the group from beginners to very experienced. Everyone is welcome to come along and be part of the group.
Dennis Clark is our Patron. Dennis is a local professional artist who, along with his artist son, Nolan, runs on-line art classes. The link to their websites are: Paint Basket Art Classes and Online painting and drawing classes & lessons — Online Art Lessons. Dennis has been painting since he was 11 years old. He has been a registered art teacher since 1987 and he became a full-time professional artist when he retired from engineering in 1994. We got to know Dennis not long after the group started when we were looking for judges for a competition. Dennis and Nolan judged the competition and then gave everyone comments on what they liked about the entries. Dennis took an interest in the group and donated a large number of books for our library and we were delighted that this lovely man agreed to become our patron.
What some of our members say
Coming up
Keep up to date with upcoming events.
Artists Open Studios – 15-23 March 2025
Several of our members are opening their studios as part of the Open Studios weeks in March. Mary Wyley will have her studio open – her listing on the website is Art Attack.
Five other members have clubbed together to have a studio – these people are Sally Gray, Sandie Howard, Angela Dickson, Margaret Haitana and Michael Gladwell. Their studio is called River City Artists.
Check out the Artists Open Studio’s website to find out more about this great Whanganui event. openstudios.co.nz
Back to Normal for 2025
The group started up again on Thursday 9 January and will continue to meet every Thursday at the Christ Church Hall in Wicksteed Street. New members are always welcome.
The photo above shows some of our members busy working on their varied artworks.
recent happenings
Vintage Weekend Art Exhibition – Friday 17th to Monday 20th January
The group had a very successful exhibition over Whanganui Vintage weekend, with a large number of people coming through over the four days. Most of the exhibitors sold paintings over that time, mostly to out of towners.
The oil and cold wax abstract paintings were very popular.
A huge thank you to the team of members who spent a day getting the exhibition ready and for all the members who took turns to be on site.
We had a raffle of a gourmet food basket to raise money for the club, which was very popular and won by Sue Browne from Whanganui.
Christmas Lunch at the Sellars Select Wine Bar – Tuesday 19 November
Faye’s Granddaughter generously allowed us to use the Sellars Select premises on the riverbank for our Christmas lunch. She also cooked some delicious food for us.
We all had a good time with superb food and good fellowship. Everyone brought along a Secret Santa gift and then chose a gift from the pile.
We were all delighted that our patron Dennis Clark and his wife Anna were able to join us for the dinner.
Abstract Workshop with Angela Dickson – 26 September 2024
Angela Dickson, one of our members led an Abstract Painting Workshop using oil paints and cold wax.
This was a new technique for all those who took part and it was an excellent learning experience. Angela encouraged us to start with a blank mind and begin to feel what we wanted to do – from choosing the colour palette through to making the marks on the paper. We started off with 3 A4 pieces of paper and experimented with colours and techniques, then we graduated to A3 paper and produced an artwork.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and produced quite different but beautiful works of art.
Portrait Workshop Using Skin Tones: Thursday 30 May.
Another successful workshop run by Sue Cleeve. Everyone enjoyed the chance to try out painting a portrait of Marilyn Munro and learning how to get the skin tones correct.
A big THANK YOU to Sue for her willingness to share her skills with the rest of the group.
Photos of some of our completed portraits are below.
Artist of the month
Faye Bullock
MEMBER OF RIVER CITY ARTISTS
If you are interested in buying one of the featured paintings, please fill in the contact us form on this website.
We will then put you in touch with the artist so you can discuss the sale.
Faye’s art journey started when an art teacher at her intermediate school gave the students a challenge to create a painting. Faye painted a large picture of the Arc de Triumph which was an incredible experience for her and the start of a love of colour. Over the years she has pottered around with creating artworks, in between raising her family and work.
She started with acrylics but although she enjoyed this, she says she had no clue about colour mixing and was never very happy with the results. She also attended some workshops and produced some landscapes in oils.
Once she retired she discovered Bob Ross on You Tube and avidly watched him painting. He made it look so easy, so she decided to have a go using acrylics but didn’t get very far by herself.
Four years ago, Faye came to the River City Artists annual exhibition, looked at the paintings on display and decided that she could do that. She saw the ad for the group and came along – and she says, “That was that.”
Faye loves being part of the group because everyone is so encouraging and willing to help each other. Right from the first day she came along, even though she was nervous, she was made to feel welcome.
Water colour is Faye’s medium of choice at the moment and she feels she has completed some very good work lately. She says she is always learning and taking courage to try new things. Her next goal is to get back to working with acrylic.
Get in Touch
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