Journey's End
Sea to Mountain
'Whitebaiter' - Mokau River
Who's for a Swim?
Day's End
Back Beach Island
Coffee Break - Rudeshein Germany
After the Storm
Fern Parmentier
I was born in Palmerston North.I didn’t really enjoy school – art wasn’t part of the curriculum like it is today. I left home at 18 and moved to Auckland where I worked as a Sample Machinist. I ended up drawing / creating a catalogue for one firm. Shortly after moving to Auckland I met my husband – an immigrant from Holland.
While raising our family, I only painted a little bit, instead investing my time in crafts such as pottery and copper work. After joining a night class for porcelain painting, I was asked to teach the craft which I did for the next 22 years. I took seminars in portraits, won numerous competitions, but gave it away in 2000 and started teaching classes in beginner’s water colour painting, which I thoroughly enjoyed. At this time I began dabbling again in oil and acrylic painting.
In 2004 we moved to New Plymouth, where I began to paint seriously, inspired by the glorious mountain and local landscape.
I am basically self taught, but have taken the opportunity to go to workshops. I read and have an extensive art library. I enjoy colour and found that over the years that regardless of whether I was painting porcelain, making jewellery or pottery my interest was always in capturing and playing with colour.
I enjoy painting all subjects, particularly flowers (my days as a porcelain painter inspired this love) but also birds, landscapes and still life. I have no absolute favourite and like to work in water colour, acrylic and oil (which I enjoy most as a medium).
My paintings have travelled all over the world. They have been collected by and shipped to people in the USA, England, Holland, Australia and South Africa.
My works are on show regularly at the Real TArt Gallery in New Plymouth, where I also work as a volunteer and at the Gables Gallery in Brooklands Park.
I believe that any talent I have is God – given.
