Meet the Artist: A little bit about Emma..
Painting and drawing have always been Emma’s way of communicating, an instinctive language through which she captures emotion, atmosphere, and untold stories. Since completing her Bachelor of Arts at The Glasgow School of Art, she has exhibited widely in both Scotland and New Zealand.
Her paintings have received awards and been shortlisted in major national art prizes, including the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize and the Cleveland National Art Awards. As a resident artist at Te Atamira, she spends most days immersed in her studio, developing new work and continually pushing the boundaries of her creative practice.
Through her practice, Emma holds emotion, memory, and stories that are often difficult to put into words. Working primarily with paint, Emma experiments with movement, her process is expressive and intuitive, allowing the paint to move, drip, and shift as she works, letting each layer reveal something new.
Rooted in a feminine expression her work balances softness, strength, and the spaces in between. Each painting is an attempt to sit with vulnerability and resilience at the same time, creating paintings that feel lived-in, human, and emotionally honest.
Latest Works:
Floating - In this series Emma explores the concept of Floating, an exploration of movement and colour between sky and sea. This series reflects on the quiet strength that exists within stillness, inviting viewers into a world of suspended motion and atmospheric depth.
Flourish - This series focuses on endangered species of flora and fauna, the work is shaped by gesture, intuition, and the emotional resonance of colour. The paintings carry an atmosphere of calm movement. Colours shift like weather systems, shapes hover in a state of suspension, and textures suggest rhythms of settling, rising, and beginning again. Her botanical forms are not literal illustrations but impressions, gestural echoes of petals, stems, and organic structures that speak to fragility, resilience, and the interconnectedness of living systems.
Threads of the Past - An ongoing project still evolving. A quiet reflection, recalling a place once familiar but now a distant memory. This collection invites an exploration of place, memory, past and future. Weaving heritage with new beginnings and how the two intertwine and shape an evolving sense of identity and belonging.
Awards:
Finalist in the Craigs Aspiring Arts Prize
Finalist in the Cleveland National Arts Awards
Stuff Art Aotearoa Gold Award - Highly Commended
Wanaka Arts - Overall Runner Up
Queenstown Art Awards - Merit Award
When she’s not in the studio, she channels her creativity into illustration and design, working on select projects for her business, Studio Peers.
Please get in touch if you would like to enquire about Emma's work.