Take My Hand

Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Framed in American Ash - Black Stain

91cm x 101cm 

From the loss of my mother, this piece is a search through the landscapes of our lives for a guiding hand—someone to steady me, to nurture, to make me feel safe again. It speaks to a longing to be held in love. My recent landscapes explore an urge to escape life’s challenges in pursuit of peace and connection. They form places of refuge—whether found in a person, an action, or a setting—emerging as spaces that both comfort and offer a gentle place to return when needed.

About Emma:

Working without a predetermined outcome, Emma allows each painting to evolve instinctively. Marks are made, erased, layered and reworked, leaving traces of the painting’s development within the finished work. This process creates richly textured surfaces where colour, form and gesture come together organically, balancing moments of control with the unexpected.

Nature and landscape sit at the heart of Emma’s practice, not as subjects to be represented literally, but as a visual language through which she explores the experience of being moved by the world around us. Her paintings seek to capture those less tangible moments — a feeling, memory or sense of place that can be difficult to articulate in words.

Rather than offering a fixed narrative, Emma leaves space for the viewer to find their own way into each work, drawing on personal memories and associations to create an individual response.

A lifelong painter, Emma studied Art and Design at AUT and has continued to develop her practice through extensive studio programmes, mentorship and independent study. She has exhibited both individually and in group exhibitions throughout New Zealand, with recent recognition including finalist selections in the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize, Waikato Society of Arts NZPPA and Tasman Art Awards.