About

BIO

 

Adrienne M has a long history of creative endeavours. She was born and raised in Wellington in a house full of books that opened the world up in magical ways.  The first art book she requested as a birthday present when a teenager was a biography of American painter Andrew Wyeth. 

Suffering from acute agoraphobia and panic attacks in her teens, she retreated frequently to the office of her Art History tutor Dr Anthony Bellette while at Victoria University to research and write.  There she was completely surrounded by a world of art from the Renaissance to the present day.  Dr Bellette was not to know that a gift of a book of Monet's paintings was to prove an important and lasting influence later in life as she developed her art and intense love of colour.

Adrienne is best known for establishing the Eyebright country store in Nelson with former partner Peter Owen which included a garden with roses that were related to famous artists, musicians and writers.  This was her great passion for 24 years and during this time  her paintings made their way to many parts of the world. She also created jewellery for the shop and was at the forefront of floral design.

She has produced an album of her own music - "From the Inside".

A regular public speaker and demonstrator to groups she has had a significant influence on the creativity of the region, encouraging people from all walks of life to develop their creative spark. It has also been her passion to encourage young people to develop skills they could take into the workforce.

At the end of 2012,  Peter took over the Eyebright business and since then Adrienne has been reinventing herself. She writes articles for publication along with building and maintaining websites for clients, arranges flowers as requested, paints, gardens and makes jewellery. 

As a great lover of the written word, Adrienne has frequently put pen to paper for Stuff Media as a concert reviewer and, until it closed, was a columnist for the monthly lifestyle magazine Admire. As well as contributing features, she has written numerous Home and Arts columns along with  Restaurant Reviews. She now is a regular writer for the Nelson and Marlborough Magazines.

Living with English Pointer dog Phoebe and two demanding felines in Hope, Nelson, Adrienne still manages to make time for enjoying the beautiful Nelson outdoors, something that provides her with many great photographic images to use in her art. Having been a successful painter for some years she now works mostly in a combination of mixed media and acrylic paint.  

Adrienne is passionate about justice, animals, the environment and those suffering in our community and, despite previous hardships in her own life, continues to advocate where she can on behalf of others.