Artist Alice Berry’s colourful painted gate is a neighbourhood hit

19 Aug 2020

Over lockdown artist Alice Berry, like most of New Zealand, got creative. “I was finding the isolation very mentally and emotionally challenging. It helped me get through that and also kept the people walking by entertained,” she says.

Alice created her first gate design with Resene Crusoe, Resene Japanese Laurel, Resene Séance, Resene Cosmos, Resene Cornflower, Resene Waxflower, Resene Alabaster, Resene Double Cod Grey and Resene Blue Night.

Using Resene colours she had at home, she painted the gate twice. The first design was abstract, colourful and inspired by nature. She used Resene Crusoe, Resene Japanese Laurel, Resene Séance, Resene Cosmos, Resene Cornflower, Resene Wax Flower, Resene Alabaster, Resene Double Cod Grey and Resene Blue Night to bring it all together.

The gate design was so popular it even inspired a creative neighbour to make her own woven version of it.

It was an instant hit with the neighbours – one even took her own inspiration from it and created her own stitchwork of the gate art. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark also took a fancy to the design and shared it on her Instagram stories.

Alice’s second gate design was more simplistic, with the warming hues of Resene Cornflower, Resene Westside and Resene Upstage taking the spotlight.

The second design, which Alice painted over top of the first, was inspired by working together, so she made the colours bold and bright using Resene Cornflower, Resene West Side and Resene Upstage.

“I love painting on a large scale, and by doing artworks in public, it means a lot of people can see and enjoy them,” says Alice. “I always try to create something emotive and uplifting in these spaces to brighten people’s days.”

Alice Berry stands in front of her 19-metre-long mural, which she has painted using Resene Wax flower, Resene Crusoe, Resene Blue Night, Resene Buttercup, Resene Cosmos and Resene Quarter Rice Cake.

It’s not the first time she’s used a large-scale canvas for her work, last year she completed a 19-metre mural for a client, “which was awesome,” says Alice.

See more of Alice’s paintings and artwork on her website.

images  Alice Berry

Published: 19 Aug 2020