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Helen Rietveld
Pastel Portfolio Co-ordinator



Pastels are a dangerous addiction - beware!  I first came across pastels when I went to a pastel exhibition put on by the Friday group run by Prue Matthews here in Blenheim about 8 years ago - after seeing those wonderful pastel paintings I just knew I had to learn how to use pastels to get similar results; and so began my love of this medium.   Many years earlier I had been part of a very informal group of oil painters held in  Ranfurly on a weekly basis for a couple of years when I was living at Patearoa -  this was my only experience of painting, apart from loving  spending time with my Aunt in her  art studio as a child and maybe this was the beginnings of interest in art that I was not even aware of.

As I have many other interests I do not always get to paint as often as I would like, although one of the bedrooms is set up as a studio so this does make it easier to steal a few moments, that easily  turns into hours, every now and then. 

I am a keen photographer/tramper/explorer and this goes hand in hand very well with obtaining material for painting as I always have a camera to hand and will never run out of things to paint.  I seem to paint mostly landscapes but also love animals and flowers.
When I'm not pursuing my interests I work as a medical secretary 4 days a week.