About Reina

Hi there and welcome.

I am a Visionary artist based in Tairua. New Zealand. (Born and raised in Aotearoa).

I create original artworks, & prints, merchandise, & I hold art workshops & retreats here in Tairua in my studio.

I had a deeply spiritual, multi cultural upbringing, surrounded by art, craft, theatre & music.
I studied art right through school winning many awards. After a successful career in hairdressing, and owning a salon for 9 years, & a Salon Consulting company (business & staff mentor/coach) for 4 years, I sold everything up and after my kids were both at school, I took up painting and found an avenue for expression that was previously undiscovered inside of me.

Right from the start I knew I wanted my art to uplift & inspire. My art came from a place deep within. I was drawn to painting themes strongly inspired by different cultures, (I had very strong varied cultural influences growing up), along with sun, surf, nature. I found the koru (spiral) was a prominent feature that emerged in almost all my paintings. It became my feature symbol in most of my early artworks, along with strong ‘ocean’ themes, which evolved into oceanic creatures, especially since moving to the beach.

Lately the call of the ‘inner goddess’ has taken me down a path of the ‘female’ and symbolically incorporating intuitive marks, nature, animals & symbols to infuse the energy of what I am trying to convey. I use my intuition to create with very little pre-planning.
Inspiration is all around me, I literally breathe it in on a daily basis. I am constantly inspired by the majestic mountains to the west and the wild surf beach to the east. “My art has developed and evolved immensely, with a somewhat ‘other worldly’ feel to it…at first it was totally experimental both in expression and technically, now it is certainly still very experimental, (I love being in the moment, no planning and just seeing what evolves on the canvas), but I have developed a certain style that seems to appear, whether consciously or not.

Over time I have realised my art is not just for me, it’s my gift to the world.

My work varies, sometimes mixed media, ink, sometimes acrylic, I like to experiment with no rules or limits. Im not interested in what is ‘accepted’ in the art world. Im interested in walking my own path, all whilst staying open and vulnerable, knowing that this is an every changing, growing evolving experience every single day. My art is constantly evolving along with myself, I am forever stretching myself, taking risks, trying new themes and techniques.

I also hold art & art business workshops.

My paintings are in private collections worldwide, office blocks & hotels. My work has been featured in 4 books, and had a 4 page spread in NZ Artist Magazine, with my piece “Guardian” (the flying owl) was on the front cover.

Apart from creating new pieces, I also spend a lot of my time on Instagram & FB (my art page), where I can interact with people more easily, I love meeting new people and building on those relationships. I am not an ‘insular’ artist, connection with people is just as inspiring and important to me as creating.

All my socials are in my Menu.

~Reina Cottier.

Many thanks for your respect. :)