Kia ora (greetings in Maori) everyone, this is Coral Noel. Thanks for visiting!
I’m a multidisciplinary painter based in Auckland New Zealand specialised in expressive figurative and abstract paintings with oil and acrylic. I bring 15 years of visual design and storytelling as a filmmaker director into my art. My passion for Aotearoa nature, Chinese/Japanese heritage, and living and working across the US, Europe and Asia inform my works. I am interested in the kinaesthetic experience and visceral expression in the painting process. With my works collected locally and internationally, I bring wonder and new possibilities into people’s life and empower everyone to use their voices to make the world a better place.
You can read on or watch the video to learn more about my art journey —
Here’s a bit more about myself. Born into a family in Taiwan that love arts and literature, I was fortunate to be nurtured and disciplined in Chinese calligraphy, water-ink art, and Classics from both the East and the West since childhood. With a passion for storytelling and visual arts I chose my professional pathway as a filmmaker. After earning an MFA in Cinema-TV production from the University of Southern California I embarked on a rich creative journey involving living and traveling in different countries, directing and producing films, TV commercials and children’s television. I won an award for directing a documentary on the refugee camps in Thailand, and had been a creative director for a multi-national animation studio producing animation for kids worldwide. I was the Inter-studio Executive on a US$20 million dollar animated movie and directed a web series for a world leading toy company which garnered a 2 million viewership within five months on YouTube. Check my Linkedin if you are interested in my film/TV work.
But creating personal art on canvas and paper has always made me feel alive and connected to my heart in a unique way. Painting is my happy place and has brought me so much joy, pleasure and serenity. Especially during the down time in between film projects, navigating through stressful moviemaking process, and going through grieving after losing my brother, it is through painting I relax, rejuvenate and replenish. Art making has taught me many lessons — becoming child-like, seeing the world through fresh eyes, letting go of perfectionism, embracing the unknown, stepping out in boldness, valuing my inner knowing — all these have made me a healthier and stronger person!
I love to do both abstract and representational paintings. They channel different parts of my brain and emotional energy and achieve different types of satisfaction. My abstract art is intuitive and improvisational. I use lots of fluid paints, dripping and splashing, usually on larger canvas. I love the exhilaration and the surprise happening in the process with all types of blooming and mixing effects on canvas. I love the opportunities to break out of the box and unleash the untamed and raw. My realistic art encompasses daily life, women and children, landscape and flowers, which are usually moments of beauty captured through my camera during my travel or spending time in the nature. Colour palette, composition, lighting and a sense of story are super important to me. Here I find my training in the cinema work and visual language has aided me greatly. It’s also why I love bringing a touch of magical realism into my realistic paintings - to express a sense of wonder beyond the mundane.
I want to share my art not only because art making has brought me wonder and new possibilities like nothing else, but more than ever I believe art is a power to transform lives and a bridge into our truest and deepest dreams. Through my practice and works I want to empower others to find their unique voices and develop their powerful expression that can shape a future of hope and abundance for all. I want to thank all my collectors and sponsors over in Asia, Oceana, North America and Europe who have been sharing and supporting my journey. I’m deeply grateful and excited to connect with you, my friend, wherever you live … and I hope I have the privilege to enrich your life through my art.
Follow my journey.
