JUNCTION MAY 2021
FOLLOW THE BLISS
When Coral (Noel) first came to Snells Beach in 2012 she was a creative director on a business trip to produce animated TV shows. Nine years later she is a full time painter selling her artworks locally and internationally to collectors from New Zealand, Asia to North America and Europe.
Her first solo art show opened this March at Little & Local in Snells Beach and runs to 17th May, featuring her floral series in oil and abstracts in acrylics. Its theme “FOLLOW THE BLISS” tells the story: “I wanted to pay tribute to the beautiful place and community of the Snells Beach/Warkworth/Matakana areas. It’s the natural unspoiled landscape and the creative atmosphere that inspired me to paint.”
Coral originally comes from Taiwan with rich Chinese and Japanese heritages. Trained from the film program of the University of Southern California, she had worked extensively in the film industry in Hollywood, made an award-winning documentary in the refugee camps in Thailand, and directed a hit web series for Zuru’s Rainbocorns which garnered 2 million viewership in 5 months.
“Only painting with a brush has brought me deep emotional joy which I haven’t found anywhere else.” The result is that she filled her sketchbooks with watercolour images of the local farms, vineyards, river boats, taking full account of the seasonal lights, shades and colours.
When the 2020 lockdown happened, she decided it was to be her “annus mirabilis (Miracle Year)” - she unleashed her creative passion on larger canvases, experimenting with abstract acrylics and realistic oils. Her talent was quickly realized to the extent that her works were sold out on a Facebook platform during the lockdown. So she pivoted from film making to painting and has never looked back. Guided by an intuitive palette of colours, Coral loves to capture emotions with light and looks for the deep spaces created by lines and shapes. When working intuitively and kinesthetically, she often feels drawn into becoming part of nature where she embodies a jellyfish floating in the deep blue, or a willow dancing in the wind.
When not creating her original works, Coral takes commissions to capture the deeper dreams and aspirations of her clients through the gamut of techniques she is highly proficient in. Her artworks can be purchased through her website, social media and art shows. Above all she wants to create vibrant and lush artworks that bring wonder and mystery to her audience.