Jocelyn Friis

Jocelyn Friis, a New Zealand-based painter, creates semi abstract land and seascapes out of her coastal home studio in rural Mangawhai. Using acrylic and encaustic mediums, she explores the seemingly contrasting themes of the resilience and vulnerability of nature, mirroring it to our human condition. Jocelyn’s artistic journey has been marked by exploration and self-study. Growing up on a small holding in Cape Town, South Africa, she experienced precious freedoms such as regularly riding her horses on the peninsula’s unspoilt white beaches and spending endless hours savouring the outdoors.

Awakened by her Steiner education, she learnt to appreciate creativity in nature, which inspired her direction in art making. Immigrating to New Zealand in 1996 opened up a doorway for her to pursue her professional art career, first joining the Estuary Arts Centre, Orewa and later Mangawhai Artists Inc. Training in the areas of eco art and process art has deepened her awareness of the connections between our wellbeing, creativity and nature.