Growing up I was surrounded by sculpture and art being the daughter of internationally renowned painter and sculptor, Rick Lewis. I spent my childhood watching him work, enthralled by the process and over the years my father has forged an impressive career, with many notable fans around the world, including Presidents, sporting legends and royalty such as Queen Elizabeth - who has nine of his works in her private collection at Buckingham Palace.
In 2011 I followed my heart to Ireland where my father was living. Artist-in-residence at world-famous Ashford Castle in Mayo, Ireland, he was keen to pass on more than 50 years’ experience to me. I became his apprentice at the picturesque castle, learning the art of painting ceramics with on-glaze and painting with gouache. Spending ten months in the Irish countryside immersed in the creative process cemented my decision to become an artist, something I feel I was born to do.
Back home in New Zealand I have forged a reputation for my paintings of birds and horses but I decided to branch out into sculpture – a process that has always fascinated me and feels so natural. As a child, I had always admired my father’s bronze sculpture of the champion stallion Sir Tristram, the sire of Zabeel, so the choice of my first subject Zabeel was obvious. Queen Elizabeth had my bronze of Zabeel in her private collection, standing alongside her father’s works at Buckingham Palace.
