Margaret Emsley
Margaret Emsley is a Waiheke Island-based artist renowned for her delicate and intricate floral oil paintings and charcoal drawings. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in 1995.
Emsley’s work focuses on the transformation of flowers throughout their brief lifespans, using them as metaphors to express ideas, themes, or emotions. As colors fade and petals wither, she uncovers new possibilities and energy, which she captures using charcoal on paper. This medium allows her to explore the tension between opposing forces such as light and darkness, as well as the internal and external self.
Throughout her career, Emsley has participated in numerous exhibitions and received several accolades. Notably, she was a finalist in the Walker & Hall Waiheke Art Awards in 2015 and 2020, winning the Zinni Douglas Merit Award in 2020.
In 2022, she won the People’s Choice Award at the same event for her stunning charcoal on paper work.
Her artworks are held in private collections across England, Scotland, France, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Emsley continues to exhibit her work, with recent showcases at [s p a c e] gallery in Oneroa, Waiheke Island, where visitors can admire her floral oil paintings and charcoal drawings.
“I am drawn to flowers and insects. Lately I have been influenced by the early botanical artists who would sometimes deconstruct the flower, stem and leaves in order to portray each of its parts. Often the proportions were distorted and forms were exaggerated. Insects are a way for me to inject life into my compositions and add a touch of whimsy or humour.
I photograph the flowers at different stages in their short lifespans as well as at different angles in the light. I then deconstruct the flower, stems and leaves and then reconstruct them on my computer, sometimes melding different flowers into one or elements of an earlier version of itself. This process goes hand in hand with sketches which I use to work out my compositions. “
