Amanda Billing + Bloom Bird
Amanda Billing is an actress, portrait photographer, and painter based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. This is her second year participating in the Kiwi Art Trail.
Describe the inspiration behind your kiwi.
My 2024 Kiwi Art Trail bird follows on from something I explored in my 2023 creation: being real and being free. But while last year the idea was about dropping our camouflage, this year it’s all about being loud and proud. I wanted to have a lot of fun with colour and the material of paint this year too and I definitely succeeded.
Describe the design process. How did your idea turn into a kiwi?
Having gone through the making process for the 2023 Kiwi Art Trail, I knew that the sculpture would be covered in a lovely thick layer of lacquer once it left the studio; gloss varnish tends to create a lot of depth in a painting when you use glazed layers of paint underneath it. I knew I wanted flowers to be in there because they’re beautiful and ephemeral. I wanted her to be “painterly” as well - for people to be able to see and enjoy the brushwork involved in the process. The actual design was created on the fly, really. I had a general idea of how I hoped it would look but I made it up as I went along.
I asked followers on Instagram to send me photos they’ve taken of flowers - people who do this are “my people” - and I received lots of lovely source material in my Inbox. I sketched my favourite ones on the kiwi once I’d put a couple of paint layers down then spent the later stages of my process being exuberant and bold with colour and brushes. Sometimes I even taped a brush to a stick so its “handle” got longer and I had less control over it.
Bloom Bird looks exactly as I hoped she would. The thick gloss makes all the layers of glaze and brushwork really dimensional, it’s almost like a pool you can dip your hand into. I had hoped to create something attractive from a distance and then up close you can have a different experience, you see all the little details in the brush marks, golden paint and paint spatters (yes, I did get my Jackson Pollock pants on at the end and literally throw paint around).
My favourite thing about Bloom Bird is that she is part of my painting journey: she’s a really important part of my development as a painter. While I was painting her, I made three works which were part of a group show I was in at Solander Gallery in Wellington. Those paintings - which I really love - wouldn’t look the way they do without Bloom Birdie. I’m very grateful.
Why did you say 'yes' to joining the Kiwi Art Trail - and why did you say ‘yes’ again?
I love an art challenge. It’s slightly scary putting yourself and your work out there and that’s also why I said Yes: it’s important to bite off more than you can chew sometimes. The Kiwi Art Trail is a celebration of creativity and community. I feel lucky that I get to make a contribution to something meaningful through making art. All of the artists embrace the project in their particular way, so following the trail when they’re all on show is exciting and inspiring. And the auction at the end is a nail-biter! The Kiwi Art Trail is a great initiative that really is win-win-win: our beautiful national apteryx icon wins through the auction winnings, Save the Kiwi gets valuable publicity (thanks, Gallagher!), and everyone who gets to see them out and about is reminded of how good art is for us - how it really does make our lives better.
What do you like about kiwi and kiwi conservation? Why is the kiwi important to you?
Kiwis aren’t just a cute national mascot - they’re quite remarkable, really. The fact that they need us to survive and thrive makes my heart hurt a bit so I’m glad to help raise funds. Just the fact that we call ourselves Kiwis means we have a duty to protect them and to enhance their lives. Save the Kiwi is doing just that. We all need to help our namesake in some way, I think.
Have you ever seen a kiwi?
When I was little, Mum and Dad used to take us to Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre (known as the Mt Bruce Bird Reserve in the 1980s) where they had native birds of all kinds. I always wanted to see a kiwi and the takahē but they were always doing their own thing or having a sleep. I would love to see them in real life.
Why do you do what you do? What inspired you to become an artist?
I was always an arty kid. About 15 years ago I decided to reclaim my artistic identity, partly for the sake of my wellbeing and partly because I felt like something was missing. For me, being an artist is not some kind of dream or a nice idea, it’s essential to the way I understand myself. I’m at my best when I’m making things, thinking about making things, making things with and for other people. I think that, even if I hadn’t become an actor in my late twenties, I’d be on the path I’m on now because my return to drawing and painting feels inevitable to me. Some people are just built that way, like some people are built to jump out of planes and run marathons and be into string theory. I am none of those people - but I can draw. I hope that anybody reading this - who was an arty kid and who’s not creating things right now - reconnects with that drive inside and starts making things again.
Find out more about Bloom Bird here.
