Shirley Collinson has brought a world of colour to a west Auckland gallery and just like her, her work is full of surprises.
When you first spot the bold twisting shapes and colourful hues, the 97-year-old is the last person you'd expect to see behind the canvas.
But despite her age, Collinson's work is anything but traditional.
After retiring in Snells Beach about 30 years ago, she picked up the brush and decided to start painting seriously.
"Before that I did do some landscapes and seascapes, but I got bored with that and I went on to this," she says.
Collinson says she fell in love with colour when she first spotted her parents' liqueurs at the tender age of six.
"The liqueurs were absolutely gorgeous and I thought I should taste them - and I did - and I have to say it tasted as good as it looked."
That craving for colour was only strengthened by her sister's kaleidoscope, which she says she stole whenever she could.
Collinson says she doesn't draw inspiration from anything in particular but is driven by an urge to create, and when she paints she describes the experience like riding the crest of a wave.
"I may start doing something, and then I'll change in the middle of it and it will become something else," she explains.
Collinson's exhibition runs for three weeks at Titirangi's Lopdell House, and she's already planning her next.
"It does help to keep me alive, and I would imagine it would help other people."
So at 97 years young, it seems these pieces won't be the last we'll see from Collinson.
Newshub.
