Ōpōtiki artist Kerrin Tilley has had three of his paintings published in an art calendar and on Christmas cards.

The paintings, entitled Song of the Tui, Echoes in Blue and Tui, feature in the Christmas range produced by the Mouth and Foot Paintings Artists (MFPA), an international art group, of which Tilley  is a member.

“Here in Ōpōtiki we are surrounded with beautiful flora and fauna; I’m lucky to have abundance of tui and other native birds around,” he said.

“These give me inspiration for my art, I’d like to try a few more of our native birds.

“Here we have a couple of kowhai trees as well as non-native which we have planted over the years, these attract the tui and pigeons when in bloom.

“They are lovely to watch and its nice listening to their song chorus during the day, especially waking up to it in the morning. The tui is quite territorial and will give other birds a hurry up,” Tilley said.

“I incorporated a tui in a pohutukawa with its bright flowers as I thought it would make a pleasant Christmas card. With the pohutukawa flowering late November, December they are considered our Christmas tree.

“I’ve never dived with whales or dolphins, but I did enjoy diving when younger, mostly just to collect kaimoana.

“It is a memory I treasure and glad I had the opportunity to participate in. It is a completely different world down there.

“Whales are magnificent animals; I tried to do justice with my painting of a mother with her calf. I was pleased with the outcome and thrilled it was reproduced in Australia’s 2026 calendar,” he said.

The selection of the pictures for the products for the Christmas range is made by a panel of European experts and is hot competition and as the products this year include paintings by seven New Zealand artists, they have clearly “punched above their weight” to be successful against artists from so many countries.

After suffering a neck injury playing rugby, Kerrin’s previous occupation as a dairy farmer was no longer possible, so he now earns his income as an artist and paints with a brush held in his mouth.

He has risen above adversity to produce artwork of a standard to match any able-bodied artist. Many of his paintings depict his love of the outdoor life, which includes landscapes and wildlife.

To learn more about MFPA or purchase products visit: www.mfpa.co.nz