This month I went to see the Louise Henderson exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery. The exhibition features work from her life spanning seven decades but it was looking at her later abstract work that made me question why I hadn’t heard of this amazing artist before. I love the shapes, the complexity and the joyous use of colour! . You can lose yourself by looking at her explorations of the New Zealand bush.

In the last room there are 10 huge abstract paintings so stunning and complex - they made my skin tingle and feel alive. She painted these when she was 85 years old, which for a late bloomer like myself is inspiration to keep doing what I love. . She should be a national treasure in New Zealand in the way that Colin McCahon is - I feel like I might get my NZ citizenship taken off me if I admit that I’m sick of seeing these dark images on every story of the country’s art history but personally they do nothing for me. Art is personal and you have to respond to in your own way.