I live in Christchurch – a place I have chosen to be my home. Originally from Poland, and after several years of living in different corners of the world, I moved to New Zealand during my final year of university, in what now feels like the surreal blur of COVID times. With nature right at the doorstep and landscapes that feel like poetry, building my home here felt instinctive.

I share my home with my Kiwi partner Fin, our cat Żurek, and a 100-year-old elm tree named Frank. In our backyard, you’ll also find my art studio, Dobre Studio—named to honour my roots. “Dobre” means good-natured in Polish, and it reflects the spirit of my art: gentle, hopeful, and quietly joyful.

My paintings are invitations to pause. They’re about connection—with nature, with memory, with the quiet parts of ourselves. They’re emotive, reflective, and rooted in a sense of calm. Composed of many layers of details, they allow for a playful discovery of depth as well as a sense of content and freedom as we stand back and look at them as a whole.  

 

A Bit of a Backstory

I grew up in a mid-sized town in Poland, about an hour from Warsaw. Art was always part of my life—encouraged by teachers, nurtured through competitions, and eventually deepened through formal training in Warsaw. Under the guidance of Bartłomiej Koter, a student of renowned watercolourist Michał Suffczyński, I learned the foundations of perspective, light, and watercolour. Art became a refuge during my teenage years—a way to make sense of things and imagine a future beyond what I knew.

That imagined future took shape: I spent some time in the US and Germany, studied engineering and architecture in the UK ,and eventually found myself in New Zealand, where I returned to painting more regularly. That’s when the idea of turning it into a business began—and here we are.

What My Art Means Now

Art is no longer an escape—it’s a way of being present. It’s about noticing the shimmer on the ocean, the hush of alpine air, the feeling of being small in a vast landscape. It’s about recognising that nature isn’t a backdrop to our wellbeing—it’s part of us. I paint to hold onto those moments, so they can live with us when we return home.

Other Things You Didn’t Know About Me:

•           I love (good) leaf green tea—great for mindfulness (mostly because you must focus on avoiding swallowing the leaves)
•           I value our peaceful life and friends enormously, and I like to keep my personal life private
•           I once tried to become that person who prefers dark chocolate and I failed – I still think milk chocolate wins
•           My simplest pleasures: good food and sunshine
•           If I’m not painting, I can usually be found tramping somewhere on the South Island or enjoying our garden.