Ninety-two year old Nancy Morice is still ticking off "firsts", having had her artwork displayed for the first time at an exhibition last week.
Some of Nancy Morice's art. Photo: How Great Thou Art exhibition
At Nelson's How Great Thou Art exhibition, a collection of Morice's oil canvases were displayed among various other local artists.
Morice said she is a firm believer in the old adage that it's never too late to try something new.
"I think it's wonderful to have an interest as you get older, and you do have some interests in life. I don't feel as if I've gotten to this stage at 92 to give up painting... just keep going!" she said.
Morice said she had spent most of her years giving her paintings to friends and family, though her home was still filled with her work.
It was the encouragement of friends, both at her local art club and outside, who encouraged Morice to put her paintings forward for the exhibition.
"They sorted it all out for me. I have it all piled up in a bedroom, and I had to bring it all out and they decided which would be good ones to display," she said.
Morice said she never expected to see her work in an exhibition, let alone sell one - which she did that night.
"It was a very special night," she said.
Painting had always been an intense hobby for Morice, and she credited her art teacher in high school for encouraging her to peruse art.
For years she painted china, and it was some of her best work, she said.
But as her eyesight worsened over the years, she had to put down the fine-bristled brushes. That's when she shifted to the oil paintings she works on now.
Morice was drawn to paint "moody" landscape canvases, all of which she crafts from memory.
"I'm looking across at one that I've almost finished right now, it's got gloomy skies. I love doing gloomy skies, with hills at the bottom. But I tackle all sorts of things really, most of my painting just comes out of my head."
Morice said believed painting did wonders for relaxation, and calming down.
"When I get a bit low sometimes I think, 'oh well, get out the painting and do a bit of that', and it certainly lifts the spirits."
How Great Thou Art, which is run by the Richmond Baptist Church, hosts the exhibition each year for local artists.
