Born on 15 October 1970 in New Zealand, Wayne Te Rangi was injured in a freak work accident in 1985 which left him a tetraplegic. As part of his rehab, he enrolled in art classes at the Otara Spinal Unit in Auckland. There he quickly developed the skill of mouth-painting and went on to win many awards and scholarships.
Kerrin Tilley was born on 19 May 1967 in Opotiki. In 1988 he was so seriously injured in a crush while attending a rugby match that he became tetraplegic (C1/C5). In the unit for spinal injuries at the Otara hospital in Auckland, he met the mouth painters and VDMFK artists Grant Sharman, Irene Bernie, Tommy Waru and Alex Craig as well as the wonderful art tutor Doreen Jones. All these people motivated him to become involved in mouth painting. Kerrin Tilley’s favourite subjects are landscapes and animals.
Born on 25 April 1964 in Auckland, Kevin Bruce Griffiths broke his neck in a diving accident at the age of thirteen. He has been a quadriplegic since then and is paralysed from his chest down. In 1991, he started to paint with his mouth. He learnt the techniques by taking private painting lessons. Only one year later, he was granted a scholarship by the association which enabled him to intensify his painting activities. Since 2001 he has been an Associate Member of AMFPA. Kevin Bruce Griffiths mainly paints landscapes of all types, applying colour generously.
Peter was born on 16 September 1956 in Venray. Only two years after his birth, his family emigrated from the Netherlands to New Zealand in search of a better life. After finishing school he worked as a diesel mechanic until he was paralysed from the neck downwards in a serious road accident in 1951, which left him bound to a wheelchair. He learned to master the art of mouth painting in the early 1980s with the help and support of various patrons. He was granted a scholarship by the Association in 1982 and some 10 years later achieved the status of an Associate Member. He has been a Regular Member of the AMFPA since 2000.
Born on 29 October 1941 in Auckland, Raymond Hickey suffered an injury to the spinal column in a road accident, leaving him completely paralysed, at the age of twenty-five. He spent several years in a number of hospitals, and it was during this time that he made his first attempts at painting. In 1990 he was given a scholarship by the Association, becoming an Associate Member in a year and a Regular Member in 2000.
Grant William Sharman was born on 8 December 1961 in Auckland. At the age of fifteen, he broke his neck during a rugby match, which left him, quadriplegic. He had to give up his dream of becoming a pilot. It was in 1980 Grant William Sharman was introduced to painting with a brush in the mouth by the mouth painter Bruce Hopkins, a member of the AMFPA who died in 1985. The training bore fruit and it was only one year later that Sharman was granted a scholarship by the Association. In 1988 he became a Full Member of the AMFPA.
