Shaugn David Briggs
I'm a Christchurch-based painter, sculptor and stone carving teacher with a passion for the landscapes, textures and spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand. I've been making and selling work professionally since 2000 — through gallery exhibitions, private commissions, public installations and workshops that have introduced thousands of people to the joy of stone carving.
Artist's Statement
I started by studying the traditional master painters in oils, and over time developed my own way of working — primarily in acrylic, with occasional pieces in egg tempera. My paintings are strongly identified with New Zealand Aotearoa: the light over Akaroa Harbour, the Southern Alps heavy with snow, Lake Tekapo under a stormy sky, the braided rivers of the Canterbury Plains.
It was a series of paua shell still life paintings that first drew real public attention to my work. Something about those paintings captured people's imagination, and they were the beginning of my public profile. Since then I've never stopped being in awe of nature's beauty — the interplay between land and sky is the motivation behind so much of what I make.
Sculpture has become just as central to my practice as painting. I work primarily in Oamaru stone and Mt Somers stone, carving everything from intimate personal commissions to large-scale public installations for schools, kindergartens and community spaces. Teaching stone carving has grown into a wonderful part of my work too — there's something special about handing someone a chisel for the first time and watching something emerge.
My Story
I was born in Christchurch in 1970, the youngest of five children — with a six-year gap to the next sibling and a fourteen-year gap to the eldest. I spent a lot of time by myself, and drawing was always what I turned to. Even in primary school I knew I had a real talent for it; other children would ask me to help with their art projects.
I was fortunate to have an artist in my life early on: Natalie Everett, my aunt's mother-in-law, who taught me how to think like an artist. She also reassured me that artist's block does go away — something I've had cause to remember more than once over the years. I'm largely self-taught, but I've spent many hours studying both traditional and contemporary artists, and particularly the work being made here in New Zealand.
Around 2000 I gave up my day job and committed fully to making art. I started as a mural artist, then began working plein air on the buildings of Christchurch's Arts Centre. Those paintings all sold privately. The paua series followed, then landscape commissions, then my first large sculpture project at Packe Street Park. One thing led to another, as it tends to.
The Hard Years
In 2010 I had major back surgery after injuring myself working on a large sculpture. For a couple of years I couldn't paint at all — too much concentration required while managing that level of pain. I shifted to sculpting and stone carving workshops, which became a lifeline both creatively and financially. Then came the Christchurch earthquakes, which changed everything for everyone in this city. Art sales stalled, the gallery landscape shifted, and the commission rates that galleries took went up significantly.
Out of that difficult period came a decision I've never regretted: to sell my work directly, through my website, rather than relying on galleries. It gave me back control, and it let me build a real connection with the people who buy my work. I also created a monument sculpture dedicated to the earthquake — something I'm genuinely proud of.
In late 2018 I broke my arm badly in several places and had surgery on Boxing Day. Recovery took most of the first quarter of 2019. But by the end of March I was back at work on what became Te Moana, a Lincoln Primary School sculpture that remains my largest to date.
Recent Work
The last few years have been busy in ways I sometimes forget to count. In 2025 and 2026 alone I've run stone carving workshops for Cotswold School, Trufa Aotearoa, Papanui School, the Salvation Army, and Airways International — with another Airways workshop booked for September 2026. I showed work at the AMP Show in November 2025.
Some Key Projects
Packe Street Park — my first large-scale public commission. The Medlands Beach painting, Great Barrier Island — a commission that led to my wife and I being flown to the island to study the landscape in person. The Butterfly Dreams Mural at Christchurch Hospital's children's ward — one of the projects I'm most proud of. A 2-metre replica of Alexander the Great in Mt Somers stone — the biggest carving I've undertaken. The GirlGuiding NZ Jamboree in 2016, where 1,373 girls participated in stone carving workshops over four days. And Te Moana at Lincoln Primary School — my largest sculpture to date.
Galleries
Over the years my work has been shown at Bealey Gallery, Gallery Lavaud in Akaroa, Fishers Fine Arts (both Christchurch and Auckland), Merivale Fine Arts, and Bryce Gallery. These days I sell primarily through this website and through commission work.
If something catches your eye, or you have a project in mind, I'd love to hear from you.