New Life For Old Napier Port Workshop

It’s not often that you find a collection of paintings hanging amongst the grease and grime of a mechanic’s workshop, but emerging local artist Franchessa Lean is changing that. A long-serving staff member at Napier Port, Franchessa picked up a brush for the first time last year and discovered a talent for painting. She says learning to paint has been a long-held dream, but it wasn’t until she stumbled across classes with Humanity Painters in Hastings that she decided to take the leap. “I signed up for a class with Helen Kerridge, the founding artist at Humanity Painters, and fell in love with painting. I haven’t looked back since,” she says. She says that painting is a great antidote to the hustle and bustle of her day job managing the administration of the port’s workshop, which keeps the company’s cranes and container forklifts humming. Photo: Franchessa Lean is changing the atmosphere of Napier Port’s workshops. For more on this and other great Hawke’s Bay stories go to hawkesbaytoday.co.nz Posted: 3 October 2018