If you're a creative who wants to learn a trick or two from a leading New Zealand artist then make sure you're in Whitianga next month.

Official New Zealand Defence Forces artist Matt Gauldie will host his workshop 'the figure in art… portraiture and the ace up your sleeve' at the Whitianga Art Group Rooms on Monday, March 7.

‘Welcome to Nins Bin' by Matt Gauldie. Image: Supplied

Matt is visiting the Coromandel as part of the Mercury Bay Art Escape Open Studio Tour and will be guest speaker at the launch which takes place in Hot Water Beach on Friday, March 4.

'The Trust is pleased to offer this opportunity to learn from an artist and sculptor of Matt's calibre and extensive experience” and says Mercury Bay Art Escape Trust chairman Stuart Christie.

Matt's upcoming half-day workshop will cover the planning and composition of figurative work in 2D and 3D and the role of Portraiture in Art. It will also include some practical painting demonstrations plus a look at technical and practical implications of working in this field.

Hailing from Otaki on the Kapti Coast, Matt is a renowned artist and sculptor who was appointed to the prestigious position as the forces' official artist by former PM Helen Clark back in 2005.

He has recently completed an impressive bronze sculpture for the Hamilton City Council of World War One artist Horace ‘Sapper' Moore‐Jones, who served in Gallipoli and is best known for his painting ‘Simpson and his Donkey'.

'Matt is a vibrant, enthusiastic member of the art community and has that ‘number eight wire' quality,” says Stuart.

Matt Gauldie's 'the figure in art… portraiture and the ace up your sleeve' workshop is on at the Whitianga Art Group Rooms, 20 School Road, Whitianga, on Monday, March 7, from 9am-1pm.

The workshops costs $25 and to register visit: www.mercurybayartescape.com/matt-gauldie-workshop