6 days Ago By Post-Courier
Jeffrey Freeger is a well-known Papua New Guinean artist who has spent most of his life drawing and painting. Born in 1983 at Kerema Hospital, Jeffrey is from a mixed Gulf and Milne Bay background. He grew up in East New Britain, where his father was a high school teacher.
As a child, he loved drawing on scrap paper that his father brought home from school. He was inspired by his older brother, Mairi, who taught him how to sketch and paint. “We used to sit on the floor and draw things like rocket ships.
That’s how it all started,” he said. In high school, his art teacher, Mrs Harris, saw his talent and gave him extra classes. That helped him improve and take art more seriously.
Over the years, Jeffrey turned his passion into a career. In 2010, he performed live painting at the World Expo in Shanghai, China. Then in 2013, he performed in New York at a musical theatre show – one of the biggest moments in his life.
Today, Jeffrey is known for his finger-painting style. He paints people’s faces and stories, linking real-life and abstract styles. His work has been shown across PNG, the Pacific, Asia, North America, and Europe.
He sells most of his art on Facebook and at weekend markets. His prices range from K150 to as much as K15,000 depending on the size and type of painting. Some of his work has raised money for schools and charities, nearly a million kina in total.
Even though he has travelled the world, Jeffrey now lives quietly in Alotau with his family. He still travels to Port Moresby for exhibitions. He believes the government should support artists by building art centres and giving them chances to study or show their work overseas.
“Art can also bring in tourists and help young people express themselves,” he said. Jeffrey says his journey hasn’t been easy, but he followed what felt right. “I didn’t chase fame.
I just kept doing what I love.” You can find his work on Facebook at Jeffry Freeger Art or watch his live paintings on YouTube..
