The Kenton-Dau twins, Isabella and Demeta, are keen painters and are having an exhibition in Christchurch in March.

Isabella and Demeter Kenton-Dau lived in yurts in their family's garden for over a year after their home was wrecked in the Christchurch earthquakes.

Their Mt Pleasant property took 15 months to rebuild, during which time their family-of-five pitched three large yurts next to the house to serve as a home base.

"We actually found it kind of exciting because we got a month off school and since we were so young we didn't realise how devastating it was for Christchurch," Demeter said.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Isabella, left, and Demeter Kenton-Dau exercise in the Port Hills most days, but usually prefer to run solo.

The pair, born-and-bred in Christchurch, were attending nearby Redcliffs School until the June earthquake forced classes to move to a temporary location at the Van Asch Deaf Education Centre in Sumner.

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The twins, along with their older brother and parents, lost their house and moved into the yurts, occasionally bringing their pet rabbits and cats inside to brave the storms.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF The twins work on pieces to showcase at their upcoming exhibition at Pumanawa Gallery.

Most of their friends left the city, and their class sizes halved, but the pair remain adamant that Christchurch was a great place to grow up.

"We hardly ever go into town so we're lucky in that sense, for some people it was really, really bad," Demeter said.

New Zealand's natural scenery, including the yellowing tussock grasses cloaking the Port Hills and wild fauna and fauna served as the inspiration for their fourth exhibition at Pumanawa Gallery in Christchurch Arts Centre, Isabella said.

Isabella Kenton-Dau, right, competes in the Primary and Intermediate Schools Cross Country Championships in 2011.

Pieces in the exhibition were both abstract and realistic interpretations of the land and seascape, and farm animals they had grown up surrounded by.

Launching on March 16, their fourth exhibition comes a decade after their first.

At 8, the duo held their first exhibition at Stoddards Cottage in Diamond Harbour, and they've gone from strength-to-strength since. At age 11 they illustrated Christchurch author Susannah Kenton's self-published children's book, Anna and the Whale. At the time they were the same age as the main character, Anna.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Isabella Kenton-Dau, 17, left, and twin sister Demeter Kenton-Dau, 17, plan to run together in the Run to Remember on their 18th birthday.

Isabella said she had loved painting for as long as she could remember, with her earliest memories including finger painting at kindergarten. Side-by-side in a cleared-out section of their garden shed, two desks housing two painting easels, two sets of brushes and a collection of coloured paint tubes served as their studio.

They mostly preferred to paint alone, with only the chickens rummaging against the side of the shed for company, but shared a similar style which made the joint exhibition viable, Isabella said.

"There's definitely days where we really don't get along but I think because we have the same interests and like the same things we end up just doing things together.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF The Kenton-Dau twins work in their studio, in the garden of their Mt Pleasant home.

"We used to be a lot more similar but now some people just think we're just friends instead of twins which is nice. It's nice to be your own person," Isabella said.

Demeter said they were both "pretty competitive", and there was "some sibling rivalry", especially when it came to their sporting achievements.

"We don't train together but we used to race together, although Bella always wins."

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Demeter Kenton-Dau, 17, hopes to donate a portion of the profits from her art to her favourite charity, the Dogwatch Sanctuary Trust.

The pair graduated from Avonside Girls' High School last year and planned to save for a European holiday later this year before starting at the University of Canterbury.

Both planned to celebrate their 18th birthday on Sunday by running together in the 10-kilometre Run to Remember event through the Port Hills. The course, chosen for the outlook across the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps, will begin with a 10 metre ascent from Victoria Park, then a meander along Summit Rd, and a descent down Rapaki Track to end in Hansen Park.

Demeter said when they were younger, they used to make sure to always cross the finish line together but these days their competitive spirit meant they tended to run their own race.

"It's a nice idea, and the thought behind it is nice with the community coming together."