CONGRATULATIONS to the Following
2024 NATIONAL FINALISTS
SUSAN MA
No Mountain Is Too High
Oil on canvas 101 x 76cm $4000
After I have retired from nursing, I attended life drawing and portrait painting classes.
In this self-portrait I depicted myself as standing tall and full of confidence in a competitive circumstance. The surrounding stylised mountains epitomise the hardship that any artist may encounter before they become recognised. The colourful sky shows no limit to how far and high I want to go.
I have been listed as finalists in several portrait competitions since.
A photo taken by my husband is used as reference. I was holding firm onto my favourite painting brushes. I pay special attention to tonal variations and details because that will depict well the expression of the subject painted. This portrait is executed with oil on canvas.
DEBORAH MARKS
Inevitability of Disenchantment
Oil on canvas 110 x 130cm $15,000
The painting is concerned with the inevitability of disenchantment, a state of resignation and cynicism resulting from continuous exposure to negative events and images. The relentless stream of violence, social and political upheaval, and economic threats perpetuated by the media can make anger, depression, and discouragement seem unavoidable. In such an environment, maintaining hope and optimism becomes increasingly difficult.
This negativity can erode our sense of purpose, causing us to distance ourselves from what truly matters—our visions, dreams, and aspirations. The idea of disenchantment is not just a personal experience but a broader societal phenomenon, reflecting the collective disillusionment faced by many in today's world. The painting serves as a reminder of the importance of resilience and the need to protect our sense of meaning from the corrosive effects of disenchantment.
SONIA MARTIGNON
Descend
Acrylic on hand-cut plywood
61 x 91cm $2600
Entering the shadowy realms of the Northern Territory’s viridescent waterways elicits a sense of both awe and trepidation. They promise a tranquil respite but conceal many possible dangers, not least the formidable saltwater crocodile. These submerged landscapes feel familiar yet fantastically different. Restricted colours, strange vegetation, tree limbs askew, hefty but somehow weightless. Being underwater is such a peaceful, solitary experience. Very foreign, very beautiful, very intriguing…striking in its absence of human habitation.
DENNIS McCART
This Must Be The Place
Ink, enamel and oil on canvas
61 x 61cm $2200
As an artist based in Brisbane, erasure of historical buildings is a recurrent event, being an artist I am attuned to this destructive pattern. Construction sites, emblematic of temporality and transitions, captivate me with their abstract shapes and nuanced tones.
The construction site is a symbol for temporality and transitions, the construction site is also a fascinating with its abstract pattern of shapes and subtle variations in tones and shapes. The painting presents demolish imagery as an archetypal image that is a prevailing symbol in contemporary culture. The artwork draws attention to the materiality of places and questions the environmental impact of rapid urban development. As an artist I question what histories are embedded in the fabric of place and what are the environmental costs of modernization and gentrification.
NEIL McCLURE
BBQ Under a Bull Nose Verandah
Acrylic on wood 41 x 52cm $300
The barbecue is one of many recurring motifs throughout my work. The barbecues are a universal symbol of our hopes and dreams and a very Australian icon at the same time. In this work the humble backyard barbecue is depicted using discarded house paint. My paintings are an examination and a critique of our bourgeois Australian existence in the twenty-first century.
I build all my canvasses by hand using plywood, masonite or MDF board, second hand when I can find it. The paints I use are all old, discarded house paints, mostly semi gloss, water based acrylic.
KEVIN McKAY
Munn Street Bridge
Oil on canvas 63 x 93cm $3750
The subject for this work lies between The Rocks, the birthplace of Sydney and Barangaroo, its newest precinct. Millers Point began organically with waterside workers constructing homes on the sandstone ridge from which material was quarried to build the city. The Munn Street bridge spans the Hickson Road cutting where heritage buildings on either side retain their historical character, in contrast to the contemporary city and the Crown Tower looming crudely at Barangaroo, while the roadworks underneath capture the state of flux and re-ordering that is a constant in the city.
GUY MORGAN
Fiona Morgan, Portrait of the Artist's Wife in the Gallery (Two Flappers)
Oil and acrylic on canvas 91 x 51cm NFS
Over the years Fiona and I have attended hundreds of exhibitions and had the pleasure of seeing Margaret Preston’s portrait ‘Flapper’ many times.
One occasion was at the NGA in Know My Name, an exhibition celebrating the work of women artists with an aim to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.
I’ve always felt there was a synergy with how, reflecting the times, Preston used the painting’s title to describe her sitter in a complimentary, descriptive manner.
I’d like to think this painting – my tribute to Fiona – is framed in a similar manner.
SUSAN O'DOHERTY
Child's Play
Acrylic on canvas 112 x 112cm $4000
Pink rifles are replaying Barbie dolls as popular Christmas presents for little girls in the US. Australia’s protective ally has had such a powerful influence on our arts, politics and economy. While we absorb their movies and music, we are by association as staunch allies, the target of the unhinged and unregulated dangers inherent in the madness of their culture.
DAVID PAVICH
Midnight Mist
Oil on canvas 75 x 100cm $6800
‘Midnight Mist’ is intended as a metaphorical work which resulted from numerous plein air studies. As we can see in the painting, the gateway is open and the Moon sheds light onto the darkness of the landscape, illuminating a potential pathway forward.
The intensity of the Australian landscape enables the creation of dramatic moods, at times providing a surreal atmosphere. Painting provides a way of engaging with nature and the inner self in the set environment.
PATRICK PERLSTONE
The Busker and the Icon No More
Pencil, gouache and mixed media
61 x 79cm $2200
A work honouring the Sydney transport photographer John Ward and his work on the City of Sydney Archives. His photos not only captured the transport but perfectIy encapsulated the time they were snapped. I live and work in the Ryde Parramatta district and originally grew up here and the old civic centre has been an iconic image in the landscape throughout my life until its recent demise. The busker is paying homage to it and collecting money to rebuild it again. Although progress cannot be halted I wanted to honour this visual masterpiece as a historical monument that will always be remembered. Due to whatever the circumstances the site is to now be remediated and turned into green space. This piece is part of a series based around this locality.
NANI PUSPASARI
The Girl and the Greenwood Alchemy
Acrylic on canvas 30 x 90cm $1350
Triptych
'The Girl and the Greenwood Alchemy' explores identity through the lens of childhood memories. This triptych captures the innocence of youth alongside the journey of self-discovery, revealing how early moments shape who we become. The greenwood symbolises both growth and transformation, echoing the fluid nature of identity.
Inspired by my childhood in South Borneo, the vibrant imagery blends nature with personal narratives, evoking the magic and complexity of those formative years. Aligned with my ongoing exploration of memory, migration, and cultural hybridity, this piece reflects on how our origins and experiences continually shape us. It is a visual reminder that identity is a constant process, rooted in where we come from, yet always evolving with where we go.
MICHAEL RANSOM
Connection
Oil on canvas 76 x 102cm $6000
As soon as my son Daniel was old enough to swim, my brother, (always a keen surfer), began initiating him into surf culture. The connection with sea and sand and the natural environment initially centred around home and the local beaches accessible from Hobart and sometimes further afield in the more remote parts of Tasmania.
Emerging from his teens he travelled initially to Margaret River, WA and found work there. Later he travelled across the continent in his Kombi van and once again connected with my brother who had settled in the sunshine Coast. They both lived and worked there for decades.
In between times my son found a strong connection with South East Asia through surfing and making enduring friendships with the people of those cultures. I feel that culture is the enriching and fundamental thing that connects us a humans and with the natural world in general.
MELLISSA READ-DEVINE
Strength Renewed
Acrylic on canvas 105 x 80cm $3400
The landscape often invites you to look further towards where the land meets the sky. Whilst wandering the rugged Flinders Ranges I would often be looking up. At the rocky hills, at the sky, at the eagles. It truly was a renewal of spirit.
TD READE
Wounds Without Cause (Work Lunch)
Synthetic polymer on board
50 x 60cm $1000
'Wounds Without Cause (Work Lunch)' borrows its title from Proverbs 23:29, “Who has wounds without cause?”—reflecting on the hidden damage of overindulgence. Set in a corporate environment, my painting explores the tension between professional obligation and enforced social conformity. The figures partake in a ritualistic lunch where drinking, intended to foster camaraderie, instead reveals a profound sense of detachment.
Contrasting with Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, where joy and leisure reign, my work portrays the workplace as a site of performative bonding. Alcohol, a supposed unifier, serves only to conceal emotional discontent—unspoken wounds borne under the pressures of professional life. Ultimately, it critiques the superficial nature of professional relationships, exposing the quiet alienation that often accompanies them.
CAITLIN REILLY
Nothing More to Say
Oil on wood 40 x 40cm $1200
COLIN RHODES
Woman in a White Dress
Watercolour, gouache and pencil on rice paper
34 x 48cm $350
An imagined portrait of a woman whose glance will forever be directed toward someone standing to the right of the viewer. Her left arm is so important. It is the pillar which holds everything else in place. Behind her an indistinct expanse of deadly still sea. Rice paper resists this painting technique. It wants only to soak up the colour of to threaten to fall apart if pushed. Yet, delicacy of painterly touch is still possible.
ADRIENNE RICHARDS
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, 2023
Glazed stoneware plate wall-mounted
33 x 44cm $1450
My work investigates ideas around humans on the planet and their interactions with the natural world. This plate was inspired by my cousin’s description of his recent wondrous experience of seeing flying fish out in the Indian Ocean, whilst he was onboard Antarctic icebreaker RSV Nuyina, voyaging to its new home port in Hobart, from Europe.
The physiology and habit of the flying fish make it an unlikely exhibit for a zoo, so most people will never see one in its living form unless they are lucky enough to be sailing the high seas.
BRONWYN RODDEN
Curragh
Native inks, pencil and pastel on canvas
45 x 60cm $1200
The Curragh represents my Irish ancestry, using native inks combined with pastels reflects my awareness our embeddedness in the natural world.
JULIANNE ROSS ALLCORN
Summer Blossoms
Mixed media on birch wood
105 x 84cm $1200
From the open doors and windows of my country studio in the Burralong Valley the colours, sounds and scent of the bush landscape beckons all to stop and immerse themselves in the wakening of spring. I draw and paint what I feel, see and hear and ask you to come with me. Working on birch wood panels brings nature's textures alive. The connection to natural wood.
SANDRA ROUTH
Hedonism at Clovelly
Acrylic on canvas 63 x 43cm $1500
Hedonism in Australia. The pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence. Clovelly Beach is my environment. Joy. Splash. Changing seasons. The never-ending challenge of capturing movement and depicting water.
GARY SHINFIELD
Remnants Hill End
Unique state woodcut print on 2 sheets of Rives BFK paper
122 x 86cm $3000
My practice involves visiting and responding to various sites. I make works on paper using print and hand-drawn media. This work developed from time spent in Hill End NSW. I found pieces of wooden furniture discarded in the bush. These were dismantled, spread out on site, painted with ink and brush, and later carved. This image refers to remnants of earlier settlement and mechanical mining equipment left in the environment to deteriorate.
In the studio, the uncarved sides of wood were inked and printed on 2 sheets of Rives BFK paper. This was followed by overprinting the carved blocks in different ways. A series of four images was made from blocks printed in different configurations. This is the third work, and a unique state print. Fossicking for discarded remnants for transformation, brings together my interests in printmaking, archaeology and art.
PATRICK SHIRVINGTON
Cacophony of Sound at the Waterhole
Pen and ink/Watercolour
68 x 88cm $3000
I sat quietly by the waterhole as a variety of birds created a din in the late afternoon.
JULIE SIMMONS
Griseldas' Might
Watercolour 80 x 100cm $2600
'Griselda' is an imposing formation overshadowing the village of Arkaroola in the Northern Flinders. This landscape is ancient and one which inspires one to respond in new and dynamic ways.
Everything here is physical, the upthrust earth, the driving and walking to locations and then the actual movement whilst painting.
RICK TAILBY
Silent Witness
Scotland Island Spotted Gum, shellac and pigment
90 x 45cm $3000
They watch the carnage of country, unable to affect what they see and yet so often, unable or unwilling to remain emotionally disconnected. They cannot engage human beings directly and yet, the very act of quietly watching over them, able to hear their innermost thoughts and desires, can’t stop them from wanting to offer some kind of palliative care.
CLAUDIO VALENTI
Garment Chronicles
Charcoal and pencil on archival paper
52 x 40cm $1000
This work is part of a series of drawings where each of them brings forth memories, personalities, and cultural resonances that garments carry over time. Through line, tones and intentional compositions ‘Garment Chronicles’ seeks to connect viewers with the unseen narratives, exploring how clothing serves as both a personal and collective chronicle.
J VALENZUELA DIDI
Visions of the Dark Night
Acrylic on canvas 101 x 101cm $4500
ZENA VIX
6 Soup Cans Tower
Oil on canvas 90 x 90cm $6600
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." – Andy Warhol.
Well, '6 Soup Cans Tower' is an artwork I made following this advice. Except I did think about art and about making art… and still do… a lot!
From the series 'I Love Art'.
MARYANNE WICK
The Menagerie (La Coleccion de Animales)
Oil collage on canvas 55 x 63cm $3950
‘The Menagerie (La Coleccion de Animales)’ is a tonal oil painting/collage. My subject is based on a rare collection of 3000-year-old Iberian artefacts, housed in the Museo Municipal de Valdepeñas, in Castilla La Mancha, Spain.
Appointed resident artist by the Museo in 2018, the opportunity to observe and draw from real life, on site, provided real insight and understanding of the artefacts and their origins. The exploration has continued for the last several years. From my latest series, ‘The Menagerie’ aims to give the illusion of an ancient plaque.
Reflecting the cultural, historical and natural riches of my experience, as an artist, I intuitively make a connection to my sense of place or surroundings, then quietly respond. Living and working in Sydney, London, Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong and rural Spain, immersed in their rich art, history and culture, has proved invaluable to my practice.
CALLUM WORSFOLD
Troopie/Night Painting #9
Oil on canvas 50 x 40cm $900
Plein air painting, trying to capture some beauty in the urban, after dark.
FANGMIN WU
King Street
Oil on canvas 44 x 54cm $1280
I have lived in the Inner West for many years, and have a deep connection to King Street, Newtown. Its rich history, vibrant culture, and lively energy have made a lasting impression on me. In this work, I sought not to replicate the street’s scenes, but to express my emotions through bold brushstrokes, textured palette knife techniques, and striking colour contrasts. My aim is to share with viewers the unique charm and character of King Street under the warmth of the afternoon sun.
ESTELLE YOON
Portrait of My Mother (엄마의 초상화)
35mm Film, photograph
63 x 42cm $2800
'Portrait of My Mother (엄마의 초상화)' is a deeply personal piece from my series Apricity in Anseong. This photograph captures a moment of quiet reflection, evoking the warmth of the winter sun—what the term 'apricity' embodies—during the cold days spent in the outskirts of Seoul. In tracing memories of my late mother, the image reflects the tension between presence and absence, and the weight of nostalgia. This portrait becomes a visual space where the warmth of memory contrasts with the coldness of loss, inviting viewers into the emotional landscape of my motherland.
YOONY YOONY
If (1)
Black ink, pyeonchae, waterclour on Soonji paper
20 x 20cm $250
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