THE nation’s flora and natural landscapes dominated the prizewinning entries in this year’s Banjo Paterson Art Exhibition.
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Art enthusiast Jennifer Bucknell judged the 108 entries, ranging from bush landscapes to colourful abstracts.
Winning the competition was Sampa Bhakta with her watercolour titled Flinders Ranges. Mary Ann Mein came second with her detailed depiction of magnolia seedpods.
Two highly commended award recipients were chosen - Hilary Rookyard for her acrylic painting Light on Poplars and Glen Southwood for her watercolour The Way Home.
First place came with a prize of $200 and second place $100.
Ms Southwood said she was a keen caravan traveller and the inspiration for her painting of gum trees lining a dirt track came from her travels.
“It takes you to another world really,” she said of her love of painting.
“For watercolours, most of the time is in the planning and the execution has to be reasonably quick.”
One of the exhibition managers, Neil Skinner, said the exhibition had set a record for the number of entries and attributed the result to the absence of a theme this year.
“Last year, we had a Banjo Paterson theme, but a lot of people just want to paint what they like and it’s made a big difference,” he said.
“Art is getting a lot broader and there’s different techniques coming out too.”
Mayor John Davis, who also donated the prizemoney through John Davis Motors, said he was “over the moon” to support the event and was impressed by the skills showcased.
“The subjects are unbelievably varied,” he said.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au