2024 Watercolour & Gouche
12. The Bonsai Island
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Artist: Dave Sparkes
Facebook: Watercolours by Dave Sparkes
Website: www.davesparkesart.com
Instagram: @davesparkes_art
Artwork size (in cm): 91 x 121
Artwork Price: $2,800
Artist Statement: Coming from a land of ancient indigenous myths and legends, my paradigm has always included my own interpretations of mythical places, despite being non-indigenous myself. As a resident of an island nation, I’ve found myself more and more drawn to islands – ironically to tiny ones rather than Australia, one of the world’s largest. Exploring islands in the Myall Lakes the size of tennis courts ignited my imagination, finally manifested in the form of this hypothetical little Garden of Eden.
Materials and process: Transparent watercolour on paper, which was then sealed with archival matt varnish and bonded to a stretched canvas.
13. A Day at the Beach
Artist: Christine Cameron
Artwork size (in cm): 58W x 48H
Artwork Price: $450
Artist Statement: The day was spent enjoying time with a grandchild while checking out beautiful north coast beaches. I was aiming to depict a wonderful memory of a perfect day.
Materials and process: Artist-quality watercolours on artist-quality Arches watercolour paper. Framed in a 4cm ‘champagne’ gilt wooden frame.
14. The Pass
Artist: Dellene Strong
Website: delstrong.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delstrongart/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DelleneStrong
Artwork size (in cm): 95 W X 77 H
Artwork Price: $4,000
Artist Statement: My focus here is not so much what can be seen but the atmosphere and sensations of a location of where the sand meets the sea. The moist sand and reflections, and even the salt in the breeze, is part of Nature’s Divine story.
Materials and process: The pigments I use are transparent watercolour allowing the subject to shine. I use arches watercolour paper, and it is floating in an oak frame under glass.
15. Narrow and Short-beaked Oceanic Dolphins
SECOND PLACE
Artist: Greg Newland
Artwork size (in cm): 94 cm x 74 cm
Artwork Price: $5,500
Artist Statement: In aboriginal culture, dolphins are commonly associated with the human spirit. They are also used to symbolize the importance of a balanced life and in Hawaiian culture as often representing the bridge between the human world and the divine.
Apart from doing Art as a subject for the Higher School Certificate, I don’t have any tertiary art education, being entirely self-taught. A respected art judge once commented that my teenage work showed a refreshing lack of 1970’s style teacher influence.
Materials and process: Watercolour pencil on archival paper. Framed using archival quality matt board and conservation quality non-reflective glass.
16. Beach Dreaming
Artist: Peter Campbell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petercampbell.art/
Artwork size (in cm): 74cm (W) X 83cm (H)
Artwork Price: $620
Artist Statement: This painting draws inspiration from the sacred connection between land and sea found in Bundjalung Dreaming stories. The shadows symbolize unseen forces shaping the landscape, reflecting the timeless struggle between the dunes and the ocean. The red stems of the plants represent resilience against these natural forces. By blending abstraction with nature, I invite viewers to explore both visible and hidden forces, fostering a deeper connection to the world around us.
Materials and process: This painting employs gouache and watercolor, applied loosely to capture the natural fluidity and dynamic forces of the landscape. The watercolour enhances the leaves’ vibrancy and symbolizes new growth, while the opaque gouache conveys the solid, enduring presence of the land, sea, and sky. It’s framed in a contemporary timber frame which would look great in any “beachy” space.
17. Hanover Bay
Artist: Ian Barker
Artwork size (in cm): W: 52 H: 42
Artwork Price: $400
Artist Statement: I have always been inspired by the bush, the ocean, and our wonderful northern rivers. Painting these landscapes allows me to tell the story, in my own way, of these ancient and beautiful places in which we live.
Materials and process: Paper – Saunders Waterford – rough, 300gsm
Pigment – Daniel Smith
Frame – 20mm oak
18. Magnetic Island
Artist: Dave Sparkes
Facebook: Watercolours by Dave Sparkes
Website: www.davesparkesart.com
Instagram: @davesparkes_art
Artwork size (in cm): 90cm x 60cm
Artwork Price: $950
Artist Statement: I can only imagine the creation stories and myths that would’ve been associated with Magnetic Island (Yunbenun), the original homeland of the Wulgurukaba people. The island was an untouched arcadia for them for thousands of years, until they were eventually, inevitably, forced off it by the white people in the 1920’s and ’30’s. The massive, irresistably smooth granite boulders are impossible not to hug, and stately clusters of them form the most exquisitely surreal headlands in Australia.
Materials and process: Transparent watercolour on paper.
19. Birth of Princess Seoritsu – Goddess of Purification
Artist: Madoka Ono
Artwork size (in cm): W 38 x H 56
Artwork Price: $555
Artist Statement: Seoritsuhime emerged from her dragon form to cleanse the earth and it’s people of impurities. She washes souls in the rapids of the Haya river, and is the governess of waterfalls and, when necessary, floods.
As an artist, I seek to reveal the essential truth of my subject, employing both contemporary media and traditional shodou (Japanese calligraphy) techniques.
Materials and process: Media: sumi (traditional Japanese ink block) with sable fude (brush) on washi paper
Frame: natural timber, rounded profile
2 layers of mat: white and taupe
20. The Paddock
Artist: Ian Barker
Artwork size (in cm): W: 52 H: 42
Artwork Price: $400
Artist Statement: I have always been inspired by the bush, the ocean, and our wonderful northern rivers. Painting these landscapes allows me to tell the story, in my own way, of these ancient and beautiful places in which we live.
Materials and process: Paper – Saunders Waterford – rough, 300gsm
Pigment – Daniel Smith
Frame – 20mm oak
21. The Drying Shed: Bright
Artist: Christine Cameron
Artwork size (in cm): 104W x 83H
Artwork Price: $1,500
Artist Statement: My source of inspiration was the changing use of the landscape over many years overlooked by a age-old mountain. I am interested in portraying both natural and built environments using a variety of mediums
Materials and process: Artist quality watercolours on Arches watercolour paper. Framed in a 4cm ‘champagne’ gilt wooden frame.
22. Blue Hand with Cursing/Curing Stone
Artist: Sharyn Woods
Artwork size (in cm): 40 H x 30 W
Artwork Price: $220
Artist Statement: Following the theme, the artwork is based on the Irish myth of the Cursing/Curing Stone. The story goes that to curse, the stone is turned anti-clockwise while repeating the curse. It has to be justified or the curse returns at the end of the day.
To cure, the stone is turned by hand to the right. The hand like the mythic stone can also hurt or heal. I wanted the artwork to be quite raw in its visual interpretation.
I completed Art School in Brisbane, then Hobart, a long time ago.
Materials and process: The material used in the artwork is cake watercolour on canvas.
Watercolour on canvas isn’t traditional but I wanted to be rough with the surface.
It is a primed and stretched canvas and the surface paint sealed twice with clear satin finish.
To make the artwork, I chose to use text and image. I painted repeated words over the canvas like a type of cathartic process. Then I painted over most of them, leaving a blurred pattern over the image and background,
23. Firefly Wonder
Artist: Jasmine OShea
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasmineosheaartist
Website: https://jasmineoshea.com
Artwork size (in cm): 50 x 31cm
Artwork Price: $430
Contact for Purchase of Prints: jasmineosheaartist@gmail.com
Artist Statement: Firefly Wonder is inspired by an experience of watching the fireflies, in the forest at dusk, with my daughter. She is in wonder of them. Dancing like hundreds of magical fairies under the trees. When you catch one in your hand you see they are just little bugs delicate and vulnerable. I live on the edge of Nightcap National Park and have a peaceful off grid studio where I paint in watercolours. I am inspired by the drama of nature, be it the movement of a scene or the vibrancy of colours
Materials and process: Painted using high lightfast natural earth watercolour pigments ground from rock minerals and mixed with Gum Arabic medium to make totally natural rich pigment paint. The paper is Arches thick 300gsm cold pressed cotton duck watercolour paper. The paper is stuck to a 2cm deep solid pine wooden board using an acrylic medium and sealed with a wax varnish. This piece has clean, modern, simple edges with wire across the back for hanging.
24. Ornis
Artist: Colleen Thomas
Artwork size (in cm): 38 x 43 cm
Artwork Price: $180
Artist Statement: Ornis is the ancient Greek word for bird, and, for omen. The black cockatoo is the herald of storms. The Glossy Black has become the icon in the fight to save Wallum at Brunswick Heads. This is indicative of the major storm that’s brewing globally, as those trying to save sensitive habitats and diverse species come into conflict with ever encroaching urban development.
Materials and process: Watercolour on arches paper. Recycled frame.
25. The Ripple Effect
FIRST PLACE
Artist: Isabelle Hillier
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelle_hillier_art
Website: https://www.isabellehillierart.com/https://www.isabellehillierart.com/
Artwork size (in cm): 53 x 43
Artwork Price: $490
Contact for Purchase of Prints: isabellehillierart@gmail.com
Artist Statement: Isabelle Hillier, Northern Rivers based Wildlife Artist
I am a self-taught watercolourist who is inspired by the Australian unique variety of birdlife.
This piece explores the strained relationship between cats and Australia’s native birds, depicting a narrative that reflects both the beauty and tragedy of our natural world. Our beautiful Australian wildlife have become collateral damage in a narrative that often goes overlooked.
Materials and process: A big portion of my process is research due to my scientific background as a Laboratory Technician for 5 years. So after learning pet and feral cats kill around 2 billion native Australian species each year, I knew I wanted to add to the conversation about saving our natural world through my art. I want to challenge the viewers to confront the uncomfortable truth about their feline companions, provoking thought and inspiring action. Asks us to reflect on the choices we make in our homes and their ripple effects on the larger world.
I used Sennelier watercolours on Arches A3 300gsm, hot pressed, 100% cotton archival paper, professionally framed behind glass , dimensions 53cm x 43cm.